Join GPWA Page 53 JULY 2023 GPWAtimes.org UK White Paper fallout & analysis Parasite SEO tips for affiliates Global iGaming casino rankings Writing Tools: AI and Cons Pros
Bittersweet Memories from London As we sail into the second half of 2023 and present our second issue of 2023, it’s worth taking a look back at ICE London and iGB Affiliate London, which took place in February. Both conferences set attendance records and – as anyone who was there would likely tell you – the energy and excitement that filled the exhibition floors, learning sessions and networking parties was off the charts; the most exuberance I’ve witnessed at an industry event since pre-COVID, for sure. Moreover, at the annual iGB Affiliate Award ceremony, Clarion Gaming paid tribute to our late, beloved colleague, Maria Florides, who served as GPWA Program Manager before suddenly passing away last November. It was a true honor to stand before a room full of fellow iGaming industry professionals who had worked with Maria over the years, to share a few words about how much she was loved and propose a toast in her memory. Maria’s perpetual smile and everlasting energy was most certainly missed in London – and will continue to be going forward – but we take solace in the fact that dozens of people stopped by our stands at both ICE and iGB Affiliate to offer condolences and share a fond memory. Speaking of London, as part of this, our 56th edition of the GPWA Times Magazine, we share an extensive photo gallery that captures just some of the enthusiasm from the conferences. We also feature two new affiliate and two new affiliate manager interviews plus other regular “departments” including a forum exchange about competing with your own website, top ranked casino operator sites, and a new inductee into the APCWWall of Shame. Our cover story is about a hot-button topic that has permeated nearly every industry on the planet over the past year – the proliferation of artificial intelligence – and how it pertains to iGaming affiliate marketing. We also cover three more trending talking points for the affiliate industry – the advantages and disadvantages of crypto gambling, an explanation of Parasite SEO, and, of course, an analysis of the U.K. Gambling White Paper. In addition to being mailed to all of our existing subscribers, this issue is being distributed at iGB Live! in Amsterdam (11-14 July) and SBC Summit Barcelona (19-21 September). If you’ll be at either of these events, we hope you’ll stop by the GPWA stand and say hello. And remember, if you’re not already receiving the GPWA Times Magazine in the mail, it’s free! Sign up today by visiting GPWAtimes.org/subscribe/. Sincerely, Michael Corfman SUBSCRIPTIONS For a FREE subscription to the GPWA Times Magazine, visit GPWAtimes.org ADVERTISING To advertise in the GPWA Times Magazine, please e-mail: sales@gpwa.org ISSN 1941-9872 (print) ISSN 2834-2348 (online) Executive Director: Michael Corfman Program Director: Anthony Telesca Program Manager: Nicole Sims Member Services: Richard Bard Nancy Troy Editor-in-Chief: Gary Trask Associate Editors: Dan Ippolito Jarrod LeBlanc Designers: George Choi Zoran Maksimovic´ LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR 4 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
BETTING & iGAMING SHOW FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT SBCEVENTS.COM 19-21 SEPTEMBER 2023 FIRA DE BARCELONA MONTJUÏC 450 SPEAKERS 300 EXHIBITORS 10,000 DELEGATES PARIS SMITH Adviser Pinnacle GUSTAF HAGMAN CEO & Co-founder, LeoVegas Group KARSTEN FOGH HOLANNG CEO Danske Spil JESPER SVENSSON CEO Operations Betsson Group DANIEL TAYLOR CEO International, Flutter Entertainment MATTHEW BALL Pioneering Tech Authority, Venture Capitalist & Bestselling Author of The Metaverse SPEAKER PREVIEW BILL MUMMERY CEO SBOBET JAN JONES BLACKHURST Board Member Caesars Entertainment
TABLE OF CONTENTS Departments 4 Letter from the Director • 8 By the Numbers • 10 Quotables • 12 GPWA Poll • 16 From the Forums 34 iGaming Directory Rankings • 38 Photo Gallery • 50 Affiliate Interview Series • 58 Sponsors 60 Affiliate Manager Interview Series • 68 APCW Wall of Shame • 70 Event Calendar Parasite SEO Search engine optimization is under siege by this phenomenon, and Mike Litson, CEO of Greyheart Media, breaks down what it is and how affiliates could and should take advantage. Fallout and Analysis: The UK Gambling White Paper The anticipation of the UK Gambling White Paper is over. What lies ahead though for iGaming affiliates? UK gambling regulatory lawyer Melanie Ellis looks into the impact of the key changes. The Crypto Conundrum To use it or not to use it. That’s is the question Ron Mendelson, Director of Fast Offshore, will help you decide as he lays out the pluses and minuses for players, operators and affiliates. 30 AI for Affiliates Artificial intelligence has infiltrated the world of affiliate marketing and Hirequarters CEO Milan Novakovic discusses the strengths and weaknesses of AI created content. 20 46 24 G P W A t i m e s . o r g 6
BY THE NUMBERS $35.6 million The approximate amount that Ontario generated in total wagers during its first year of regulated online gaming, making the Canadian province a Top 5 iGaming jurisdiction in North America. £316,250 The amount of money that white label operator TGP Europe was fined in April 2023 by the Gambling Commission for a number of anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures. 99% The percentage of shareholders in favor of FlutterEntertainment, parent company of FanDuel, to commence with a U.S. listing by the end of 2023. The U.K. company needed approval from at least 75% of shareholders and received it at the company’s Annual General Meeting in April 2023. £19.2 million The amount of money that 888 Holdings’ WilliamHill is required to pay for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures following a decision in March 2023. €150 million The amount MGM Resorts paid to acquire Malta-based Push Gaming in April via its LeoVegas brand. 52% The percentage increase of player accounts in the Netherlands from 563,000 in July 2022 to 859,000 in January 2023, according to Kansspelautoriteit. G P W A t i m e s . o r g 8
CNY41.81 billion The amount of money generated in sales for the China lottery in February 2023, a significant rise of 86% year-on-year. 6% The tax hike percentage in Estonia for online gambling from 5%, starting in 2024 with an increase to 7% in 2026, under new proposals from the country’s Ministry of Finance. SEK4 million The amount the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) fined Betfair in May for allowing betting on Under-21 football games. $60 The percentage of reported alerts of suspicious betting in Europe during Q1 2023, which is the highest amount out of the continents, with Asia (15%), Africa (10%), NorthAmerica (5%), SouthAmerica (5%) and Cross-Continent (5%) rounding out the list, according to the International Betting IntegrityAssociation. 15% The percentage that bookmakers in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria will be taxed starting in July 2024 after the state parliament increased the rate from 10% in May. 36% The percentage that online gambling revenue increased yearon-year in Q1 2023 in Lithuania with over 65% of that revenue coming from online slots. 1,168 The number of illegal gambling websites shut down by the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) in Ukraine as of May 2023 after they were identified as sites that offer unlicensed gambling. 9 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
QUOTABLES Q U O T A B L E S “When recession strikes, fraud increases: People still have to pay the bills. At the same time, professional criminals prey on uncertainty, upheaval and chaos. A rise in fraud is coming in 2023 andwe all need to be ready for it.” —Simon Marchand, GeoComply VP of Product and Risk “While (online gambling) has beenaway for the government togenerate income, this shouldnot come at the cost of endangeringour people, let aloneminors,withactivities that bring about addictivebehavior aswell as an increaseof mental healthandfinancial problems, vices andcrime rates.” —Ricardo S. Cruz, Jr., Taguig-Pateros Representative, after filing a bill in April that seeks to outlaw online gambling in the Philippines “Withno intrinsic value, huge price volatility and no discernible social good, consumer trading of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, more closely resembles gambling than a financial service, and should be regulated as such.” —Harriett Baldwin, U.K. Treasury Select Committee Chair, in a report released in May saying consumer cryptocurrency trading should be regulated as gambling “Whilst we will move quickly to start implementing White Paper commitments, we will alsowant to ensure that as wide a variety of experiences and expertise inform the way that those commitments are turned into practical reality. History shows toomany examples of well-meaning policy changes having unintended consequences for the public due to the way theywere implemented in the real world. We will not want tomake that mistake.” —Tim Miller, U.K. Gambling Commission Executive Director for Research and Policy G P W A t i m e s . o r g 10
Where do you want future ICE and iGB Affiliate conferences to be held? GPWA MEMBER POLL Earlier this year, Clarion Gaming announced that it is considering moving the annual ICE and iGB Affiliate conferences from its longtime home in London to a new location. The shortlist of cities being considered, in addition to a return to London, are Barcelona, Madrid and Paris. Each city made a formal bid to host the event between 2025 and 2029 and an announcement is expected to be made later this year. Clarion Events’ Group Managing Director of Gaming, Alex Pratt, said that factors such as “capacity, facilities and the ability to accommodate future growth would be considered, as well as dateline availability, transport links and broader hospitality infrastructure, including accommodation costs.” We asked our GPWA members which city they would prefer to see ICE and iGB land in beginning in 2025, and the majority of respondents appear to have a soft spot in their hearts for London with 54% saying they would prefer to see the events stay put. Paris, on the other hand, saw no such love, with zero respondents choosing the City of Light. The complete results are listed below along with a sampling of some of our members’ comments. For more details regarding this poll and to view all of the feedback, visit gpwa.org/460. Comments from GPWA members Pokerface PUBLIC MEMBER London is perfectly fine and it would be difficult to find a venue with the same space elsewhere. In fact, ExCel London is expanding to a third phase, which I am sure could be utilized for a larger ICE/LAC when completed. wonderpunter PRIVATE MEMBER Madrid has way less traffic, better transport, less crime, better weather, cheaper and central, IFEMA Madrid is as big as ExCel and the nightlife is great for those that like to party. newcustomeroffer PUBLIC MEMBER I might be wrong, but I wonder if they’d get the same level of attendance if they moved it from London? It was as busy as I’ve ever seen this year, maybe a bounce back from the pandemic-affected years, but, even so, Clarion must have been delighted. G P W A t i m e s . o r g 12 0%Paris 13%Barcelona 33%Madrid 54%London
www.icelondon.uk.com SAVE THE DATE 6-8 February 2024 ExCeL London, UK
FROM THE FORUMS Is there any advantage in Excerpts are presented in the following pages. To view the thread in its entirety, visit gpwa.org/461. For more forum posts, industry news, and complete archives of our weekly GPWA newsletters and the GPWA Times Magazine, visit GPWA.org. I n the vast and dynamic landscape of affiliate marketing, an intriguing question came about on the GPWA Forum recently: Can you compete with yourself? This potential strategy was pondered by GPWA member “PaulEchere,” who questioned the potential benefits of having two websites in the same niche and geographical location. On the surface, the possibilities seem enticing, yet, lurking behind this approach are the watchful eyes of Google, ever ready to enforce its ever-evolving guidelines, which was pointed out in the below thread by fellow members who debated the potential risks and rewards of this tactic. *This thread was edited for clarity and length. G P W A t i m e s . o r g 16 own Website? with your Competing #1 PaulEchere 10 April 2023, 4:03 a.m. Private Member I had a thought the other day. Can one have two websites for the same niche in the same GEO and benefit from it? For example, Website A and Website B compete for the same KW in the same GEO, both are doing a fairly good job and both are on the first page of search results. Both websites belong to you, so that doubles your chances of somebody visiting your website. If one of the websites drops its rankings, the other one might still not be affected, etc. Obviously, I can imagine Google might have issues with that (if and when it becomes apparent), but then again, it has to be 100% obvious to justify actions being taken against it. “ Reply With Quote
17 G P W A t i m e s . o r g #2 Mattbar 10 April 2023, 4:26 a.m. Private Member If you are taking a diversified approach (e.g., one with link building, one organic), then it is a viable strategy. That way you can hold onto rankings as Google flip flops between links and niche authority. Ideally you would want to keep these as separate as possible, different hosts, different analytics accounts, different themes, different writers, etc. “ Reply With Quote #5 baldidiot 10 April 2023, 12:30 p.m. Private Member Depends on the size and competition of the niche. If your site is about cricket betting in Scandinavia, you probably don’t need to be doing a second. It can be a good way to try and smooth out any fluctuations in traffic (and, hopefully, sign ups) but only if you have different approaches. If you use the same theme/layout, cover the same topics and buy the same links then chances are they’ll move up and down together. Obviously, doing this also increases your exposure to a market. So, if you only have two sites and they’re both targeting the same niche in the same country and all of a sudden, it’s banned, then you’ve just lost all of your sign ups. Back in the day of easily ranking EMDs, this kind of thing was all the rage. Bang up a site to target EMD#1, then do another for EMD#2 and so on. Often, they’d overlap or even target the exact same term. “ Reply With Quote #6 apuestasonline 13 April 2023, 4:11 p.m. Private Member It depends on your user personas. You can write about similar stuff targeting the same keywords, but obviously, each site has different targets. If each target is well-defined and makes sense, you will be converting anyways. “ Reply With Quote #4 edgarf76 10 April 2023, 8:49 a.m. Private Member Yes, you can definitely compete with your own websites. Make sure they aren’t carbon copies of each other. “ Reply With Quote #3 dannyx 10 April 2023, 6:13 a.m. Public Member I think there is no problem with this type of strategy with certain rules. However, I think that if the goal is to stay afloat in the rankings with problems with Google this is a medium solution. I’ve thought about it a lot too, and I see better solutions. 1. A niche focused topic in which we don’t have to use practices that can hurt us in search results. In heavily niche topics, links are not so necessary and so we get rank. Alternatively, we can build links slowly avoiding problems. With a niche topic, a gigantic amount of content is also not required, so we can put more thought into it. Making a site in English for keywords such as “online casinos,” “slots,” “betting” and other popular KWs to appear, we need to produce a large amount of content, build strong links to appear in general (if it is possible for such strong keywords, this is an example). 2. Most importantly, independence of traffic sources from one search engine. There are other sources of traffic besides Google that will secure our business in case of, say, a drop in ranking and time to return. “ Reply With Quote
FROM THE FORUMS 18 GPWAtimes.org #7 junabukovinskii 19 May 2023, 12:02 p.m. New Member Good strategy, but Google doesn’t like sites from the same owner in the same niche and geo, and if it notices, it may glue the sites together and rank only one. So, you need to get a good handle on the anonymity in order to diversify projects and make them different from each other as much as possible. “ Reply With Quote #8 thehouseofcasino 22 May 2023, 6:26 p.m. New Member Competing with your own website can be a strategic decision that depends on your specific goals and circumstances. In some cases, there can be valid reasons to compete with your own website, while in other situations, it may not be necessary or beneficial. Here are a few scenarios where competing with your own website might make sense: Targeting Different Audiences: If you have multiple websites targeting distinct audiences or niche markets, it can be reasonable to compete with your own websites. This allows you to cater to different customer segments and capture to a broader market share. Diversifying SEO Strategies: By competing with your own website, you can employ different SEO strategies and tactics to target specific keywords, niches, or geographic locations. This can help increase your overall online visibility and attract a wider range of potential customers. Capturing Different SERP Positions: By having multiple websites targeting the same or similar keywords, you increase the chances of occupying multiple positions in the search engine results pages (SERPs). This can lead to higher visibility and potentially push competitors further down the results. However, it’s important to consider the potential drawbacks and challenges of competing with your own website: Cannibalization of Traffic: Competing with your own website can lead to the cannibalization of traffic, where different websites targeting similar keywords end up competing for the same audience. This can result in decreased overall traffic and potential confusion for users. Dilution of Resources: Managing and maintaining multiple websites requires additional time, effort, and resources. It may spread your focus thin and potentially impact the quality and performance of your websites. Good strategy, but Google doesn’t like sites from the same owner in the same niche and geo, and if it notices, it may glue the sites together and rank only one. So, you need to get a good handle on the anonymity in order to diversify projects and make them different from each other as much as possible.
19 GPWAtimes.org #13 lapa221Q 30 May 2023, 4:51 a.m. New Member Yes, there can be benefits to using multiple websites for one business or service. “ Reply With Quote #9 GeorgeRysak 23 May 2023, 3:11 p.m. New Member Of course. Google is the eternal fight with the windmill. It’s better to have multiple sites. I, for example, have search terms that top three of my sites. “ Reply With Quote #14 rpl80 2 June 2023,12:32 p.m. New Member Sure, but only if you target different audiences with the multiple websites. For example, one website targets a certain age group or gender, and the other one another age group and gender. Of course, these or just general examples, but I think you understand the point. “ Reply With Quote #10 onlinebetdotcom 24 May 2023, 7:17 a.m. Public Member If it is easy to rank for that and doesn’t take much effort and it pays off, of course, do it. “ Reply With Quote #11 wonderpunter 24 May 2023, 7:48 a.m. Private Member Most of the top 10 sites are all owned by the same groups, so it can work as long as you set them up as independent. “ Reply With Quote Branding and Reputation: Competing with your own website could create confusion among users if the branding, messaging, or offerings are too similar. It is crucial to ensure that each website has a clear value proposition and differentiation to avoid brand dilution. Ultimately, the decision to compete with your own website should be based on a careful assessment of your specific situation, market conditions, and strategic goals. It is important to weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks before pursuing such a strategy. “ Reply With Quote #12 dannyx 24 May 2023, 7:53 a.m. Public Member Originally Posted by wonderpunter “Most of the top 10 sites are all owned by the same groups, so it can work as long as you set them up as independent.” The word groups is key here. Alone, successive pages can destroy progress on the main page. Especially if they are not mini sites just comparable about the main one, because they are also supposed to rank high. It is known, a lot depends on the niche. But I tried more sites and hard. Even more language versions in the main slows down the progress on the main version. However; everyone has a different work ethic, time for it, and for everyone and every niche something may work differently, so it’s just subjective. “ Reply With Quote P W A t i m e s . o r g
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... for now rogress inevitably breeds enemies, and humankind is especially sensitive to the possibility of robots taking over their jobs. But no matter how difficult it is to accept, robots are far more efficient than their living counterparts, whether they are manufacturing cars, doing taxes, or performing complex surgeries. In one way, it’s a good thing — leave the repetitive, monotonous jobs with a small margin of error to robots and let us focus on all the imaginative work. But what happens when robots start getting a little creative, too? By Milan Novakovic Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming an essential tool for affiliate marketers, but there are still limitations as to how much it can help with producing consistent quality content. 21 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
With rapid developments in the AI industry, you can now use technologies like Jasper AI andMidjourney for art and writing tasks. The results are already astounding, and they keep getting better. The advancements of deep AI apply to a vast number of fields, and affiliate marketing is no exception. Of course, to be a successful affiliate, you need a website that ranks well, and this process is far from fully automated. Design and web development are still pretty much in human hands, as is SEO (albeit with the help of various advancing technologies, too). But when an SEO expert tells you which pages to create and what keywords to implement into your website’s content, how do you proceed? You might think along the lines, “Why would I employ a content writer when ChatGPT can do the same work instantly? I will save both money and time!” While that reasoning is completely logical from a business standpoint, it’s not that simple. AI writing tools can help, and they might be able to replace humans eventually, but that day is still a ways off. CanAI Generate Human-Like Content? To answer this question, you first must decide the type of content you want to produce because AI can certainly write some of it. AI can be coherent, grammatically correct, and generate written material on nearly any topic. Some AI models, such as GPT-3, have been trained on large amounts of human-generated text, enabling them to generate text that mimics human-like language patterns, style, and tone. These models can generate content such as news articles, product descriptions, and even creative writing, among other applications. If you read the previous paragraph without noticing anything wrong, that should convince you that AI can, in fact, write like a person. Namely, the passage was completely generated by ChatGPT when prompted with the question, “Can AI generate human-like content?” Then again, you wouldn’t just need definitions and a list of answers on your website. Sure, you might ask AI, “What are casino bonuses?” and get a generic yet coherent and correct answer. However, you should also remember that your goal is to stand out. With an increasing number of iGaming affiliate websites spewing out similar material, search engines have started rewarding written content with a little bit of flair. Stuffing your articles with the right keywords is not the only thing that matters anymore. Originality, emotion, and critical thinking are all essential to good (and valued) online content today, and this is where artificial intelligence falls short. Limitations of AIWriting Tools Before you use ChatGPT, you will see a couple of disclaimers pop up, one of them telling you that “...the system may occasionally generate incorrect or misleading information and produce offensive or biased content. It is not intended to give advice.” ADVANTAGE HUMANS ... FOR NOW No, and I don't have an account to use ChatGPT No, but I have an account with ChatGPT and have played with it. Yes, but only for research that helps me in creating content. Yes, to create draft content I edit before using. Yes, to create content I use with little or no subsequent editing. Something else Recently on the GPWA Forums, we asked our members if they have been using ChatGPT for content on their websites. It appears that most of our members are still "AI-curious" and have experimented with it, but have not totally utilized it for content. Time will tell if this changes in the near future. To view the complete details of this poll, visit gpwa.org/463 Do you use ChatGPT for content? 0% 38% 25% 21% 12% 4% G P W A t i m e s . o r g 22
This is something that all AI writing tools struggle with at the moment, and they’re pretty open about it. AI can only generate content based on what it finds on the internet, and we all have encountered incorrect, biased, or offensive information when browsing. What’s more, AI writing tools lack analytical skills and can’t dig very deep when trying to review a product. For example, if you prompt AI to tell you about the DraftKings Sportsbook, it will spew out something along the lines of how the operator features a wide range of sports markets, has a user-friendly interface, offers a variety of promotions, and boasts a well-designed mobile app. Now, that all might be technically and factually correct, but it is actually something that can be applied to the majority of top-level online sportsbooks. There is a vagueness and generic quality to it. AI won’t tell you if DraftKings is the best when it comes to props andmicro-betting options, and it sure won’t tell you how the book’s odds boosts compare to those at BetMGMor Caesars Sportsbook. It just doesn’t run that deep. But the true question is — should you? Search engines are constantly tweaking their ranking algorithms, and one of the major changes in the last several years came due to the overflow of websites with similar content. Originality and reader-friendliness are appreciated more than ever when creating online content, all with the goal of producing search engine results that give some value to the reader. This is why content marketing agencies still exist and will, in all likelihood, continue to be valuable in industries that require engaging and high-quality content. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t use AI writing tools at all. They can still help you build a base for your content. If you wish to bring your writing to a level that meets industry standards, you must do the legwork of researching, analyzing, editing, and being creative or simply employing a content writer to do all that for you. Google Doesn’t Like AI…or Does It? With all the talk about ChatGPT and other tools, AI has made a grave enemy in Google, or so it seemed. The company has stood unchallenged for more than a decade, firmly establishing itself as the go-to engine for finding anything on the internet. It is, in fact, how Google makes money: you submit a search query, and the engine shows you a SERP (Search Engine Results Page) with relevant results, along with a few paid search results and pay-per-click ads. You can see how AI is a game-changer here. If AI tools become the norm for search queries, fewer businesses will want to get advertised on Google. Since Google’s ad business accounts for 80% of the company’s revenue, there is cause for concern. Microsoft (ChatGPT’s largest stakeholder) has already implemented ChatGPT into its search engine, Bing, and has started gaining some ground over Google. While Google initially had no plans to have an AI chat tool of its own, it suddenly reversed its policy and introduced Bard, a proprietary AI system that is currently in the testing stages. The lesson here is that if AI made the almighty Google backtrack, you should seriously start considering how artificial intelligence can affect your business. AI might not be there yet when it comes to content writing and mimicking other complex human capabilities, but you should certainly keep an eye on it and pay attention to the limits it’s trying to push. Milan Novakovic is the CEO and founder of Hirequarters (hirequarters.com), a marketing agency established in 2017 and based in Serbia. The company specializes in writing content for the iGaming affiliate industry and caters to clients that are fully aware of the superiority a skilled writer armed with nuanced language and a creative spark still has over artificial intelligence. With rapiddevelopments in the AI industry, you cannowuse technologies like JasperAI and Midjourney for art andwriting tasks. The results are already astounding, and they keep gettingbetter. 23 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
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By Mike Litson Parasite Why These Unwanted Guests Are Becoming Affiliates’ Best Friends While many affiliates may be well aware of parasite SEO— loving it or loathing it —many don’t know where to start or how exactly it works. The fact is that it’s becoming ever more present, especially after the core update in March. SEO 25 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
What Is Parasite SEO? Parasite SEO is the practice of hosting an affiliate landing page on someone else’s website and ranking it. Typically, this is done legally through paying for the piece upfront or renting a keyword URL from a powerful domain. It is sometimes done by more black hat and less above-board methods, although this has become less common in recent years. Some common examples around in the SERPs (Search Engine Ranking Positions) at the moment are outlookindia.com, sfgate.com, timesunion.com, miamiherald.com or orlandomagazine.com, all of which I have worked with personally on this model. At first glance, these may look similar to a lot of the big publications that are posting affiliate pages, but they operate in a completely different way in that their internal teams have little to do with these pages beyond editorial. A quick look at the SERPs for “best online casinos” being a perfect highlight of the current state of affairs. And while some sites are prohibitively expensive to test the waters for most affiliates, Outlook India pieces can start from as little as $500! And considering placing optimized content on that site can pretty much guarantee Page 1 rankings of said article for at least a short time, these sites are becoming rapidly flooded by affiliates in the know. Is Parasite Here to Stay? Parasite has been around for a while and while there is some rotation in the sites that perform well — see the recent surge earlier this year to the top by outlookindia.com and orlandomagazine.com — it is unlikely to go away any time soon. Why Are Parasites Dominating? There are a couple of reasons for the domination of parasites at the moment, but the main element comes down to links. Under the current update, most affiliates simply can’t compete. If 100 affiliates are all pushing links toward their own pages on a single site, this overall authority boost only makes the parasite websites stronger. And while the majority of these links may be low quality, in many cases, they’re propped up by PBNs and RankerX, leading to a level of anchor diversity and link velocity that’s almost impossible for site-owning affiliates to match. To highlight the volume that you’re competing against, see the image below. Not many of us can build 7.7 million backlinks in six months. Added to which there’s the fact that when a page costs a few thousand and doesn’t have the same time investment that an affiliate has to put into a complete website, parasite affiliates are able to be a lot riskier and more aggressive with their tactics. For example, the risk of ranking losses or even sitewide penalties is distributed between dozens, or even hundreds, of parasites - so even if half of them get spanked by an update, you rarely run into danger of losing all search traffic over night by having your own domain hit. There’s also the fact that the larger parasite affiliates that have been operating for some time utilize a link-wheel method between multiple pages on the same topic. Thus, compounding the overall authority and making it very difficult to break into the SERPs without going after more niche terms, becoming over focused on a couple of pages (thus creating an unnatural profile and issues later) or engaging in parasites themselves. HowTo Get in on Parasite SEO? The smartest thing to do is to catch an upcoming site (I was personally lucky enough to catch Orlando Magazine on the upswing in the health sector, being too late for iGaming) and get in before it gets flooded. Many will only allow a keyword to be targeted once or place restrictions on the regularity of a certain type of content. And a lot will even engage in exclusivity deals, thus restricting access to new affiliates, for example renting whole PARASITE SEO G P W A t i m e s . o r g 26
subdomains or folders on third-party websites and not only treat them as single parasite articles, but also more like full websites owned on a rental agreement. Beyond catching a site on an upward swing, it’s a good idea to start with some of the cheaper ones that allow access to everyone with some lower-value terms. Due to the nature of CPAs in the iGaming industry, it doesn’t take much to get a return on the investment, and many of us have link budgets that would allow for the piece to be contained within that anyway. This will give you a good feel for where these sorts of pages will rank naturally without assistance. As mentioned, Outlookindia.com will pretty much immediately rank, but if you’re looking for a longer-term partnership, like one of the sites that rents terms out on a monthly basis, you’re going to have to plan to invest $10,000 or more per page over the course of the year for the rental and a few thousand in building quality links to the page. It’s really as simple as reaching out to the advertising reps for these websites and asking for their rate card. The risk of ranking losses or even sitewidepenalties is distributed between dozens, or even hundreds, of parasites. 27 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
Going International This is pretty much par for the course when it comes to affiliate advisements these days, but once again it’s as true as ever. If you’re trying to compete in English, it’s always going to be harder than if you’re willing to go to markets where less people speak the language and you have the resources available to you; there are plenty of parasite options available. You don’t always have to go it alone. For example, we recently partnered with Radoslav Georgiev of Gambling SEO Services to operate some parasites in Bulgaria, a relatively underserviced market, but one that has proven to be quite profitable. How to Spot anUpcoming Parasite Opportunity Being quick off the mark is the most important thing in parasite SEO, similar to how a good affiliate manager will tap into a rising website and offer to provide content, improve deals and do anything to get the top spot. You have to keep an eye on the SERPs. Anything that’s moved onto the second page for similar terms to your own is a good start, but you will still miss a lot of the best opportunities here. The below image shows Orlando Magazine’s rise, and where I caught it before all sectors were oversold and too many exclusive deals had been locked in. And while the traffic may look a lot smaller than some of the other parasites we’ve seen in this article, the fact is that around a third comes from affiliates targeting money-making best lists. Really, the best method is to watch a few different affiliate industries or have friends you can talk to about it. For example, a new parasite may have just opened up to iGaming, but perhaps the health affiliates haven’t got deals in place yet, or vice versa. This is the best way to manage it as it’s not possible for individual affiliates to keep track of it themselves. It’s becoming ever more important to have contacts with other affiliates and work together as smaller affiliates get pushed out by the larger more corporate groups. Parasite SEO is no exception. How Important is the Content for Parasite SEO? Generally speaking, you’ll still want to make sure the content is properly optimized, and Surfer SEO is my current recommendation for this. A lot of affiliates already use this to optimize their content and scanning of commonly used phrases in the top-ranking content will give you a great idea for structure outline, and what you should be talking about. Just make sure to use tools such as Surfer SEO for tips and suggestions and avoid just copying what your competitors do. Otherwise, your copy will read too similar compared to your competitors and give Google little reason to include it in the top SERPs since the information overlap is too big. It’s worth noting that a lot of parasite content isn’t great in terms of readability, but it always looks well optimized in Surfer. And while the user metrics may not be great on the lower quality AI content, currently it doesn’t seem to have too much of a negative impact on the parasite’s performance. Using Parasite SEO for Link Building All this may sound a little disheartening for the traditional webmaster, but there are some ways to break into the parasite space and maintain a website of your own. Using parasite SEO for link building, where the goal isn’t tomonetize the pages particularly heavily, but to break even and start building up the wheel, is a possibility. While some people get overly worried about no-follows or sponsored articles linking to them, the reality is that a certain number of links from these pages is natural. Incorporating a $2,000 page on the “best x casinos” and linking it back to a page of your own that ranks will not only boost your original rankings, but also, as most well-done parasite pages get rankings, should return its original investment over time, especially since getting links from third-party pages that themselves rank for your target terms is way more valuable than links from traffic-dead sources. The key here is to build some lower-tier links to the parasite, maximizing the value of both. This is a method I personally use for link building for clients and on my own sites allowing my budget to go significantly further. If the outlay is too high for some smaller affiliates, I generally suggest partnering up to split the costs. Many affiliates are happy to buy in for a smaller portion in exchange for a link on a piece that is likely to rank for their terms (thus increasing the link value). Overall, this is, by far, the best place to start with parasite SEO, as even if you don’t succeed as well as you’d hoped, you still get a quality link out of the deal. Mike Litson is CEO of Greyheart Media, an iGaming Digital Marketing Agency founded in 2013, the group also owns and operates several supplement companies and affiliate sites in other industries. You can contact him at mike@greyheart.co.uk PARASITE SEO G P W A t i m e s . o r g 28
DECEMBER 6-7, 2023 | JAVITS CENTER | NEW YORK, NY To sign up for information visit igblivenorthamerica.com SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE NORTH AMERICAN ONLINE GAMBLING MARKET Scan to learn more! Connecting tribal operators, suppliers, and af liates across the entire gaming ecosystem including slots, casinos, esports, sportsbooks & more!
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By Ron Mendelson here are more than 2,000 cryptocurrencies in existence, and the number of people using them to transact and gamble is increasing with each year. Therefore, crypto casinos have become more prevalent in recent years as they also offer a chance for those without bank accounts or those who don’t want to gamble using a centralized bank account or debit or credit card. Crypto casinos work in pretty much the same way as traditional online casinos, with themain difference being how deposits aremade. Over the last few years, crypto gambling has become more and more popular with many operators looking to set up crypto casinos and betting sites. So, what are the pros and cons for those in the sector? Pros for Players Players love to gamble with crypto because it provides security, privacy, and convenience and does not need to go through the regular channels. DECENTRALIZED: Gambling with crypto does not involve any third-party bank or financial institution. This means your activity remains private and not subject to scrutiny, and there is no risk of anyone seizing or analyzing your winnings. Transacting with crypto does not require any kind of personal data to be submitted, meaning no one, apart from the casinos, has any information on how much you bet or win, when, or where. SECURE: Crypto gambling is very secure as there is no private or sensitive information used or put online. You are protected The Crypto Payments Proliferation of Despite some one billion people now using it around the world, cryptocurrency is still in its infancy and there remains plenty of caution and confusion. RonMendelson from Fast Offshore breaks down the positives and negatives from an iGaming perspective. 31 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
from identity theft as you do not need your name or any other personal information to make a transaction. Furthermore, as the transactions take place on the blockchain, they are completely immutable and cannot be tampered with, edited, or deleted. This means there is a permanent record of it taking place for the player to refer to at any time. PRIVATE: When you gamble with crypto, there is no oversight from banks, fiscal authorities or other governmental or non-governmental institutions. It remains in your hands how to manage your winnings depending on the rules in your jurisdiction. FAST: Transfers from banks, cards, and payment processors can take several days, but with crypto it takes moments. Using crypto facilitates the swift, cross-border movement of funds with little hassle, meaning you can deposit and gamble in a matter of minutes. COST EFFICIENT: When you transact with fiat, you can often get slapped by high transaction fees that can be oneoffs, or a percentage of your transfer. When you transfer crypto, there are no middlemen so no fees for facilitating the payment. Of course, exchanges and some wallets charge commission, but this can still be much less than those applicable to fiat payments. Pros for Operators and Affiliates Many of the pros for players will also apply to crypto casino operators and affiliates. ACCESS TO NEW PLAYERS: There are many players who will not gamble with credit or debit cards and instead prefer to gamble with crypto. This gives you access to previously untapped markets and clients for you to nurture relationships with. LESS REGULATION: Crypto casinos are not subject to as much regulation as fiat, for example, in terms of crypto casino licensing, AML and due diligence, and general bank compliance. This lighter regulatory touch saves you time and money. INNOVATION: When you offer crypto gambling on your site, you benefit from forward-thinking and innovative practices. Players will respect that you are working with new technologies and will be enticed to sign up and gamble with you. IMMUTABLE: Crypto payments are immutable and cannot be deleted, amended or charged back. This alleviates you from the headache of dealing with banks and payment processors with strict rules on refunds, chargebacks or other issues. Furthermore, as the payments are registered on the blockchain they are traceable and immune to fraud. MORE EFFICIENT: Working with banks and payment providers that process fiat currencies can be hard work and time consuming. When you deal with crypto, you cut out the centralizedmiddleman and are not reliant on clearing, processing, approvals and other matters. You remain in control and enjoy quicker transactions with lower costs associated with them. The Cons of Crypto Gambling But, of course, there are a number of disadvantages when it comes to cryptocurrency gambling. These should be assessed before you decide to take the plunge and offer cryptocurrency as an option to players. REGULATORY UNCERTAINTY: Only a handful of countries have a proper regulatory framework in place relating to cryptocurrency. Some jurisdictions have banned it completely, while others have taken a hands-off approach. There does remain a bit of regulatory uncertainty, particularly about how certain governments will address crypto in the future. These extend to fiscal rules, compliance, anti-money laundering and even whether such activities will be allowed. There are also considerations such as if a license is needed to use crypto payments or to operate a crypto casino. VOLATILITY: Cryptocurrency remains volatile and can experience significant value swings in just a matter of moments. For those investing in it and using it, as well as operators that accept it, it can result in big losses with no warning. But the flipside is, it can also increase in value meaning you can end up with more money and value than you did when it was initially deposited THE PROLIFERATION OF CRYPTO PAYMENTS When you offer crypto gambling on your site, you benefit from looking forward-thinking and innovative. Players will respect that you are working with new technologies andwill be enticed to signup and gamble with you. G P W A t i m e s . o r g 32
Ron Mendelson is the Director of Fast Offshore, an International Business & Corporate Services consultancy firm with a multidisciplinary, cross-border approach. He has been guiding online gambling operators for almost 25 years with iGaming Licensing and Payments, Regulatory Compliance, Tax-Efficient Corporate Structuring as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain related services. With a portfolio of clients spanning continents and multiple sectors, Fast Offshore offers a professional, fast and reliable service that places a focus on transparency and cost-efficiency. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a startup or an established business, Fast Offshore can help you achieve your business goals, optimize and fine-tune your corporate structure. with you. As cryptocurrency becomes more established, it is likely the volatility issue will stabilize and we will see less in the way of wild price fluctuations. SLOWMAINSTREAMADOPTION: While the uptake of cryptocurrency is increasing day by day and some one billion people are estimated to use it around the world, there is still a long way to go. There is still plenty of caution around cryptocurrency and many are still hesitant to use it. But as crypto is more widely used in eCommerce, trading and investments and, of course, online gambling, updates will grow holistically and running a crypto casino will no longer be considered a risk. Likewise, some players may be hesitant to switch to crypto as they may fear they cannot use their coins elsewhere or that a currency might become obsolete. CRIME RISKS: Cryptocurrency brings with it a risk of financial crime such as money laundering, but so to does fiat. Due to crypto’s decentralized and anonymous nature, there are risks related to it being misused and not passing through the regular checks and balances. Many jurisdictions are working to implement due diligence and compliance processes to manage the risks and instill confidence in the sector. It is also the obligation of operators to conduct checks and elements of due diligence to make sure the platform is not being used for nefarious means. STILL IN ITS INFANCY: Cryptocurrency is still a new technology, and it will continue to develop with exciting innovations and even changes afoot. How we interact with crypto today may be different from how we do in one year or five years, and we should be prepared for that. The main point to remember, however, is that crypto is here to stay and is used by many people, therefore, crypto gambling is absolutely worth your consideration. If you are thinking of applying for an offshore betting license, we would advise you to consider incorporating cryptocurrency into your product. Fast Offshore has been working in iGaming and corporate services for over 25 years and crypto for over a decade. This puts us in a position where we can give you comprehensive advice on how to incorporate cryptocurrency into your online casino or betting site. We can assist with acquiring your gaming license, incorporating and setting up all the necessary corporate structures, and helping you provide cryptocurrency payments through your site. 33 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
iGamingDirectory.com Online gambling has enjoyed significant growth in recent years for a variety of reasons, and 2022 was no exception. Last year, the global online gambling market was valued at $63.53 billion, according to Grand View Research, compared to $57 billion in 2021, and that number is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 11.7% from 2023 to 2030. iGamingDirectory.com, the world’s most comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date guide to websites, contacts, owners, operators, software suppliers, payment processors, regulatory jurisdictions, affiliate programs and other industry businesses, provides a vast amount of data in an easy-to-use format and structure. One of the site’s most popular tools filters and creates custom rankings based on the weighted power mean of a variety of independent and multi-sourced traffic-based statistics, such as number of visitors, visits and page views, and total estimated time spent on a site by all visitors. For example, on the right we list 2022’s top 25 most popular iGaming casino sites, along with their change in ranking compared to 2021, reflecting the dynamic environment of online casinos. On the opposite page, we list the top iGaming casino sites for 2022 from Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, once again, with their change in ranking compared to 2021. Thanks, in part, to the support of our longtime partner bet365, we offer free access to iGamingDirectory.com to our private GPWA members and sponsors. As this issue went to press, the iGamingDirectory.com database featured: • 1,700 businesses that own online gaming sites • 4,200 casino, poker, sports betting, bingo and game sites with traffic rankings • 1,100 affiliate programs and affiliate networks • 14,000 web portals and their owners • 1,100 game and platform suppliers • 23,000 games • 200 regulatory jurisdictions • 2,100 annual reports of online gaming businesses • 950 payment methods • 17,000 gaming executives with their associated LinkedIn profiles For more details and free access, please visit: iGamingDirectory.com/GPWA. iGaming Casino Rankings Free access to iGamingDirectory.com for GPWA members 2022 Change from 2021 Website Owner 1 4 stake.com Medium Rare 2 1 verajohn.com Jackpotjoy 3 1 platincasino.com Red Rhino 4 12 bc.game Blockdance 5 9 rajbet.com Win Sector 6 1 888.com 888 Holdings 7 1 betfury.io Universe B Games 8 2 casino.bet365.com bet365 Group 9 1 leovegas.com LeoVegas 10 1 skyvegas.com Stars Group 11 4 jackpotcitycasino.com Bayton 12 69 livecasino.io mBet Solutions 13 1965 limitlesscasino.com 14 14 betfred.com/casino Betfred 15 4 casino.betsson.com betsson 16 13 europacasino.com UES Malta 17 1 videoslots.com Videoslots 18 13 vegas.williamhill.com William Hill 19 20 kto.com Bravalla 20 3 unibet.com/casino Kindred Group 21 3 jackpotjoy.com Jackpotjoy 22 33 brazino777.com alpha Games 23 1 casino.mrgreen.com MRG Group 24 5 vulkanvegas.com Invicta Networks 25 5 virgingames.com Gamesys Top Casino Sites G P W A t i m e s . o r g 34
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