GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 42 - October 2018

This issue’s webmasters hail from parts as far-flung as Colombia, Greece and the Netherlands. Some have been in the industry for a while; others are newer to the affiliate game. Their sites all focus on different verticals. But they have a few things in common: They’ve all demonstrated the drive, focus and love of the business that it takes to succeed in the world of iGaming affiliate marketing — and they were all happy to share their stories with the rest of the affiliate community. * Due to space constraints, we could not print the interviews in their entirety. The complete text will be posted on the GPWA forums. GPWA AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES Laptop image by Mathias Rosenthal/Shutterstock This poker affiliate's worldwide community became the key to a love of the game Juan David Vargas Quiceno - Vargoso How long have you been in the iGaming business? How did you first get into the industry? This is interesting. I have worked with World- pokerdeals for the last two years, but the website was launched in 2012. But my first contact with the industry was a long time ago. In 2008, I was a forummoderator in a local Colombian website dedicated to poker, the only one of its kind at that time. I still have some very valuable friends from that time. What did you do before iGaming? What did you learn that has helped you as an affiliate? I’m an electrical engineer. I worked seven years at mul- tinational companies before going full- time into the online business. Let me tell you this: My job was to manage projects on budget, quality and time, interacting with people from all over the world (spe- cialists, designers, contractors), building, networking, training people, offering the best solution to each particular request. Sound familiar? Well for me, that’s being an affiliate, at least a good one. How long did it take for your site to start making money? The first version of Worldpokerdeals was launched in 2012 by our CEO, Rodion Longa, on theWix plat- form (does anyone remember the good old days when a website could be launched in only one long night of coffee and program- ming over these platforms?). The current Worldpokerdeals website was launched in 2015. The growthwas exponential as we got into a non-satisfied market: Russian-speak- ing countries and professional poker players. We are all ex-professional poker players, and we thought that we needed a site that offered what a professional player needs: software, advice, complex solutions. What’s one thing you think an affili- ate new to the online poker market should know about it? First of all, you must be careful. There have been so many stories out there about people being scammed by rooms, people and websites. Trust is critical in this business. Build relationships with players, affiliate managers, poker rooms; try to know the people you are working with. Don’t be just another website saying you are offering the best product in the market. G P W A t i m e s . o r g 48