GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 38 - July 2017

How do you decide what casinos to pro- mote? Usually I’m contacted by dozens of affiliate managers, so in the beginning I give them all an equal chance to be placed on my site, so I can get all the info on their brand and store it in my database. When the time comes, I can easily add them to any site I have with one click. Some casinos are so fresh or good-looking that I want to give them more exposure, and some brands are just too trustworthy and reliable to ignore them. Some are new and I know nothing about them, but when they offer a good deal, I can give them a try. But if I see people don’t like it, I won’t promote it, not even with the greatest deal. It’s all about giving people a really good experience in the first place. Do you gamble? Brick-and-mortar casinos are restricted in Ukraine (so far), but I’ve played a few times in the U.K., the Nether- lands andGermany. A few times per month I like to give new slots a spin and share this experience withmy audience. I do not gamble much, as I don’t have much time. How often do you get to see and inter- act with other people in the industry? Have you attended any conferences? After my first LAC in 2015, I’ve tried to attend all the affiliate conferences, as it’s a good chance to see new places, meet new awesome people and get filled up by the iGaming energy spirit to reach new heights. Also, those conferences gave me the opportunity to not only to meet great business partners, but really good friends. What traits do you look for in an affili- ate manager? How about in an affiliate program? An affiliate manager should care not only about deals but also about his affiliates, share industry information and be in search of improvements to his own knowledge. This is what creates a win-win partnership. As for the affiliate programs, there are few things I would like to see more often: • Insights on what performs better in terms of type of games, game titles, landings, etc. • Media kit with big logos/banners/ screenshots, and full and clear info on their casino brands. • Opportunities to create more targeted promos (ref. links to internal pages, customizable landing builder, etc.). What’s your preferred method of com- munication with affiliate managers? E-mails. I rarely give out my Skype. What prompted you to join the GPWA? When I just started studying everything about casinos and gambling, I foundGPWA inGoogle and it answeredmy questions, so I signedup immediately. I find it very helpful for anyone in the industry – I don’t comment much, but I’m reading it constantly. What do you like about the industry? It’s never boring, it’s really challenging, and it’s worth your time and power input. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be and why? I like to optimize everything, especially working processes, so I think I would opti- mize some of the processes on the industry level to save precious time for everyone. What do you think the industry will look like in five years? I’mreally geeky sometimes, so almost all of my ideas are about technologies. It’s not a secret that everything goes mo- bile, but I think in five years, we will see an even bigger percentage of mobile users over the ones from desktops. VR is one more thing that can really change the industry. But with VR, everything de- pends on technological progress, because to deliver maximum experience, the VR has to offer some astonishing graphics and be affordable and more mobile. GPWA Affiliate Interview Series I know I can create something, from the smallest icon to the huge project with difficult algorithms. 44 w w w . g p w a t i m e s . o r g