GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 36 - October 2016

birthday bonuses, free spins in the casino and many other promotions. We give a lot of attention to customer support in the language of the customer, so we have fast payouts and that is appreciated from all players. Problem gambling is a serious issue for our industry. What does Tipbet do to protect players that may have a gam- bling problem? We are very strict on gambling addiction problems, and we try to help users overcome this problem. In the case that we identify a problem gam- bler, we do not try to enable them. Sports betting and casino gambling should be fun and must not create problems for the users. Describe your typical work day. Hmm . . . my typical work day is extremely busy and involves many tasks. My position is multitasking, and I enjoy it a lot – the working environment at Tipbet is amaz- ing, and all my colleagues are cool! I am trying to assist all of our affiliate managers in case they need help or advice. I do not send many e-mails during the day, as my role is more of an advisory role. I have known some of my best affiliates for many years, and we are also friends. I avoid long meetings due to a lack of time. There are lot of things that are running at Tipbet at the moment, as the company is growing rapidly. Describe the office culture at Tipbet. If we were a fly on the wall, what are some of the topics of conversation we’d hear about at the water cooler? The office culture at Tipbet is great! We have an amazing team of professionals, and we want to grow Tipbet. Every day we have lunch together, as the company provides it, and it’s the best place to listen and participate in interesting conversa- tions. Some are talking about their next tasks after lunch break, others about their plans after work, or discussions about sports events. Generally, there are a va- riety of topics discussed. That’s the good thing about being at Tipbet: You never get bored. Have you had a chance to attend any gambling industry conferences yet?What were your first impressions? Last year, I attended all of the big industry conferences. ICE is amazing, very glamorous and with high standards. The same applies to the affiliate conferences. All of those are great opportunities for networking and making successful business deals. I strongly believe in face-to-face interaction rather than Skype chats or phone calls. What do you wish you could change about the industry? I would like to make the industry fair for all parties – players, affiliates and operators. It is no secret that in everyday work, we have to deal with cheaters and abusers. It requires a lot of time to handle them appropriately, so it is quite costly. Where do you think the industry will be in five years? I think sooner or later all markets will be regulated, and I consider that a necessity. The most important thing is that the regulation will be fair in terms of taxation for players and operators. What is the last book you read? Did you read it on an e-reader, or hard copy? Honestly, I do not read books, but if I did I would enjoy a hard copy, rather than an e-reader. What’s your favorite movie? I have a lot of favorite movies, but since I am a fan of comedies I would say that my favorite movie is Dumb and Dumber with JimCarrey. What do you use for most of your Web surfing: A desktop computer, laptop, tab- let or smartphone? That depends on my mood andwhat I amgoing todo. If it is about online shopping, I will use my laptop. If I have to speak with my family via Skype, I will use eithermy laptop ormy smartphone. iPhone or Android? I use both because I have two telephone lines, one Maltese and one Greek. If I had to choose, I would go with the iPhone. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go? With no second thought, I would go to Greece. Greece has numerous places to visit. If you could have dinner with three peo- ple, living or dead, who would they be? Since I am sports fan, I would like to go to dinner with Ronaldinho, Michael Jordan and Novak Djokovic. I admire all of them as they are great athletes and, in my eyes, great people. Name three things that people reading this magazine don’t know about you. 1. I am the proud father of a 22-year-old girl. 2. I am a low-profile person. 3. The third one is secret; I’ll keep it to myself. We try to close fair deals with our affiliates, and we want to keep them happy and satisfied. We keep in close contact with all of them, discussing their problems. We listen carefully to their suggestions and we help them increase their monthly commission amounts. AFFILIATE MANAGER INTERVIEW SERIES Ioannis Pagounis | Tipbet 70 W W W . G P W A T I M E S . O R G