GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 43 - February 2019

How do you decide what casinos to promote? We probably receive around 20 new requests per day from various affiliate managers asking us to promote their new casinos. Most of these e-mails are ignored, as they are the usual churned-out standard e-mail that gets sent out in bulk. If we have seen someone has actually taken the trouble to look at some of our sites, we will give them the same courtesy and have a look at the casino they want us to advertise. If we like the initial look and don’t find spelling er- rors and bad English, we will then read about them on forums and other affiliate websites to ensure they are not blacklisted anywhere. We will then look through their condi- tions to ensure they don’t have ridicu- lous play-through requirements or very low weekly payment limits, etc. We will also look at the variety of games, deposit options, etc. If they pass all those tests, we will then get one of our reviewers to open an account, deposit and play, so that we can experience exactly what our players will experience. This experience will also be the basis of our review if we agree to promote them. We are, however, very reluctant to promote new casinos without an insertion fee or prepayment, as we have had many bad experiences over the years with new brands closing down or not paying players within the first year of operation. How big is the Topboss operation? We have seven full-time staff members lo- cated in South Africa and New Zealand. All of them are loyal and dedicated and have been with us since Day 1. We also make use of many freelancers all over the world. Our motto: Less staff, less hassle. Do you gamble online? What about in brick-and-mortar casinos? I do occa- sionally gamble online to test out new casi- nos and slot games, but I prefer brick-and- mortar casinos for the atmosphere when I get a chance to go to one, which unfortunately is not very often. There always seems to be something more important to do! How often do you get to see and in- teract with other people in the indus- try? Do you still attend conferences? I regularly interact with other casino people via e-mail, Skype or Facebook, but no lon- ger attend conferences. Simply put, I don’t attend because I feel like even more of a dinosaur when I see the ages of many of the other affiliates and affiliate managers! What traits do you look for in an af- filiate manager? How about in an af- filiate program? Honesty, integrity, quick payouts and quick responses to e-mails. Is the GPWA still as useful to you as when you were a newer affiliate? Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to read or post as much as I used to. But when I do get the time, I still find it a valuable source of information, and it is still my go-to forum if I want to find out what other affiliates feel about a specific affiliate program or casino. If you could change one thing about the industry these days, what would it be and why? I said this in the last interview 10 years ago, and I still feel the same way: I would remove all bonuses, as I believe these cause a lot of player unhappiness when they try to cash out winnings from a bonus only to discover there is a play-through requirement, maximum withdrawal amount, etc. Many people do not read the terms and conditions. I thought by now Iwouldbe livingonan island sipping cocktails , workingwhen I wanted to , and generally just enjoying life and taking it easy. Oh,wait! That is exactlywhat I amdoing , come to think of it. 57 G P W A t i m e s . o r g