GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 47 - July 2020

and relocation as I could not stand the weather in Ireland. So I relocated to Sofia, Bulgaria and started working for Moneybookers (Skrill). I joined the company during extremely dynamic times. They were going through a rebranding from Moneybookers to Skrill as the word ”Bookers” was related to sportsbook and this was seen as something that would not help them very much in the U.S., one of the markets they wanted to expand to. Working for a payments company can be very interesting as you get to see the business fromdifferent angles such as commercial matters, technology and heavy compliance. I witnessed and participated in the whole regulation of the Spanishmarket and I managed to introduce Skrill tomore than 70%of the land-based casino entrants on the scene. The job at Skrill, and later on working for the manufacturer of slots, Casino Technology, really got me to think that the whole industry was kind of relying on a pretty old technology, more specifically the platforms. What attracted you to make the move to Dench eGaming Solutions in 2016? Is it true that in urban British culture, Dench stands for “awesome and cool”? The great thing about the iGaming industry is that you meet a lot of open minded and very opportunist people that chase their vision and aim high. This is actually how I ended up teaming up with Dobromir Mitev, the CEO and Founder of Dench eGaming Solutions. We are ex-colleagues from Sportingbet and before this venture we worked together on other iGaming projects. The result of Dench and the whole technology really turned up to be “awesome and cool” to use. We always joke as I remind him from time to time that the whole concept around our Giselle V2 product was born around this fun- ny idea that Dobromir wanted a completely automatic real-time Let’s start by hearing about your background. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Long story short, I grew up in a town called Ruse which is situated on the banks of the Danube River in the northeastern part of Bulgaria and is also known as Little Vienna as it impresses with a very aristocrat architecture. Since a young age, I have always been very good at building good friendships and dealing well with people in general. My father was heavily involved with running gambling halls in the north part of young democratic Bulgaria in late 90s. I guess this has something to do with my affinity for the industry as I spent most of my summer vacations travelling with him and visiting the venues. I have been flirting with the gaming industry since my teenager years. In my student years I had been through croupier cours- es in the city of Varna where there is a landmark live casino. However, I got really involved in the gaming industry during my five-year period in Dublin, Ireland. It all started initially with a customer support position that I took with one of the fastest growing bookmakers, Sportingbet. I was working shifts for both the Bulgarian and the Spanish market as I am fluent in Spanish. Your roles in the industry have spanned from customer service to VIP manager and you also spent nearly three years working for Skrill in business development. How did all of this past experience in different roles prepare you for your current role as COO and co-founder of Dench eGaming Solutions? As the time went by, I was offered to help the VIP team and especially the sportsbook division. And I was taking care of more than 500 high value customers for the brand Miapuesta.com. I quickly went through the customer support role and the VIP management looking for more responsibility, diverse experience Our newest installment of affiliate manger interviews features two iGaming professionals who most definitely have a great deal in common. In addition to an obvious passion for their current positions, Adrian Toshkov from Friends of Dench and Phil Kornyshev from Betmaster Partner Program showed at a young age that they had an entrepreneurial spirit within, which has led them to successful careers. It’s also quite apparent that they both enjoy working with like-minded people and truly believe in the philosophies of the companies they work with. Bottom line: If you’re a webmaster seeking a true partnership with a prospective affiliate program, Adrian and Phil are the type of managers you want to be surrounded and supported by. Meet the Affiliate Managers AFFILIATE MANAGER INTERVIEW SERIES Adrian Toshkov Friends of Dench G P W A t i m e s . o r g 64