GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 44 - July 2019

relationships with the Division of Gaming Enforcement; if the New Jersey model spreads, affiliates in other states will be in the same position. And the growth of online lottery, where the state is the gaming operator, will also see more affiliates learning how to work directly with state governments. Among private operators, some speakers reported a contin- uation of the trend toward operators wanting more control, making life more difficult for smaller affiliates but allowing successful ones to work much more closely and synergistically (Steve Nathan’s word) with operators. Catena Media’s Ryan Harper argued that affiliates will remain a key marketing channel due to their abilities to build communities, provide outside feedback to operators, and provide 24/7 customer service to players. And while operators are improving their own in-house marketing and SEO operations, says Dustin Gouker, there will still be plenty of room for creative affiliates to outperform operators at SEO and provide multiple routes for converting players. Y’ALL COME BACK NOW, YA HEAR? A lot has happened in North American iGaming over the past year, and lot more can happen in the next year. By the time ICE North America 2020 hits Austin, Texas next June, a dozen more states could have legalized sports betting, or the new Wire Act opinion that Sheldon Adelson bought could have shut down the all the progress made since 2013 – although we certainly hope not. We are sure that all the conference attendees will have applied what they learned to improving their businesses and building profitable working relationships throughout the industry. But whatever the future brings, we know it will never be boring. Copy Chief Clare Fitzgerald has been with GPWA/Casino City Press since 2015. She got into the gaming industry by copy editing in several different fields until she found one that was interesting. She graduated from Clark University in 2010 with a degree in English and Creative Writing. You can find her making bad jokes on Twitter at @EditressClare. 37 G P W A t i m e s . o r g