GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 37 - February 2017

My understanding of both businesses will help me identify opportunities for clients to maximize our relationships both from an affiliate and a payment perspective. Other than these small changes, it’s very much business as usual while we develop synergies across the group and expand our focus for 2017 targets. During your 18-year career, you have worked in several different sectors in the online space, including the last 10 years in iGaming. What are some of the biggest challenges that face online gaming operators and affiliates as we head into 2017? I think the biggest challenge the industry faces is determining where affiliates fit within operators’ digital mar- keting mix. This also involves how operators harness the depth of data that affiliates bring and how to build a collaborative relationship to drive revenue for both affiliates and those they work with. Currently, there is no one single tracking solution that can work across multiple platforms, but this is coming – and I think understanding how to utilize the tools you do have in your arsenal to get better insight is the way to get around this. Affiliates no longer fit into a simple “box” and can assist with a range of acquisition and retention activities. This is because affiliates are invested in the growth of their own businesses, technology and data collection, which brings a new dimension to their partnerships with operators – they’re no longer just about acquiring traffic that converts. Affiliate marketing today is about building a solid relationship that meets the needs of both parties. Another important challenge involves privacy policies and data protection laws for online marketing. These are changing and becoming ever more regulated, which means businesses need to ensure they are compliant to actively market to their own player databases. In highly regulated regions, operators and affiliates need to be more focused than ever on evaluating every stage of their cus- tomer journey – from impression to deposit – to extract maximum return on every dollar spent. This also means looking at every stage of the conversion funnel in between, including payments. Paysafe’s Digital Wallets division will play a bigger part in processing multi-currency and global payments. One of the biggest points of pain in fast-growing affiliate programs involves the navigation of international banking foreign currency and banking costs while expanding resources to accommodate the heavy administration these channels require. Luckily, we have several service and technology solutions to overcome these challenges for affiliates and operators alike. What are three key trends in the industry that iGaming affiliates should be aware of and be acting on right now? First of all, the shift to mobile will continue apace in the coming year. App store optimization’s importance is only going to increase. Mobile traffic sources will continue to provide value and offer great ROI in 2017. Affiliates should therefore target it and ensure it’s an integral part of their strategies. Another trend affiliates should be aware of is the rising avail- ability of digital tools and time-saving tech platforms. Tools like Canva, Word Swag App and Snappa.io are helping make digital marketing activities much quicker and simpler. They allow affiliates to build eye-catching, creative and engaging marketing campaigns with little investment. Finally, I see eSports growing strongly in 2017. Over the last year, we’ve seen the market become more popular, especially in the U.K. Affiliates looking to expand their revenue and who have a lookalike audience that matches the profile of eSports bettors (predominantly male and 18 to 35 years old) should definitely consider promoting eSports brands. It is a great niche opportunity that is not overcrowded yet. It also provides an alternative way to monetize affiliates’ existing audiences and a decent ROI for engaging lapsed players in affiliates’ networks. Income Access: Lee-Ann Johnstone w w w . g p w a t i m e s . o r g 33