GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 47 - July 2020

GPWA AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES Ernest P. - PokCas Please tell us how you got started in the iGaming industry? My first baby steps started when I was a teenager, around 14 or 15 years old. E-gold was a big thing, there was no Facebook, no Bitcoin, Skrill was called MoneyBookers and PayPal was a very new thing. I was very interested in various brands and programs where you could invite people and earn money or win prizes, such as Prizee.com, which was a big thing back then. After winning a ton of various prizes in var- ious programs and similar competitions, in 2011 I was recommended to a lottery affiliate website, which is still running to this day. This was my first step into the affiliate world. I started successfully promoting it in my home country and for a teenager like me, every $10 made a big difference. Then my flatmate in university taught me how to play Texas Hold’em and I started doing more research on strategy and various promotions. Once I knew all the basics, a few years later I brought a very popular poker brand to my home country and ran the biggest weekly freeroll series to this day. Every week we had free tournament tickets and an expensive poker chip set for grabs. That’s when I started to learn more about communication with affiliate managers and players, private promotions, negotiation and more. I managed to do that without having my own website. I did that in two local online communities and since I was very helpful and was bringing value, I was allowed to advertise there. So, have you ever held a job that didn’t involve iGaming? I have a Bache- lor’s with Honors degree in marketing. Just before graduation, I thought that I may have work in some office in London or Edin- burgh, I was not looking forward to it. After graduation I‘ve spent some time in Bulgaria since I was working with a short-tem EU project. I was a Marketing Manager in an NGO (non-governmental organization). This opportunity gave me some experience in marketing and social media. This is as close as I ever was to an actual job. I nev- er had a full-time job contract and never wanted to be restricted. in the iGaming industry Notions of running his own affiliate business began percolating for Ernest when hewas a teenager , leading to a life-long career G P W A t i m e s . o r g 52