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ISS
UE 6
2 A
PR
IL / M
AY 2
017
ISSUE 62 APRIL / MAY 2017
INFORMATION, INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS FOR THE BUSINESS OF INTERACTIVE GAMING
NORDIC POWER!HOW SCANDINAVIAN BUSINESSES ARE RESHAPING THE AFFILIATE SPACE
PLUS:
IGB AFFILIATE AWARDS SPECIAL
THE IMPORTANCE OF INFLUENCE
MILLENNIAL CONTENT STRATEGIES
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PLATINUM SPONSOR // 2017AMSTERDAM AFFILIATE CONFERENCE
A F F I L I AT E
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Join our renowned network and market the fastest-growing Binary options broker, globally.
Affi liate payouts per month
Premium marketing materials
ASIC regulatedAFSL No. 364264
Dedicated affi liate management team
Average trader conversion rate
Real-time data tracking
Your customers will love HighLow
Bonus on new accounts.Traders receive a $50 cash-
back that is fully withdraw-able (also available in £, €, ¥).
Industry-high payouts.Only HighLow offers option types with payouts of up to 200% on initial investment.
Incredible support.Our highly skilled support
team is dedicated to Trader satisfaction. No call centre.
Trade on the go.Anytime trading is a reality with powerful web, iOS and
Android platforms.
Think trusted, secure, regulated. Think HighLow. Find out more at affi liates.highlow.net
Contact us: affi [email protected]
PLATINUM SPONSOR // 2017AMSTERDAM AFFILIATE CONFERENCE
3iGB Affi liate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Tying in to our fi rst-ever event in the region with the Nordic Affi liate Conference, this issue of iGB Affi liate looks at the big affi liate networks and consolidators reshaping the affi liate sector in the Nordics and beyond. For Catena, RakeTech and XLMedia (see round table p34-36) the future is all about harnessing the synergies, data and technology that acquired scale brings, with the inevitable introduction of PPC in Sweden post the recommended market opening and re-regulation likely to impact affi liates that today generate valuable traffi c via SEO from that territory. But as Catena’s Erik Bergman emphasises, the proposed framework is all still some way from being agreed by the politicians, let alone implemented.
We also drill down into the wave of Nordic-led M&A sweeping the sector (p38-41) and provide some expert advice for affi liates considering an exit as dealfl ow, prices and multiples continue to rise (p42-43).
Look out for the blue NAC boxes at the end of articles for details of when and where you can catch several of our expert contributors speaking or presenting at the event on 6-7 April.
See you in Stockholm!
Stephen Carter, Editor
FREE SUBSCRIPTION email: [email protected]
Printed in the UK by: Pensord Press, www.pensord.co.uk
Published by: iGaming Business Ltd, Bedford House,
69-79 Fulham High Street, London SW6 3JW, UK
T: +44 (0)20 7265 4227 F: +44 (0)20 7265 4214
www.iGamingBusiness.com
© iGaming Business 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without
prior written permission, except for permitted fair dealing under
the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. Application for
permission for use of copyright material including permission to
reproduce extracts in other published works shall be made to the
publishers. Full acknowledgement of author, publisher and source
must be given. iGaming Business Affi liate Magazine is published
by iGaming Business Ltd, Bedford House, 69-79 Fulham High
Street, London SW6 3JW, UK. The views expressed by contributors
and correspondents are their own. Editorial opinions expressed in
this magazine are not necessarily those of the Publisher.
The Publisher does not accept responsibility for advertising
content. Cover image: istockphoto.com. ISSN 2041-6954.
Editor: Stephen [email protected] Head of content: Jake [email protected]: Alex [email protected] Designer: Scott MackieProduction manager: Craig [email protected] Sales director: James [email protected] Sales manager: James [email protected] manager: Jack [email protected] account manager: Luke Webb
CONTENTS
http://on.fb.me/1CGEIgk
@igbaffi liate
www.igbaffi liate.com
Events calendar 04
News 06
Moving to HTTPS (part 2) 09
Engagement and black hat SEO 19
What does your content say about you 25
iGB Affi liate Awards special 30
Round table: Catena, RakeTech, XLMedia 34
The rising wave of affi liate M&A 38
Q&A: Ben Robinson, RB Capital 42
Four content strategies to build loyalty with Millennials 45
The importance of infl uence 49
Why UX should be your top priority 51
Creating content for the Gen C 52
Meet the new ad men 54
Data centre, including European regulation, H2 Dashboards 60
AFFILIATE EVENTS CALENDAR
4 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Due to their popularity and wealth of information, analysis and discussion, conferences have become an integral part of the affiliate industry and a key communications bridge between affiliates and affiliate managers. Whether used for networking, education or just as an excuse to meet up with friends, the affiliate conferences listed below provide all the tools you need to improve your business.
AFFILIATE GRAND SLAM 2017
27TH - 28TH APRIL, 2017 HILTON TALLINN PARK, TALLINN, ESTONIA
affiliategrandslam.com
I-GAMING FORUM 2017
5TH– 6TH APRIL, 2017 VASA THEATRE, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
www.i-gamingforum.com
NORDIC AFFILIATE CONFERENCE
6TH - 7TH APRIL, 2017 GRAND HOTEL, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
www.nordicaffiliateconference.com
GIGSE
26TH - 28TH APRIL, 2017 MARRIOTT MARQUIS MARINA, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, USA
www.gigse.com
AFFILIATE MANAGEMENT DAYS 2017
15TH - 17TH MAY, 2017 MARRIOTT MARQUIS, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
www.affiliatemanagementdays.com
BETTING ON FOOTBALL 2017
3RD - 4TH MAY, 2017 STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON, UK
sbcevents.co.uk
www.bet-at-home-affiliates.com
GET YOUR DEAL!
MEET US AT THE AAC!AT THE AAC!
Become a part of it. July 12th and 13th at booth F1+ 2.
UP TO 50% REVSHARE?
CPA? HYBRID DEAL?
UP TO 50% REVSHARE?UP TO 50% REVSHARE?UP TO 50% REVSHARE?UP TO 50% REVSHARE?
HYBRID DEAL?
ins_pfeile_2017_210x297_en.indd 1 23.03.2017 13:25:48
WEBMASTER NEWS
6 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
CHERRY IGAMING, COMEON! UNVEIL BRANDING PLANS
THE CHERRY IGAMING arm of Cherry
AB, and ComeOn! have announced plans
to rebrand the Cherry business area as
‘ComeOn!’, as part of the integration
project between the two companies.
In December, Cherry AB exercised an
option to acquire the remaining 51% of
shares in ComeOn Malta, and in doing so,
took full ownership of the business.
From April 1, Cherry iGaming will
resume the brand ComeOn!, in a move
that the firm said will “re-emphasise its
operational independence”, as well as
align it with other business areas owned
by Cherry AB.
“We are building a business area,
merging Cherry iGaming and ComeOn!,
with a number of brands within it and
setting a new unified culture and actionable
values,” ComeOn! chief executive Jonas
Wåhlander said.
“We therefore wanted to take this
opportunity to have a really good think
about what name mirrors this the best.
“After spending some time we weren’t able
to point to any brand alternative being on
par or better than ComeOn!.”
Anders Holmgren, chief executive of
Cherry AB, added: “By clearly branding
this business area we are, just as with
XCaliber, Game Lounge and Yggdrasil,
being even more clear and specific about
how we build shareholder value, while
supporting and acknowledging the diverse
needs of each of our business areas.”
DRAFTKINGS CONTINUES EXPANSION WITH GERMANY LAUNCH
DAILY FANTASY SPORTS (DFS) operator
DraftKings has completed the latest stage
of its ongoing expansion strategy by
launching in Germany.
Earlier this year, the company
announced plans to enhance its presence
in the European market after acquiring a
Controlled Skill Games Licence from the
Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).
At the time, DraftKings cited Germany
as a potential expansion market, and has
now completed the move by opening up
a beta version of its DFS platform to all
consumers in the country.
German players will have access to all 10
sports currently offered by DraftKings in its
core US markets, including contests based
on the NFL American football league,
Major League Baseball and the NBA
basketball league, as well as seven leagues
of football.
Jeffrey Haas, chief international officer
at DraftKings, said: “Germany is known
for its passionate sports fans and we are
pleased to welcome them to daily fantasy
sports.
“Germans show a proclivity for
American sports, particularly the NFL and
NBA.
“Initial testing in Germany shows that
our most popular sport has been the NBA,
which is why we are opening our beta test
to all German sports fans.”
PLAYTECH ROLLS OUT £500,000 CASINO CASH GIVEAWAY
PLAYTECH HAS ANNOUNCED
the launch of a new £500,000
(€577,300/$622,900) casino network
promotion.
The cash giveaway, which will run across
the Playtech network for 28 days, coincides
with the launch of three new slot games
based on the Superman film franchise.
The new promotion features a top prize
of £200,000, with three others worth
£100,000 each.
In addition, headline prizes of £5,000
will be up for grabs, as well as hundreds of
smaller cash prizes, with players to receive
one ticket for every £10 cash bet placed on
selected titles.
Last year, Playtech also ran a £250,000
giveaway across its network to promote
its new DC-branded range of games, and
the latest promotion is the largest in the
company's history.
Shimon Akad, chief operating officer
at Playtech, said: “We have meticulously
planned the last nine months’ content
release schedule and strategically aligned
it with a series of fantastic marketing
promotions.
GERMAN STATES GIVE GREEN LIGHT TO REVISED GAMBLING TREATY
GERMANY’S 16 STATES have jointly
approved a new federal gambling treaty
that could lead to an expansion of the
country’s sports betting market.
Due to take effect from January 2018,
the State Treaty on Gambling would lift
the controversial cap on the number of
sports betting licences that are on offer to
operators wishing to offer services in the
country.
The new treaty also sets out plans for
stricter enforcement against unauthorised
operators, as well as the possibility of
legalising online casino gambling activities
in the future.
However, the approval comes despite
the heavy criticism from the European
Commission (EC), which earlier this
month said the treaty was “not a viable
solution” to issues highlighted in the failed
2012 treaty.
The treaty also still requires ratification
from each German state, and lawmakers in
Schleswig-Holstein, a long-time supporter
of online gambling, have said that the
treaty is unlikely to be approved.
The EC has now called on Germany to
accelerate the legalisation of other online
gaming formats in order to help provide
more protection for consumers in the
country.
However, the German Sports Betting
Association (DSWV) said the approval
was a “small step in the right direction”,
while member operator mybet said that
it “welcomes the efforts to regulate the
German market in total”.
In a statement, mybet added: “As a
member of the DSWV the company
supports the offer by the association to start
a dialogue with politicians to develop a
mutually satisfactory sustainable solution.”
WEBMASTER NEWS
7iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
BETSSON ENTERS SPAIN WITH PREMIER CASINO ACQUISITION
Betsson is to expand its service offering into the Spanish gaming market with the acquisition of locally-licensed operator Premier Casino.
The purchase price amounts to #3 million ($3.2 million) in cash, with Betsson hoping to close the deal before the end of the month.
Premier Casino primarily operates as a pure-play casino, although it does hold general licences for sports betting and other online games, and has more than 260,000 registered customers.
Betsson said the deal would have no material impact on its short-term financials, but did state that it would enable long-term profitable growth in Spain.
The firm added that it could also launch more brands under the Premier Casino licences as part of its wider, multi-brand strategy.
Ulrik Bengtsson, chief executive and president of Betsson, said: “Spain is one of Europe’s largest gaming markets and especially casino is growing fast.
“This acquisition is in line with Betsson’s ambition to increase the share of locally regulated revenue.”
PADDY POWER SEEKS APPOINTMENT TO LEAD TRUMP BETTING
Paddy Power has created a new role to head up the bookmaker’s betting options on US President Donald Trump.
The successful candidate for the ‘head of Trump betting position will manage the company’s ‘Trump Hub’ of special bets.
Paddy Power currently offers more than 100 markets on the US President and the three-month role will include devising new special bets on Trump, who took office earlier this year.
Paddy Power lost almost £5 million (#5.8 million/$6.2 million) by paying out early on Hillary Clinton winning last year’s Presidential election.
However, despite the loss, the bookmaker has pushed ahead with further betting options on Trump, and the special ‘Trump Hub’ launched last month.
Current wagering options include enhanced odds for Trump to be impeached and for Mexico to directly fund the planned wall on its border with the US.
UK GOVERNMENT TO CONSULT ON EUROMILLIONS BETTING LOOPHOLE
THE UK GOVERNMENT has announced
that it is to consult with stakeholders over
a loophole that allows gambling websites
to offer cut-price betting options on the
EuroMillions.
The current set-up allows punters to
place bets on the outcome of the draw, even
though the UK’s Gambling Act prohibits
betting on National Lottery games at a
cheaper price than buying a ticket.
Websites are able to bypass the law by
offering UK-based punters the option to
bet on the outcome of the draw in other
European Union countries where the
EuroMillions is played. The draw result is
the same for the UK as all countries that
partake.
However, critics have argued that the £2
cost of placing a bet, lower than the ticket
price of £2.50 a line, takes money away
from Good Causes, and the government
will now take action to close the loophole.
Lotteries Minister Tracey Crouch said:
“We want to act to ensure that money
going to Good Causes is protected and
that there is no confusion around the
EuroMillions draw, providing the same
levels of clarity as there is with the
National Lottery.”
In response to the news, Nigel Birrell,
chief executive of Lottoland, one of the
websites that offers the betting service
to punters, said that his company would
“welcome the opportunity” to be involved
with the consultation over the new laws.
However, Birrell also said that the time
has come for a “general discussion about
the justification of the monopoly”, and
added that monopolies ”hinder innovation
and progress”, and this in turn impacts the
consumer.
He also warned that lottery operators
must work to update their products and
services in order that lottery games remain
relevant across the market.
Birrell told iGaming Business: “The
EuroMillions price increase was the final
straw for the consumer; the retail decline,
lack of innovation and a greedy monopoly
is causing the haemorrhaging here.
Moreover, people want to win big jackpots
not small raffle prizes."
In response, Camelot’s head of policy
and regulatory affairs, Daniel Dyball, told
iGaming Business in a statement that:
“Our overarching objective is to raise as
much money as possible for Good Causes,
and we've long argued that bet-on-lottery
firms are circumventing the legislation
and causing player confusion by offering
bets on EuroMillions – with Good Causes
missing out.”
AUSTRALIA CONSIDERS POINT-OF-CONSUMPTION ONLINE BETTING TAX
AUSTRALIA’S FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has revealed plans for a
point-of-consumption tax (POC) on online
gambling.
On 24 March, Federal Treasurer Scott
Morrison spoke with officials from states
and territories across the country about the
matter ahead of the 2017 budget.
Speaking to the Australian media,
Morrison said an agreement had been
reached to “move forward to prepare
a proposal for a nationally consistent
approach to point of consumption tax on
online gaming”.
However, Morrison said that such a
move would not be “about raising revenue
for revenue’s sake”, but instead minimising
gambling-related harm for consumers and
national sporting bodies.
Morrison did not set a date for when the
new laws might come into effect, and he
added that the country’s state and territory
governments need to examine the matter
further.
The proposed changes come shortly after
the Australian Senate gave its approval to
various amendments to national online
gambling laws that are set to outlaw
internet poker and in-play sports betting.
Earler in March, the Senate gave the
green light to changes set out in the
Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill
2016, including legislation that bans all
online gaming activities not specifically
authorised within the new national codes.
Online poker will be one of the areas
impacted, while although sports betting
will remain authorised, the amended law
reiterates a nationwide ban on any form of
in-play wagering.
Fancy being part of the industry’spremier a�liate network?
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NEWBRAND
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Presser_Activewins_iGB_Mar2017_v2.pdf 1 27/03/2017 17:02
TRAFFIC
9iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Fili Wiese from SearchBrothers.com continues with his granular guide for webmasters looking to make the transition from HTTP to HTTPS as smooth and painless as possible
THE FIRST PART IN the previous edition
of this magazine went into how to prepare
for moving to HTTPS. This next part
explains how to accomplish the actual move.
Copying and updating contentDuplicate the content of the HTTP version
to the location of the HTTPS version,
including XML sitemaps and all other files.
Often this just involves copying the content
of one directory to another directory on the
same server.
Once this has been done, the HTTPS
version needs to be updated. The following
suggested changes only apply to the
HTTPS version and not the still live HTTP
version, unless specified otherwise.
Canonicals
Update all the canonicals to absolute
HTTPS URLs on the HTTPS version. So
<link href=”http://www.example.com/deep/url” rel=”canonical” /> becomes <link href=”https://www.example.com/deep/url” rel=”canonical” />. Avoid using relative
URLs in canonicals1. If no canonicals
are currently present on the site, first
implement canonicals before proceeding.
Be sure to update the canonicals on the
mobile version of the website to the
HTTPS version.
Pagination
If pagination2 is used on the website,
update these to absolute HTTPS URLs
on the HTTPS version. So <link href=”http://www.example.com/deep/url?page=3” rel=”next” />
becomes <link href=”https://www.example.com/deep/url?page=3” rel=”next” />.
Alternate annotations
There are several alternate annotations that
can be implemented on a website, and they
all need to be updated.
●● Hreflang
If the website uses herflang3 annotations
in either the XML sitemaps and/or the
website, these need to be updated to the
absolute HTTPS URLs on the HTTPS
version. So <link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default” href=”http://www.example.com/” />becomes <link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default” href=”https://www.example.com/” />.●● Mobile
If there is a separate mobile website, it is
likely that mobile alternate annotations4
may be present on the website. So
<link rel=”alternate” media=”only screen and (max-width: 640px)” href=”http://m.example.com/page-1”>
becomes <link rel=”alternate” media=”only screen and (max-width: 640px)” href=”https://m.example.com/page-1”>.●● Feeds
Alternate annotations to Atom or RSS
or JSON feeds also need updating on the
website. So
<link href=”http://www.example.com/feed/rss/” rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” />becomes
<link href=”https://www.example.com/feed/rss/” rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” />. And <link href=”http://www.example.com/json.as” rel=”alternate” type=”application/activitystream+json” />
becomes <link href=”https://www.example.com/json.as” rel=”alternate” type=”application/activitystream+json” />.
Internal links
If the website uses only relative internal
links, including in Javascript and CSS files,
you can skip this step.
Internal links are important for the user
and search engines, and most websites
also depend heavily on assets, such as
Javascript, CSS, web fonts, video and image
files, including a favicon. All these internal
links and internal references can be found
throughout the HTML source and may also
contain internal links inside the assets, e.g.
image file references in CSS files or internal
URLs in Javascript files.
The following types of internal links
need to be updated:
• Links to other internal URLs inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal image files inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal video files inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal web fonts inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal Javascript files inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to other internal URLs inside the
Javascript files;
• Links to internal image files inside the
Javascript files;
• Links to internal CSS files inside the
Javascript files; links to internal CSS files
inside the HTML source code;
• Links to internal CSS files inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal image files inside the
CSS files;
• Links to internal web fonts inside the CSS
files;
• And any other internal link.
To do this update, there are a few
options.
●● Option 1
Switch to using only relative URLs, for
example,
<a href=”http://www.example.com/”>home</a> becomes <a href=”/”>home</a>.
This option may conflict with internal
links to assets, especially when defined in
CSS and/or Javascript files. Also, it may
be useful to define a base tag5 URL in the
top of the HEAD of the HTML source
code with this option: <base href=”https://www.example.com” />.●● Option 2
Change the protocol on absolute internal
URLs from HTTP to HTTPS, for example,
<a href=”http://www.example.com/”>home</a>
becomes <a href=”https://www.example.com/”>home</a>.
●● Option 3
Remove the protocol on absolute internal
URLs, for example,
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR MOVING TO HTTPS (PART 2)
1 https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1390662 https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1663744
3 https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1890774 https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/separate-urls
5 https://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_base.asp
TRAFFIC
10 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
<a href=”http://www.example.com/”>home</a> becomes <a href=”//www.example.com/”>home</a>.
This option makes links dependent
on the protocol of the URL visited. For
search engines and end users, it does not
really matter which of the three options
mentioned is used as search engine bots
and browsers tend to be smart enough
to figure out the final absolute URL.
However, using option 2 is playing it safest.
●● WordPress
Websites running on the popular
WordPress platform may find the Better
Search Replace6 WordPress plugin or the
search and replace the database script7
useful to quickly update any internal links
within the database. Don’t forget to update
theme files and general settings as well.
●● Internal redirects
If any of the internal links point to an
internal redirect to another internal URL,
it is recommended to reduce the redirect
chain, and instead improve the internal
linking structure by linking it directly to the
canonicals of the HTTPS end destination.
In addition, the internal linking structure
needs to be updated to point to the right
URLs to avoid any redirect chains (see
Figure 1). For example, avoid a situation
where a HTTPS URL (a) links to a HTTP
URL (b), which then redirects back to
another HTTPS URL (c), or worse, back to
the original HTTPS URL (a).
Figure 1: Example of all redirects as found by DeepCrawl
●● Updating CDN settings
Often links to assets are used to render a
URL, such as Javascript, image and CSS
files, which can be loaded from a content
distribution network (CDN) that may or
may not be under the control of the owner
of the website. Any link references to the
assets loaded from the CDN need to be
loaded from HTTPS. Also, in this case, it
is possible to remove the protocol from the
absolute URL, for example,
<script src=”https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.0/jquery.min.js”></script> becomes
<script src=”//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.0/jquery.min.js”></script>.
This means that the CDN needs to be
enabled to serve the assets over HTTPS. If
the CDN is mapped to a subdomain of the
website, and most likely, is under control
of the owner of the website, then the same
SSL certificates may need to be uploaded
to the CDN and used for every request,
depending on the type of SSL certificate.
If the original asset source file is
accessible on the HTTPS version, and
most often linked to the CDN version on
HTTPS, it is important to canonicalize the
CDN version on HTTPS back to the asset
source file on the HTTPS version using
HTTP headers. For example, the asset on
the CDN linked from the HTTPS version:
<img src=”//cdn.example.com/image1.png” /> needs to return a link reference with
a canonical to the asset source file on
the HTTPS version in the HTTP header
response, so
<https://www.example.com/image1.png/>; rel=”canonical”.
This will communicate to search engines
that the asset source file on the HTTPS
version is the original version and avoid
potential duplication issues.
When updating the CDN settings, to
avoid any weird potential conflicts on the
website, be sure to remove the cached data
at the CDN.
XML sitemapsAssuming there are XML sitemaps
present before the move (if not, be sure
to create/export one based on the initial
crawl), this one has to be accessible on the
HTTPs version. Leaving the original XML
sitemaps live on the HTTP version makes
it possible to track the indexation status on
Google Search Console (under Sitemaps),
which is useful as the old URLs get crawled
and re-indexed on the HTTPS version (see
Figure 2).
Figure 2: Example of number of URLs indexed by Google
Make sure no redirects or non-existing or
non-indexable URLs are listed in the XML
sitemaps on the HTTP version, just the
canonicals of indexable pages. Otherwise,
the submission versus indexed numbers
become unreliable.
●● Updating XML sitemaps
Next, copy the XML sitemaps of the
HTTP version and save as new files. In the
new XML sitemaps, change the protocol of
each URL mentioned within the block. For
example:
<url><loc>http://www.example.com/</loc>xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default” href=”http://www.example.com/” /><xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”http://www.example.com/es/” /><xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”fr” href=”http://www.example.com/fr/” /><xhtml:link rel=”alternate” media=”only screen and (max-width: 640px)” href=”http://m.example.com/” /><image:image><image:loc>http://www.example.com/image.jpg</image:loc></image:image><video:video><video:content_loc>http://www.example.com/video123.flv</video:content_loc></video:video></url>Becomes
<url>
6 https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/better-search-replace/7 https://interconnectit.com/products/search-and-replace-for-wordpress-databases/
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<loc>https://www.example.com/</loc><xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default” href=”https://www.example.com/” /><xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”https://www.example.com/es/” /><xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”fr” href=”https://www.example.com/fr/” /><xhtml:link rel=”alternate” media=”only screen and (max-width: 640px)” href=”https://m.example.com/” /><image:image><image:loc>https://www.example.com/image.jpg</image:loc></image:image><video:video><video:content_loc>https://www.example.com/video123.flv</video:content_loc></video:video></url>
This example assumes all content is
moved to the HTTPS version. If this is not
the case, only update the relevant URLs.
If possible, create XML sitemaps for
every subdomain or subsection of the
website on both the HTTP and the HTTPS
versions, and update the HTTPS versions
accordingly. If the website is large, consider
using XML sitemaps index files to group
the different XML sitemaps for each
subdomain or subsection. This will help at
a later stage to track indexation numbers of
both the HTTP and the HTTPS versions.
Resource HintsIf the website is using Resource Hints8,
such as dns-prefetch, preload, preconnect,
prerender, prefetch, etc, then these also
need to be updated. For example,
<link rel=”preconnect” href=”http://cdn.example.com” pr=”0.42”> becomes
<link rel=”preconnect” href=”https://cdn.example.com” pr=”0.42”> or
<link rel=”preconnect” href=”//cdn.example.com” pr=”0.42”>.
Double-check for resource hints in the
HTTP headers, the HEAD of the HTML,
and in the Javascript code.
CSS and JavascriptMost websites depend heavily on assets,
such as CSS for styling and Javascript for
interaction. What most SEOs tend to forget
when moving content is that often these
assets may import or load other assets, such
as images and other CSS or Javascript files
on the same or other servers. So
@import ‘http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans’;becomes @import ‘https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans’;.
Search all CSS and Javascript files for
the “http://” pattern and test if this can be
replaced with “https://” instead. If an asset
is loaded using “//” at the beginning of the
URL pattern, the asset is available on both
HTTP and HTTPS and the browser will
automatically request the version of the
website loaded=.
Not all assets are, by default, available on
HTTPS, especially those from third party
sources. Check with third parties if they
have an alternative URL on HTTPS and/
or consider copying the asset onto the same
server as the website, and import/load it
from there into the codebase and/or find
an alternative third party source or asset to
import/load.
HTTP headersHTTP headers can be extremely powerful
to communicate SEO signals to search
engines9 while keeping the overhead
in code base minimal. Often, the link
annotations are stored in the PHP code10,
or in the .htaccess files of Apache servers,
etc. For example, for .htaccess, the
following can be applied:
<Files testPDF.pdf > Header add Link ‘http://www.example.com/ >; rel=”canonical”’</Files>
Always make sure to check the HTTP
headers of the website for any links, and
when found, update them accordingly, for
example:
Link: <http://www.example.com/es/>; rel=”alternate”; hreflang=”es”Link: <http://www.example.com/>; rel=”canonical”Link: <http://example.com>; rel=dns-prefetchbecomes
Link: <https://www.example.com/es/>; rel=”alternate”; hreflang=”es” Link: <https://www.example.com/>; rel=”canonical”Link: <https://example.com>; rel=dns-prefetchor
Link: <//www.example.com/es/>; rel=”alternate”; hreflang=”es”.Link: <//www.example.com/>; rel=”canonical”Link: <//example.com>; rel=dns-prefetch
Structured dataSearch engines want data to be structured11
and SEOs are often happy to provide this,
hopeful that the search engines will better
understand the content and increase the
visibility of the website in organic search.
Schema.org is the default and primary
structured data repository at the moment
time of writing. Luckily, the content of
Schema.org is supported on both HTTP and
HTTPS, so this can be used in the code base.
Update any absolute URL references in
the structured data used on the website,
and all Schema.org references, to HTTPS.
For example:
{“@context”: “http://schema.org”,“@type”: “WebSite”,“name”: “Your WebSite Name”,“alternateName”: “An alternative name for your WebSite”,“url”: “http://www.your-site.com”}Becomes
{“@context”: “https://schema.org”,“@type”: “WebSite”,“name”: “Your WebSite Name”,“alternateName”: “An alternative name for your WebSite”,“url”: “https://www.example.com”}
It is possible to utilise “//” for the URL
in this example, but not for the context
reference. For example, this works too:
{“@context”: “https://schema.org”,“@type”: “WebSite”,“name”: “Your WebSite Name”,“alternateName”: “An alternative name for your WebSite”,“url”: “//www.example.com”
}However, this is not valid according to
the Google Structured Data Testing Tool12:
{“@context”: “//schema.org”, “@type”: “WebSite”, “name”: “Your WebSite Name”, “alternateName”: “An alternative name for your WebSite”, “url”: “//www.example.com”}
Check for JSON-LD, Microdata, RDF
or other possible structured data references
in the code base, and when found, update
the protocol of every URL referenced in
the structured data to HTTPS.
RSS/Atom feedsAnother item that is often overlooked are
the RSS and/or Atom feeds of a website.
Although RSS/Atom usage has faded since
the shutdown of Google Reader, these are
8 https://www.w3.org/TR/resource-hints/9 Footnot link09 https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2011/06/supporting-relcanonical-http-headers.html
10 http://php.net/manual/en/function.header.php11 https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/intro-structured-data
12 https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool
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still used a lot by feed reader alternatives
and other programs that utilise syndication.
Check if the website has any feeds, and
when found, verify on the HTTPS version
if the HREF annotations (the link to the
article) to the content and the in-content-
link references (a link in an article) are
updated to HTTPS. If not, depending on
which platform the feeds are generated,
it may be necessary to talk to the web
developers or the IT team and update all
links to absolute HTTPS URLs (don’t
use just “//” as it is unknown where the
content may be syndicated to, and if this
runs on HTTP or HTTPS).
Accelerated Mobile Pages
If the website is AMP-enabled, the link
references to AMP URLs in the source
code need to be updated to the absolute
HTTPS version. For example, <link rel=”amphtml” href=”http://www.example.com/amp/”> becomes <link rel=”amphtml” href=”https://www.example.com/amp/”>.
In addition, any internal links, link
references, canonicals, asset links, etc. in
the source code of the AMP pages need to
be updated to the relevant HTTPS version.
For more information about AMP, visit
the AMP Project13.
Cookies
It is also important that no cookies are sent
unsecure. Allowing this could expose the
data in a cookie, e.g. authentication data, in
plain text to the rest of the world. Double
check the server settings so that cookies
are secure. For example, with PHP check
the php.ini file for the following: session.
cookie_secure = True. With ASP.NET set the following in the
web.config file: <httpCookies requireSSL=”true” />. Verify the setting by accessing a
page that sets a new cookie and check
the HTTP headers for the following:
Set-Cookie: mycookie=abc; path=/secure/; Expires=12/12/2018; secure; httpOnly;.
Moving to HTTPSNow that the content is prepared and
updated for the HTTPS version, it is time
to move the website.
Crawl HTTPS version
Before completing the switch from the
HTTP to the HTTPS version and going
live with the HTTPS version to the outside
world, Googlebot included, a safety check
needs to be performed (see Figure 3).
Crawl the entire HTTPS version, and
while crawling, check for the following:
• Any CSS, images, Javascript, fonts,
Flash, video, audio, iframes being loaded
insecurely through HTTP instead of
HTTPS;
• Any redirects to the HTTP version;
• Any internal links, canonicals, hreflang,
and/or structured data, etc. pointing to
the HTTP version;
• Any 40x or 50x errors in the server log
files for the HTTPS version.
Figure 3: Example of a security audit in Google Chrome Developer Tools, highlighting mixed insecure content
When no errors occur, continue to the
next step. It’s important to: limit the crawl
to the HTTPS version, do not crawl the
HTTP version.
Updating the XML sitemap (again)
Extract all the URLs from the crawl of
the HTTPS version and compare this list
with the URLs mentioned in the XML
sitemaps. Find out which URLs are live
and indexable on the HTTPS version and
do not have an entry in the XML sitemaps.
Update the XML sitemaps with the missing
indexable URLs found in the HTTPS crawl
of the HTTPS version.
Redirects
Now that all content has been moved and
updated, new redirection rules need to be
implemented to redirect all HTTP traffic
to the relevant HTTPS versions. A simple
catch-all Apache solution can be used in
the .htaccess of the HTTP version:
RewriteEngine OnRewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
This redirects any deep pattern on the
HTTP version to the HTTPS version.
However, this makes the robots.txt and
XML sitemaps on the HTTP version
inaccessible as this catch-all redirection
rule redirects any request for these files to
the HTTPS version. To prevent this from
happening, an exemption rule needs to be
added. For example, in the .htaccess for
Apache on the HTTP version, this may
look like:
RewriteEngine OnRewriteRule (robots.txt|sitemap.xml)$ - [L]RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
This will redirect every request on the
HTTP version to the HTTPS version,
except requests for the robots.txt and
sitemap.xml files.
Move through canonicals
When moving content through canonicals,
wait to implement the redirection rules
until enough of the critical content is
indexed and served from the HTTPS
version. Once Googlebot has seen most
or all of the content on HTTPS, the
redirection rules can be pushed live to force
Googlebot and the users to the HTTPS
version.
Reduce redirect chains
When implementing the new redirection
rules, double check the old redirection rules
and update these to point directly to the new
HTTPS end destination. Avoid a redirect
chain like: HTTP A redirects to HTTP B,
which in turn redirects to HTTPS C.
Also keep in mind that some systems
may add or remove trailing slashes by
13 https://www.ampproject.org/
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redirecting them to the other variation on
the same protocol, resulting in additional
redirects. For example:
http://www.examples.com/dir redirects to http://www.examples.com/dir/, which redirects to
https://www.examples.com/dir, which redirects
to the final destination https://www.examples.com/dir/.More efficient will be to redirect any of the
following URLs:
http://www.examples.com/dirhttp://www.examples.com/dir/https://www.examples.com/dirDirectly to:
https://www.examples.com/dir/When creating the new redirection rules,
check if it is beneficial to make the trailing
slash optional in the regular expression for
the redirection rule. For example:
RewriteEngine OnRewriteRule ^(dir[\/]?)$ https://www.example.com/dir/ [R=301,L]
Naked domain vs. WWW
While writing the new redirection rules,
choose a primary hostname and set up
redirection rules for the non-primary to the
primary version on HTTPS. For example,
when the WWW hostname is the primary
HTTPS version, let’s also redirect all naked
domain URLs on the HTTPS version to the
primary WWW on HTTPS version:
RewriteEngine OnRewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example.com [NC]RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
Once all new redirection rules to the
HTTPS version are live, continue to the
next step.
Crawl HTTP version (again)
This time, find the earlier extracted URLs
from the server log files, the XML sitemaps,
and the crawl of the HTTP version. The
names of the files may be:
• logs_extracted_urls.csv
• sitemap_extracted_urls.csv
• crawl_extracted_urls.csv
Use a crawler such as Screaming Frog
SEO Spider to crawl every URL and verify
that all the redirections work as intended,
and that every URL on the HTTP version
redirects to the correct HTTPS version.
When all is working as intended, continue
to the next step.
Replace robots.txt
At this stage, the robots.txt on the HTTPS
version needs to be updated.
Copy the robots.txt file from the HTTP
version to the HTTPS version and update
the sitemap reference to the new sitemap
file. For example:
User-Agent: *Disallow:Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
Configuring Google Search Console
Now that the content has been moved to
the HTTPS version, the redirections on
the HTTP version are in place and the
XML sitemaps and robots.txt have been
updated, it is time to go to Google Search
ConsoleGoogle Search Console and let
Google know about the update.
Adding sites variations
A minimum of four variations of the
domain name need to be present in Google
Search Console. These are as follows:
http://example.comhttp://www.example.comhttps://example.comhttps://www.example.com
Verify and add the ones that are
currently not currently present in Google
Search Console.
When If the website has any
subdomains in use, or any subdirectories
separately added to Google Search
Console, then these also need to be added
for both the HTTP and HTTPS versions.
For example:
http://m.example.comhttps://m.example.com●● Create set
Since May 2016, Google Search Console
has been supporting grouping data14 of
one or more properties as a set. This is
extremely useful for the move to HTTPS.
So add a set with every relevant HTTP
and HTTPS property in the Google Search
Console. For example, add the following
properties to one set:
http://example.com/https://example.com/http://www.example.com/https://www.example.com/
When using subdomains and/or
subdirectories for specific geographic
targeting, add additional sets for each
geographic target with every relevant
HTTP and HTTPS version. For example,
add the following to sets:
Set 1:
http://www.example.com/nl/https://www.example.com/nl/Set 2:
http://de.example.com/https://de.example.com/
Test Fetch and Render
To make sure everything works as intended15
for Googlebot, use the Fetch and Render
toolFetch and Render tool in Google Search
Console to fetch and render see Figure 4).
• Go to the homepage of the HTTP
version and verify it redirects properly. If
everything checks out, click the “Submit to
Index” button;
• Once in the homepage of the HTTPS
version, verify that it renders correctly. If
everything checks out, click the “Submit
to Index” button and select the “Crawl
this URL and its direct links” option when
prompted (see Figure 4).
Note: The submission to the index will
also notify Googlebot of the HTTPS version
and it requests Googlebot to starts crawling it.
14 https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/05/tie-your-sites-together-with-property.html15 https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6066468
Figure 4: Example of the Fetch and Render tool in Google Search Console
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Verify manual actions
Before anything else, double check there
are no manual actions holding back the
migration of the website by going to the
Manual Actions Overview in Google
Search Console for the old primary HTTP
version (see Figure 5).
If there are any manual actions
present, hire some trusted Google Penalty
Consultants to help address these Google
penalties as soon as possible. While this
process is started, continue to the next step.
Preferred domain settings
To make sure the preferred domain is
set16 correctly, go to the primary HTTPS
property in Google Search Console and
click on the gear icon (upper right) and
click on Site Settings. Verify that the
preferred domain is set to the primary
version, for example, see Figure 6.
If not set, update the setting with the
primary version.
Crawl rate
Most SEOs do not change this setting in
Google Search Console, but if anyone with
access has changed the crawl rate Crawl
Rate in Google Search Console in the past
for the HTTP property, then this may also
need to be updated in the HTTPS property.
Check in the old primary HTTP
property in Google Search Console, by
clicking on the gear icon (upper right) and
click on Site Settings. If this does not say
“Let Google optimize for my site”, then
remember the current setting and go to the
primary HTTPS property in Google Search
Console, click again on the gear icon and
Site Settings, and change the crawl rate to
the equivalent on the HTTPs property (see
Figure 7).
When unsure if anything needs to be
changed, check with the IT team of the
organization. Keep in mind, ideally, from
an SEO perspective, this setting is not to be
changed unless absolutely necessary.
Geotargeting
If the website is not a common country
top level domain, chances are that the
international targeting in Google Search
Console has to be/was set manually.
Verify the old primary HTTP property in
Google Search Console if any international
targeting is present for the primary HTTP
property and changeable with a pull down,
and if so, go to the primary HTTPS version
and change the international targeting to
the same region (see Figure 8).
URL parameters
Go to the URL parameters tool in the
old primary HTTP property and check if
any URL parameters are crawled. If so,
download the table of URL parameters and
its settings (see Figure 9).
Now go to the URL parameters tool in
the primary HTTPS version and add and
categorise one-by-one the downloaded
URL Parameters from the old primary
HTTP version. Completing this step may
assist Googlebot to focus its limited crawl
budget and prioritize the important URLs
when crawling the new HTTPS version of
the website.
Removed URLs
To prevent sensitive URLs of the HTTP
version being reindexed and served as
a search result in Google Search, go to
the URL removal tool in Google Search
Console for the old primary HTTP version
and check if there are any URLs submitted
for temporary removal. If any are present,
then write these down and go to the URL
removal tool for the primary HTTPS
version and add each pattern one-by-one
(see Figure 10).
Note: The effect of the URL removal
tool is just temporary. If certain URLs need
to be permanently removed from Google
16 https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/4423117 https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/93710
Figure 5: Example of a Manual Actions notifi cation in Google Search Console
Figure 6: Example of preferred domain settings in Google Search Console
Figure 7: Example of crawl rate settings in Google Search Console
Figure 8: Example of International Country Targeting settings in Google Search Console
Figure 9: Example of URL Parameters settings in Google Search Console
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17iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Index, remove the specified URLs from the
HTTPS version and return a 404 or add
a meta noindex to the specified URLs to
prevent it from being indexed as Googlebot
crawls the new HTTPS version.
Disavow file
To prevent any backlink issues (such as
Google Penguin or a manual action to be
applied) for the new HTTPS version, go to
the Disavow toolDisavow tool in Google
Search Console for the old primary HTTP
version and check if there is a disavow file
present (see Figure 11). If yes, download it
and rename it from .CSV to .TXT. Next, go
to the Disavow tool for the primary HTTPS
version and upload the renamed TXT file
on Google Search Console.
If no disavow file is present or if the
file has not been updated in a while,
prevent the website from being held back
in reaching its full potential in Google
rankings due to a risky backlink profile, and
hire Google SEO Consultants to assist with
a full manual backlink analysis and a new
disavow file.
Crawl errors
To avoid any trust issues with server
response codes, let’s have a look at the
crawl errors overview in Google Search
Console for the old primary HTTP version
(see Figure 11). In particular, check if there
are soft 404s reported by Google. If so, it is
important to fix these by returning the 404
status codes for these URLs. As Googlebot
does not favour soft 404s, it is important to
avoid duplicating from the HTTP version
any potential soft 404 issues on the primary
HTTPS version. To learn more about why
Googlebot dislikes soft 404, click here.
Submit XML sitemaps
Earlier in this guide, a number of XML
sitemaps have been created, updated,
and placed in the roots of the relevant
subdomains and/or subdirectories and/
or the primary hostname, for both the
HTTP and the HTTPS version. These
XML sitemaps contain only indexable and
crawlable URLs (preferably canonicals),
extracted from the old XML sitemaps,
the server log files, and from crawling the
HTTP and HTTPS versions of the website.
For example:
http://www.example.com/sitemap.xmlhttp://de.example.com/sitemap.xmlhttp://www.example.com/nl/sitemap.xmlAnd
https://www.example.com/sitemap.xmlhttps://de.example.com/sitemap.xmlhttps://www.example.com/nl/sitemap.xml
Test and submit each XML sitemaps
to the relevant Google Search Console
properties, based on protocol and/or
subdirectories and/or subdomains (see
Figure 12).
Figure 12: Example of testing and submitting a XML sitemap in Google Search Console
ConclusionThe next edition of this magazine will
have the final part of this series, where the
move to HTTPS is completed with Google
Search Console, and we cover how to log
files and how to measure the impact.
FILI WIESE is a renowned technical SEO expert and former senior Google Search Quality team member. At SearchBrothers.com he successfully recovers websites from Google penalties and offers SEO consulting with SEO audits and workshops. Email: [email protected] and web: https://www.searchbrothers.comFigure 11: Example of error reports in Google Search Console
Figure 10: Example of the URL removal tool in Google Search Console
Meet our team at AAC 2017, July 11-14, stand F8
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19iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
NICK GARNER recently took a break from SEO while he focused on building the product, UX and brand for his Oshi bitcoin casino. Here he shares some insights, tips and tricks around ranking that have evolved out of this year-long process.
FOR THOSE OF YOU who may not
know my story, I started my igaming
journey as SEO manager for Betfair and
then became head of search for Unibet, then
I set up my own igaming SEO marketing
agency 90 Digital and now I have an online
bitcoin casino called Oshi.
I took a year-long holiday from SEO
to concentrate on building up my casino.
We decided to focus on product, i.e. the
customer experience and brand, instead
of just going out and marketing ‘another’
casino.
So why not hit SEO from the start?
Engagement. That’s why. If you’ve ever
read anything from me about SEO over the
last three years, I’ve always said the same
thing:
●● Be relevant and engaging to the people
who can make you money
●● Make your site Google-friendly
●● Get PageRank
●● If the inflow of PageRank is powerful
enough and your site is ‘Google-friendly’,
Google will rank you on some competitive
phrases… and the real test begins.
●● If your site gets the necessary
engagement, i.e. click-through rate, Google
will keep you ranking.
The way I always describe it is that it’s
like being given an audition. If you pass
this, great, you’re on stage. However, If you
fail the audition, it’s much harder to get
re-auditioned.
That’s why in my experience, sites which
have failed their audition are really difficult
to re-rank, whereas fresh websites, which
have no history to speak of, often rank
much more easily.
What’s the dynamic here? Simply,
Google is becoming much more of a
meritocracy. In other words sites that people
want rank more than ever before better than
the sites marketers want to have ranked.
As a user, this is a great thing. We trust
Google more than ever and this is proven
by the Edelman Trust Barometer, which
revealed in 2015 that Google is the most
trusted source of news globally.
Google is now more trusted than the
mainstream media, which includes TV,
newspapers and radio. Google of course
loves this, because it means AdWords
receives the radiated trust from the organic
search results.
From my point of view, I realised that
the SEO game was on when we started to
rank just outside the top first page results
for a bunch of phrases, despite having
undertaken no active SEO efforts.
You might be thinking, “That’s great Nick
but I want tools tips and tricks”. Okay then!
I’ve talked about engagement, so let’s
talk about what’s engaging?
This is a huge question that I’ve thought
about. A lot. In gambling, especially
casino, what is an engaging casino
brand? Casinos all look the same, so if
engagement is the key driver to rankings
then why would one casino rank more
than another? The short answer is brand
and first-reaction experience.
Obviously, a lot of those reading this are
affiliates, so let’s talk about you. Broadly, as
I see it there are two groups of affiliates:
●● Truth givers
●● List providers
Truth giversI use the term ‘truth’ pretty loosely, because
as we all know the number one operator is
the one which makes the affiliate the most
money in the long term (excluding CPAs of
course). Ironically, the operators which make
the most money are also the ones which look
after their customers the best. Nice.
Being a truth giver is tough, time-
consuming and ultimately expensive. This
is where you become an expert in the
subject, build up a body of social proof,
i.e. customer reviews of casinos, and
generally come across as very credible.
Great examples of truth givers are of
course Casinomeister, Latestcasinobonuses,
AskGamblers and ThePogg.
These sites became brands in their own
right, and AskGamblers is probably one
of those strongest of these brands. Google
recognises the power of that domain and
users have grown to trust it enough so
AskGamblers ranks across huge keyword
territories.
So, as an aspiring truth giver, which
keyphrases should I be looking to rank for?
The answer is
‘[operator] reviews’/‘casino reviews’/
anything where you are looking for
somebody to trust and help you make a
qualitative judgement on your behalf.
If you’re a noob affiliate, I suggest being
a truth giver would be a tough path to
follow unless you can find a niche in which
you have a lot of expertise. The Internet
loves niches. I know a guy who made a
load of money on ‘fruit machines’ (aka
slots). But some people still call slots fruit
machines, therefore it’s a keyword niche.
Once upon a time ‘PayPal casino’ was also
a niche.
My point is if you want to compete as a
trust giver, be engaging relative to the key
word you rank for.
List providersLists are much more straightforward. There
are keyword neighbourhoods where people
just want a list of bonuses.
Why is a list of bonuses engaging?
Because it answers questions users might
ENGAGEMENT AND BLACK HAT SEO
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20 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
have. And of course, the question is often
“where can I get free money?”, and the
answer is on your webpage.
In this case, to be engaging a user doesn’t
want huge in-depth reviews of the casino,
along with a plethora of user feedback.
Users just want to know the bonus figures
on your list are current and relevant.
The best example of this in my opinion
is thebigfreechiplist.com (not to be
confused with bigfreechiplist.com).
Other great examples of list providers are
sites such as Oddschecker and Easyodds.
Fundamentally, they are data grids to help
you make more efficient bets. If you want
to compete as a list provider, you need to be
appropriately engaging.
And to be engaging, it’s also a question
of your understanding user intent around
key phrases. Once you have a grasp of
the customer intent behind different key
phrases then the rest is straightforward; you
build a site to meet that need.
Tool time! An excellent tool for
understanding the intent of keywords is
http://labs.linkdex.com/term-tagger/ (free
to use of course).
This gives you a useful mental
framework around the intent of key
phrases. It’s only a beta/experimental
tool, but that’s okay because it gives you
a real sense of how different phrases have
different intentions behind them. (see
Figure 1)
Let’s take ‘casino bonus codes UK’ as
our specimen phrase. It has the following
properties:
●● it’s a location phrase (UK specific)
●● it’s in a niche, casino
●● the buying cycle is around consideration
and research
●● the search behaviour is is ‘couponing’ i.e.
collection of a code
●● it’s geographic research
(see Figure2)
For me, looking at key phrases within
this mental framework gives me a nice clear
roadmap. And to save you some thinking
time, this is what it tells me:
I should build a list of UK casinos
bonuses and maybe focus on keyword
‘couponing’, because it’s a fairly low traffic,
fairly high intent niche, i.e. ‘UK casino
Coupon Codes’.
Tip/insight: Google uses the term
‘satisfying’ in it’s Google quality rater
guidelines (a must-read if you want to
understand what the perfect website looks
like according to Google), which you can
find by searching for ‘Google search quality
rating guidelines 2016’.
When embarking on this process, it’s
worth taking a moment to think about
what’s satisfying for you as a user when it
comes to the search experience. From my
perspective, this needs to be:
●● fast. Yes, we know Google likes to rank
fast pages
●● immediately relevant. Yes, we also know
Google likes relevance
●● obvious from the search results that this
page is the one to click. Yes, we know that
CTR indirectly affects rankings
At this stage you will have:
●● a clear idea of which niche you want to
work in
●● played around with ‘term tagger’
●● read the Google quality rater guidelines
●● understood where you can be engaging,
useful and satisfying to users
●● used tools like https://ubersuggest.io
to come up with lists of key phrases very
relevant to you
●● and, for the sake of discussion, you’ve
now built your first WordPress list website.
The next step in this process is
PageRank.
To put PageRank into context, I
generally think of three elements which
make a website rank on Google, of which
PageRank is just one:
PageRank – the raw force of a domain,
determined by the volume of qualified
links. ‘Qualified’ is the important word
here, because once upon a time links were
not qualified and any link would have
PageRank. Now, with Penguin, links are
aggressively qualified.
Based on tests with the agency I
founded, 90 Digital, they built a basic site
and spammed it with millions of cheap
links. The idea was to kill the site. The site
carried on ranking in its niche, which just
validates that links hit by Penguin have
neither positive or negative value. In other
Figure 1: Linkdex term-tagger tool
Figure 2: Linkdex term tagger tool results
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23iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
words, a bad link has zero value.
TrustRank – the history and authority
a domain built up over time. When you
have high TrustRank as a domain you can
rank really easily, and if your content is
consistently engaging, you will maintain
those rankings.
And our old friend – engagement. To
be ‘auditioned’ for a key phrase, you need
a bit of TrustRank and some PageRank.
TrustRank comes from being engaging.
The accumulation of PageRank (the black hat part) Once upon a time, the game was all about
PageRank, and whole businesses and
ecosystems built up around delivering and
acquiring PageRank.
From my point of view, I see PageRank
as a ‘raw force ‘ separate from the location
of a website and its content.
As mentioned before, there is a
PageRank ‘on off switch’, controlled by
the Penguin algorithm. If your links are
‘PageRank off ’, then you’re wasting your
money acquiring them.
So how do you know if a link is
‘PageRank on’?
Having been away from the SEO scene
for a bit, instead of talking to my content
marketing friends, I decided to get in touch
with the most hard-core black hat people I
know; the blackhatworld crew.
Why? Because they know what ranks
and roughly why.
My question to them: if a website ranks
on Google and has good Majestic Citation/
Trust Flow, can I be fairly confident about
PageRank being ‘on’?
My content marketing friends didn’t
really know, but fortunately the crew in
90 Digital, which corroborated with the
answers from my blackhat friends, did. The
consensus is: if a site ranks, links from that
site will pass PageRank.
The rationale is really simple; if Google
ranks a website, it likes that website.
Therefore it’s more likely Penguin has not
switched off PageRank for outgoing links
from those sites.
Tools to assess rankingHow do you work out which sites rank?
SEMrush scrapes Google search results
and collates them on a big database so you
can work out whether a domain ranks in
a particular country. You can then get an
estimation on the value of the traffic from
those key phrases.
There are three ways you can get this
information:
●● run SEMrush reports on each separate
domain (very slow)
●● use your urlprofiler, a bulk analysis
tool which gives you a combination of
SEMrush and Majestic data (fast)
●● talk to a friendly agency which can run
these reports for a modest cost
If you’re the DIY kind, to make it work
you will need to buy SEMrush API credits,
only available on the business plan, which
is $399 a month (I know, it’s expensive).
You will need a tool like your urlprofiler,
which comes with 500 majestic lookups per
day. Your urlprofiler has a 14-day trial and
costs £155 a year.
If you’re not the DIY sort and you want
to do this, go and reach out to a friendly
SEO agency and ask them to do what I’ve
outlined here.
Links seller listsMy old agency, 90 Digital is an obvious
target for link sellers, and over the years the
agency has built up tens of thousands of
links seller domains.
As a small favour to me, I asked one of
the team in the agency to run reports on
some fresh lists of domains they received
in the last couple of months. Around 5,000
domains were analysed and about 15% of
these domains actually rank for something
somewhere on the Google index, according
to SEMrush.
For context, were talking about junk
sites with link placements going for around
US$80, which unbelievably rank on
Google. Typically, these sites rank down
in 30th position, but among them you will
find a few domains which are very strong
in particular phrases.
Combine this ranking data with Majestic
key metrics such as number of referring
domains, Citation Flow and Trust Flow,
and you can build up a very accurate hit list
of domains to go and get placements with.
Going back to my earlier point about ‘if
it ranks, PageRank is probably switched
on’, this will provide a nice supply of fairly
cheap PageRank.
You will probably start thinking about the
‘Fred’ algorithm update targeting medium-
to high-quality spun/badly written content
blocks, and you would be right.
Huge numbers of these links seller sites
will be hit by Fred, but that doesn’t really
worry me because as long as the SEMrush
database remains up-to-date, 90 Digital can
run API reports for me and isolate those
domains which still rank. And by definition
if a site ranks, it’s got through ‘Fred’.
SAPE If you’ve never heard of SAPE, maybe it’s
time... It’s a Russian link network. They
are a marketplace for links. You go there,
you rent links. Here’s the ethically difficult
part: often those links are submitted by
hackers who find vulnerabilities in sites
and inject links.
It’s not pretty, it’s not ethical, but
the PageRank can be awesome. If you
play a dirty game, this is a great way of
renting PageRank really cheaply. I’m not
advocating it, but I am saying it exists and
it works. The important part with SAPE:
qualify the domains you rent from.
As with links seller lists, there are 10%
of these SAPE domains which rank and
maybe 3% which are great value i.e. big
Majestic Citation Flow/Trust Flow and
some nice rankings.
Once again, SAPE is not ethical and
you’re playing with fire, but it works. Tip:
never directly link from SAPE to your
money site.
Caveat: This is hard-core igaming SEO.
You do this kind of thing with great care.
FinallyI’m very relieved that SEO hasn’t really
changed all that much in the last year. All
I’m seeing are megatrends moving steadily
in one direction or another, i.e.
●● the selectiveness of Penguin controlling
PageRank
●● Google’s artificial intelligence getting
better at judgement of content
●● Google search results becoming more
meritocratic
●● Engagement still being a long-term
decider on rankings
Any page of content can rank, as long
as it satisfies users. So think carefully about
how you can satisfy user intent before you
go accumulating PageRank.
NICK GARNER founded the successful SEO agency 90 Digital and subsequently founded Oshi bitcoin casino: oshi.io.
25
TRAFFIC
iGB Affi liate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
WHAT DOES YOUR CONTENT SAY ABOUT YOU?Nichola Stott of theMediaFlow navigates you though the process of crafting content that resonates, rather than clashes, with the personality and values of your brand.
IN A FUN COMPETITIVE space like
online gaming, we’ve got to get crazy-
smart and creative to get the best links.
However if you’re pitching high quality
media outlets to take your story, your
content message has to adhere to similar
standards as your advertising campaigns.
The message you put out as a brand speaks
volumes about your organisation to your
potential customers. It has to resonate with
the same personality and values you are
looking to project via the brand.
So how do we balance creativity whilst
maintaining brand-fit?
Know thyself!Your audience should be positioned front
and centre, and knowing who they are and
how they should be spoken to will dictate
the tone of your content and identity.
You may already have highly insightful
customer persona data to hand, which
can be used for setting that tone of voice.
Try to fix an ideal customer in mind and
work through some exercises with your
colleagues to set some of the real tone of
voice fundamentals; such as:
● Are we formal or informal?
● Is our language technical or plain English?
● Are we colloquial or diverse?
● Do we ever do little swears!?
Perhaps try using polarising viewpoints
to begin with when setting some of your
tone of voice fundamentals. Another
tactic to try is to take a well-known piece
of writing or handful of song lyrics and
rephrase a few lines into varying degrees of
formality, neutrality and informality. Pass
them around and try to get consensus as to
which your organisation would say if it was
a living entity.
So, work out if would be…
Morning has broken (formal)It’s morning (neutral)Yo! Sun’s up (informal/slang)
CringeNothing is more grating than a brand trying
to project an identity it doesn’t possess
and to connect with an audience in a way
that it shouldn’t. For some brands in other
sectors, failing to nail your tone of voice is
a gamble that may or may not backfire and
can be recoverable, but we’d suggest that in
online gaming this isn’t a chance we should
take due to the requirements of credibility
and responsibility.
I’m reminded of McDonalds’ attempt
to get down with the kids in its campaign
from a couple of years ago (see Figure 1).
Not really what “the kids” mean when
they say “I’d hit it”, and definitely not
something to openly confess to doing
Figure 1: Example of brand adopting discordant tone of voice and personality
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26 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
with a cheeseburger! In all seriousness
though, this is an attempt by a global fast
food chain to adopt a brand tone of voice
and personality that it absolutely doesn’t
have. Whilst the consequences here are
laughable examples for marketing types like
me, I think the consequences could be far
more damaging from a brand perception
perspective if done in online gaming.
Brief on brandWhether your content is being produced
in-house or by an external agency, a good
project brief is essential for hitting the right
note. Understand your core motives and
make sure everyone involved in the project
is on the same page. Communicate openly
and honestly, and be prepared for the
likelihood that you project will change and
evolve during the process.
As well as what you want to achieve, to
stay on brand your briefing process must
also facilitate an identity component. Try
to be quantitative as well as qualitative;
otherwise too many intangibles may leave
things too open to interpretation. A brief
such as “we want to be provocative and
edgy” works for a brand like Cards Against
Humanity, but would we trust a high street
bank with content that could be described
like that?
To help with this, we as an agency stick
to a consistent briefing form with our
clients. This includes some static checkbox
items around values and feelings, as well as
more open-ended interview-style questions.
Tip: Limit the number of choices you
offer or need to select to define a brief,
otherwise there can be too much overlap.
Whilst it is possible to be fun and creative
as well as serious and earnest; stick to
primary values and feelings – up to three
at a time.
Getting it rightSo what does your content say about you?
Good quality content that resonates with
your customers lets them know that you
understand them, recognise their needs and
care about their interests. If your content
is consistent in tone and overall message, it
will signal trust, reliability and credibility.
Content that is thoughtful, well-written
and free from spelling and grammatical
errors will give users faith in you and your
business. Brand identity matters, and your
content marketing has the power to develop
it, or to damage it.
That’s all well and good, but as creators
it can be difficult at times to step away from
our output and objectively assess if we’ve
nailed the brief. So here’s a great way to
test if your content is on brand…
FocusAt the start of a campaign we strongly
recommend setting up a focus group with
around 20 to 50 individuals and road-testing
around three content sample pieces for
tone of voice. Select participants that are
not already customers or identify as very
familiar with your brand but still fit broadly
into your demographic. Allow them to read
and process hard copy versions of content
concepts and complete an evaluation form
that shares some common fields to your
briefing form. You should keep the following
questions front of mind during this process:
●● Are you getting strong overlap in brief
input and evaluation choices?
●● Is there a huge disconnect with your
perceived tone of voice and your ideal
demographic?
Depending on the size and scale of
your content plan, you might also want
to consider a ‘control’ focus group of
people that are outside of your target
demographic, as what may be a perfectly
resonant message with your target audience
could be completely discordant, even
offensive, to another.
Freedom in a frameworkIf you follow the advice and process ideas
we’ve provided here you can push the
boundaries of creativity with your content
marketing without fearing that your
campaign is going to bomb.
Get it right and you will have an
entertaining marketing asset that will have
a consistent message which aligns with
target users’ expectations and assumptions
about you and your brand. Be aware of
what tone and what type of content your
customers are likely to expect from you,
i.e. what is appropriate and what fits your
overall message. Don’t be afraid to show
your brand personality!
NICHOLA STOTT is founder of theMediaFlow, a multi award-winning digital marketing agency that specialises in organic search and content marketing. Nichola has almost two decades of experience in digital communications and featured in the BIMA Hot100 Digital People of 2015.
“If your content is consistent in tone and overall message, it will signal trust, reliability and credibility”
A WORLD OFOPPORTUNITIES
POKER
SPORTS
BINGO
VEGAS
CASINO
Enjoy gambling responsibly. begambleaware.org 18+ © Barcrest Group Ltd 2015
A WORLD OFOPPORTUNITIES
POKER
SPORTS
BINGO
VEGAS
CASINO
Enjoy gambling responsibly. begambleaware.org 18+ © Barcrest Group Ltd 2015
30 iGB Affi liate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
FEATURE - AWARDS SPECIAL
The 10th edition of the iGB Affi liate Awards saw the gaming affi liate sector’s annual celebration and recognition of its achievements over the prior 12 months on the move again, not just to a spectacular new venue but also from its customary time slot on the eve of the London Affi liate Conference to the end, allowing the cream of the industry in attendance at the historic Grade II-listed The Brewery in the City of London to really let their hair down and celebrate in style.
Here we run down the winners from all the 32 categories and feature a selection of images from a highly memorable night in London. iGB Affi liate would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the individuals and businesses who won or who were nominated. See you next year!
THE IGB AFFILIATE AWARDSSATURDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2017
31iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Best Bingo Affiliate ManagerLauren Wiggan - bet365
Best Casino Affiliate ManagerMartyn Beacon – AffiliateEdge
Best Financial Affiliate ManagerGonzalo Rojas - Empiremoney
Best Lottery Affiliate ManagerHelen Taylor - CherryAffiliates
Best Poker Affiliate ManagerStephanie Robinson - WPN AffiliatesAlex Smith - bet365
Best Sport Betting Affiliate ManagerDaniela Davenport - bet365
Best Bingo Affiliate ProgramBroadway Gaming
Best Casino Affiliate ProgramCherryAffiliates
Best Financial Affiliate ProgramEmpiremoney
Best Lottery Affiliate ProgramLottaRewards
Best Poker Affiliate ProgramWPN Affiliates
Best Sports Betting Affiliate Programbet365
Best Foreign Language Affiliate ProgramKindred Affiliates
Best Affiliate Program NewcomerCodetaff
Best Affiliate Marketing CampaignCoral Affiliates
Best Bingo WebsiteWhichBingo.co.uk
Best Casino WebsiteAskGamblers.com
Best Financial WebsiteFXEmpire
Best Lottery WebsiteLotteryUSA.com
Best Poker WebsitePokerisivut
Best Sports Betting WebsiteAt The Races
Best Foreign Language WebsiteApuestasdeportivas.com
Best Affiliate NewcomerWantMyBet
Best Use of Social Media by an AffiliateFootballtips
Best InnovationSmartBets by bettingexpert
The Industry landscape: Affi liates in igaming 2017
NEW REPORT COMING SOON
What igaming affi liates really think.[ ]
33iGB Affi liate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
FEATURE - AWARDS SPECIAL
36 iGB Affi liate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
THE NORDICS
36
ROUND TABLE: CATENA, RAKETECH, XLMEDIA Ahead of our Nordic Affi liate Conference, we rounded up top management from three of the biggest affi liate networks and consolidators in the region, Erik Bergman, Chief Strategy Offi cer of Catena Media, Michael Holmberg, CEO of Raketech and Ory Weihs, CEO of XLMedia, to gauge their reaction to the proposed Swedish opening and get their views on the current state of play in the Nordic affi liate space.
The Swedish government review has now recommended the opening of the online market to non-monopoly operators with a tax rate of 18% on GGR. What is your initial reaction to this news, and how do you see this scenario affecting affi liate activities and business models in the country? Erik Bergman (EB): I’m positive towards
the 18% GGR tax rate. The talk beforehand
was of it falling in the range of 15-20%,
but in my opinion the most likely scenario
was 20%, since that’s how it is in Denmark.
However, this is still a long way from being
signed off by the politicians, so we will see
where things end up.
With regards to effect on the affiliate
activities or business models, I don’t think
much will change. This is in line with our
expectations and in line with the UK and
Denmark, which are markets that have a
lot of similarities to Sweden.
Michael Holmberg (MH): We think it will
be business as usual. The difference will
be the tax, which we believe the operators
will try to pass on to the affiliates.
However, this will mostly impact the
smaller affiliates and not us to such a large
extent. We feel confident that our position
as one of Sweden’s biggest affiliates
in combination with our very good
relations with the operators will provide
us with an exceptionally solid base for
further successful business development
in Sweden going forward. We are also
expecting PPC advertising through Google
to really take off.
Ory Weihs (OW): My initial thoughts
on this are very positive, as we have seen
this to be a very workable tax rate in
other countries. As we have always said, a
regulated environment is the correct one
in the end, creating a larger addressable
market with more marketing methods
available (paid search, video, social
etc.). We believe affiliates with a strong
tech foundation and multi methodology
approach will benefit from this regulation.
What are the most valuable countries in the region for affi liates in terms of average player values, and what impact did Denmark licensing online casino and betting have on player values and profi ts there? EB: With regards to player values Norway
is and has for a long time been the country
with by far the highest average player
values. Sweden is second and Finland
comes in as the third. When it comes to
Denmark, I unfortunately have very limited
experience since it has never been a focus
market for us.
MH: We have no experience from the
Danish market but regarding player value,
Norwegian players are worth most, then
Swedish and lastly Finnish.
OW: We see many countries as high value,
from the Nordics to the UK, as well as
a few other European ones. The Danish
regulation as a whole was a very positive
development, as following an initial dip
the market picked up and now allows for
a wide variety of user acquisition methods
to be used.
“We have seen the 18% GGR tax recommended in Sweden to be very workable in other countries. As we have always said, a regulated environment is the correct one in the end”Ory Weihs, XLMedia
market with more marketing methods
available (paid search, video, social
etc.). We believe affiliates with a strong
tech foundation and multi methodology
approach will benefit from this regulation.
What are the most valuable countries in the region for affi liates in terms of average player values, and what impact did Denmark licensing online casino and betting have on player values and profi ts there?
With regards to player values Norway
is and has for a long time been the country
with by far the highest average player
values. Sweden is second and Finland
comes in as the third. When it comes to
Denmark, I unfortunately have very limited
experience since it has never been a focus
“We have seen the 18% GGR tax recommended in Sweden to be very workable in other countries. As we have always said, a regulated environment is the correct
Erik Bergman
34
37iGB Affi liate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
THE NORDICS
37
The last year saw a wave of M&A engulf the affi liate space Why is the consolidation play unfolding now, and why are Nordic-founded companies – both as acquirers and those being acquired – so prominent in this process?EB: I don’t know why the consolidation
didn’t start earlier. My best guess is that
most affiliate businesses were started by
accident rather than with a clear strategy,
hence most people focused on running their
own shows and didn’t hire a lot of people
or try to acquire each other. When the
industry started to mature, investors and
experienced business people starting to see
the opportunities and partnered up with the
existing affiliates.
When a few larger acquisitions were
undertaken and made public, everyone
started to ask themselves the question:
“Why don’t we do this?”, and more
started doing it. A couple of years ago the
multiples were really low and pretty much
any deal that could be done was worth
doing. Today, things have changed and
the prices are, as you said, significantly
higher, but there are still plenty of
exciting prospects.
The reason Nordic-founded companies
are so prominent is probably the same as
why they are so prominent when it comes
to betting operators. There is a strong
culture of gaming and online businesses
in Sweden, so before the acquisitions
started, there were already many
affiliates active in the region who came
from Scandinavia. We have also seen
experienced people from the operators
move across to the affiliate side and then
it went from there. It got a lot of exposure
in the Nordic media and even more
people got interested in the possibilities.
MH: Many of the big operators, such as
Betsson and Unibet for instance, originate
from Sweden, as well as leading game
providers such as NetEnt and Evolution.
Sweden has a strong history of producing
successful entrepreneurs in the IT sector,
as evidenced by globally known companies
like Skype and Spotify. It’s therefore
not that surprising that that the Swedes,
together with their Nordic neighbours,
also are very prominent in the industry of
igaming affiliation.
Regarding last year’s M&A, we think
it just proves how young the igaming
affiliate industry really is. What we are
seeing now started happening 10 years
ago on the operator side. Catena Media’s
entrance on Nasdaq Stockholm further
accelerated this process, and had a strong
effect on the public perception of our
industry. It’s getting more professional
with every day that passes.
“A couple of years ago the multiples were really low and pretty much any deal that could be done was worth doing. Today, things have changed”Erik Bergman, Catena Media
the prices are, as you said, significantly
Michael Holmberg Ory Weihs
38 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
THE NORDICS
38
OW: The gambling scene in the Nordics
has always been one of the larger ones, so
it is no surprise to me that strong affiliates
and marketing partners have emerged
here as well. There are many potential
gamblers, many ways to try to reach them
as well as operators to send them to. There
have been many success stories that help
smaller players gain trust.
The scramble to acquire the best affiliates is seeing some eyewatering prices and high multiples being paid for some very young businesses with very little track record. Is this not a risky strategy to pursue, or should we be looking beyond conventional valuation metrics when assessing these types of businesses?EB: There have been quite a few deals
where the prices have been over the top, if
you ask me. That said, every case is unique
and it’s all about weighing the risks with the
rewards, getting to know the people behind
the business and assessing its potential. The
age of the business is of course relevant but
it’s only one of many parameters, of which
others can be far more important.
MH: We have completed 14 acquisitions
in the last 24 months and our experience
is that the multiples have been very stable.
One thing you have to remember though
is that smaller affiliates most often have
worse deals with the operators than the
larger ones, and that the multiples that
usually get communicated in public are
before synergies and optimisations have
been implemented.
We don’t believe in looking beyond
conventional valuation metrics; we try to
focus on the underlying fundamentals and
reflect any potential risks in our valuations.
OW: We at XLM are not dependent on
acquisitions to grow and therefore might
have a more conservative valuation matrix,
as well as a generally safer and more solid
approach. We choose targets that can really
add value to us, to either one of our main
two divisions. We focus on targets that we
feel can be easily improved.
Scale brings with it the ability to take advantage of new marketing technologies (to optimise conversion, the funnel, automation etc.) How do you see this shift towards scale and technology reshaping the affiliate sector, and also how operators engage and work with performance marketers?EB: Obviously the game changes and
there are a lot of pros to being a big player
with the synergies that brings. However,
I still believe there will be space for the
more old school, smaller SEO affiliates for
quite some time to come. They have great
experience when it comes to SEO and
know their markets. In the long term, it
will be tough for them to compete with big
teams from larger affiliates and operators,
but there is still plenty of time.
With regards to the operators, I think
a lot of them will chose to work with a
smaller number of larger affiliates rather
than plenty of small ones. It will increase
the prices per new player a bit, but will
give them less overheads and more
reliability. As in any industry, it all comes
down to trust and it is a lot easier to trust
a few important partners than tons of
small ones.
MH: I believe SEO will always be
important and as long as your sites really
add user value, they will be relevant.
And of course size matters with regards
to being able to invest in technology,
but also it is preferable for operators to
work with larger affiliates since it is
more convenient.
OW: As I have mentioned many times
before, affiliates who do not embrace
technology in developing a true
technological edge and entrance barriers
will be left behind. We now employ more
than 80 developers and have been creating
our optimisation and operational tools for
more than a decade.
As a large affiliate/network, what do you see as the biggest immediate challenges ahead for your business and the wider affiliate sector in the Nordics?EB: Right now, a lot obviously depends
on the regulatory environment but since
we will know a lot more about that in just
a few days it’s hard to say anything more
right now. Other than that, I don’t see many
immediate challenges or many changes
from how it has been the past few years. It’s
more or less business as usual.
MH: The introduction of Google’s PPC
advertising in Sweden when the market
gets re-regulated will affect all affiliates that
today get their traffic through SEO. We
further believe that smaller affiliates will see
lower margins as a result of the operators
trying to push over the new tax on to them.
However, from our perspective, this will
just increase our possibilities to optimise
small business that we might acquire on the
Swedish market following a re-regulation.
OW: Mainly the understanding that the
one-trick-pony affiliate with a few sites
or a few media campaigns will struggle
maintaining scale, especially the ones that
have no real team or tech background.
“The introduction of Google’s PPC advertising in Sweden when the market gets re-regulated will affect all affiliates that today get their traffic through SEO”Michael Holmberg, Raketech
NAME: ERIK BERGMAN & ORY WEIHS DATE: 7 APRIL 2017 WHEN: @ 14.45
36
38 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
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38
THE RISING WAVE OF AFFILIATE M&AThe past 18 months has seen a ramping up of M&A activity in the gambling affiliate space, with Nordic-founded and managed companies the main protagonists. Scott Longley delves into the dealmaking activity by the likes of Catena, GIG, RakeTech and others, which only looks set to continue rising in 2017.
THE M&A MOVES IN the operator and
supplier space understandably dominate the
headlines, but an equally significant process
of consolidation has been underway in the
igaming affiliate world.
And going by the news that has appeared
to date this year and regular exchanges
with affiliate contacts, the pace of change
is likely to quicken in the coming year. But
first, a recap of recent events.
Privately owned affiliate network
RakeTech announced it had raised €70m in
funding in order to fund future acquisitions;
then Catena Media, a leading Stockholm-
listed affiliate consolidator, released news
of its latest buyout, the €8.6m acquisition
of Swedish-facing affiliate Slotsia.
Finally, Oslo-listed Gaming Innovation
Group (GIG) announced its affiliate arm
had bought an unnamed affiliate network
for €3.5m, following that news up a week
later with the announcement that it had
secured a SEK400m (€42m) bond, the
bulk of which would go towards further
deals in the affiliate space. On 10 March, it
announced its largest affiliate acquisition to
date, of Casinotopsonline.com for €11.5m.
These moves come on top of an already
busy period of M&A in the affiliate realm
involving not just the aforementioned firms
but also XL Media and Cherry Gaming.
As can be seen from our tables, iGaming
Business has tracked at least 33 deals
within the last three years involving these
businesses alone, and this doesn’t include
a dozen deals in the past 12 months
mentioned by RakeTech in its fund-raising
news.
The dealflow, if anything, is speeding up
and the amount of money involved in each
individual buyout would also appear to be
on the increase.
Deal sizes in the low single-digit millions
of euros just one or two years ago are now
rising into the €10m-plus territory, and in the
case of Catena Media’s recent buyout of the
US-based PlayNJ business, up to a potential
US$45m if earnout targets are reached.
Figure 1: XLMedia gambling affiliate acquisitions
PROPERTY DATE FEE + EARNOUT MARKET FOCUS
Scandi/Danish network July 2014 $2.3m Denmark
UK sports betting site August 2014 $2.3m UK
MarMarMedai June 2015 $7.36m Unknown
Figure 2: Catena Media affiliate acquisitions
PROPERTY DATE FEE + EARNOUT MARKET FOCUS
Finix Invest November 2014 $6m Scandinavia
LJFK Ltd March 2015 Unknown Netherlands
Promo6000 March 2015 Unknown Norway
Stay Media July 2015 $2m Sweden
Arctic Marketing August 2015 $0.3m Finland
Cornvinus August 2015 $0.65m UK
La Luna September 2015 $0.45m Netherlands
Good Game September 2015 $1.5m Finland
Right Casino November 2015 $6m UK
Unnamed Italian/
Belgium-facing sites
March 2016 $9m Italy/Belgium
Wonko Media March 2016 SEK32m Sweden
AskGamblers April 2016 $15m UK
German-facing network June 2016 $6.5m Germany
Spelbloggare.se July 2016 $5m Sweden
SBAT October 2016 $13.5m UK
CasinoUK November 2016 $10.6m UK
PlayNJ December 2016 $45m US
Slotsia February 2017 $8.5m Sweden
39iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
THE NORDICS
39
Multiples and earnoutsEdward Ihre, co-founder of live casino
operator Codeta and a respected consultant
in the affiliate space, says the spate of
acquisitions makes sense in terms of
respective valuations between the acquirers
and their targets. “Being able to buy these
assets at such cheap valuations makes sense
when you can add their earnings to the
balance sheet,” he says.
The multiples in question vary according
to each deal. In terms of recent buyouts,
Catena’s Slotsia deal (see Figure 2) saw the
company pay €3.6m upfront for a company
which will generate an expected €300,000
in revenues in the first quarter of this year
at margins of approximately 75%.
On an annualised basis this would
equate to circa €1m in operating profit.
However, according to industry sources
Slotsia only started to generate meaningful
traffic around June 2016 and recorded
annual revenues of, at most, €500,000 at
the time. With multiples based on historical
earnings, Catena Media therefore has
brought Slotsia on a multiple of just over
seven times historical earnings.
Clearly if a two year-old business can
attract such high multiples, it would suggest
that the true value of affiliates is only just
starting to be realised.
Should the company hit its earnout
target of 130% revenue growth over the
next two years a further €5m would be due,
boosting the multiple to 10 times. Still, for
comparison we should note that the listed
Catena Media is trading on an historic P/E
of around 35 times.
Another recent deal, this time from
GIG, saw it snap up an unnamed
affiliate network with annual revenues of
around €1.4m for €3.5m at a multiple of
around four times EBITDA. Again, for
comparison, until the second half of 2016
GIG was loss-making.
Robert Andersson, chief executive at
Catena Media, says the deals were not
necessarily cheap but he said the target
businesses were often unstructured and
without any underlying technology.
By plugging them into the Catena Media
network – and linking them up with the
company’s proprietary tech platform – his
company believes it can substantially boost
revenues once any acquisitions are under
its wing.
Unsurprisingly, Andersson is a believer
in the long-term consolidation story for the
online gaming affiliate sector. “The affiliate
space is becoming more professional,” he
says.
“It’s a bit like the travel industry and
what happened there with dozens of travel
sites and affiliates consolidating down to
four or five global players. We’re pursuing
exactly the same strategy.”
Attractive structures...Ben Robinson, director of boutique M&A
specialist RB Capital, agrees and says
consolidation in the affiliate space is no
surprise if one looks at the underlying
structure of affiliate businesses.
“Many affiliates operate at very
attractive margins of 60%, if not more.
This is harder for the larger players to
achieve, scale brings higher operating costs
and when PPC and media buying efforts
are brought into the equation, margins of
25% are more common,” he says.
“Having said that, affiliates are still two
“GIG’s recent results showed that of the 36,100 new first-time depositors its affiliate arm Innovation Labs had referred in 2016, 19% were directed towards its own brands”
Figure 3: Gaming Innovation Group affiliate acquisitions
PROPERTY DATE FEE + EARNOUT MARKET FOCUS
Spaseeba June 2015 Unknown Scandinavia
Unnamed Finnish network July 2015 Unknown Finland
Unnamed Estonian network August 2015 Unknown Estonia
Delta Markets March 2016 $4.2m Netherlands
Magenti Media March 2016 SEK47.5m Sweden
Unnamed international network February 2017 $3.5m Unknown
Casinotopsonline.com March 2017 $11.5m UK
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41iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
THE NORDICS
41
or three times more profitable than many
operators.”
Meanwhile, Catena’s sole focus on
digital marketing sets it apart from the likes
of GIG and Cherry Gaming (see Figures 3
and 4), which have similarly been making
acquisitions in the space but as businesses
are also focused on other areas of the value
chain.
Superficially, Catena’s strategy bears
similarities with XL Media, though as
Andersson points out, the latter has
diversified from the time of its 2014 float
when it was almost wholly concentrated on
the gaming sector.
Definitely pursuing the same strategy
as Catena, albeit not with the same listed
share price rating, is RakeTech and its chief
executive Michael Holmberg agrees that
in time the market will likely consolidate
down to a “handful of companies that will
substantially grow in size”.
“As on the operator side, there will be
rapid growth by competitive newcomers,
that will obtain market share and compete
for traffic with the well-established larger
companies,” he says.
With €70m to spend, Holmberg says the
company has already begun negotiations
with – and is evaluating – around 20 leads.
“We have an ambitious acquisition strategy
and a dedicated team in place to follow
leads and ensure we find as many suitable
companies as possible,” he says.
... will lead to higher prices?But he insists, much like Andersson at
Catena, that prices are not on the rise and
says RakeTech has a “very clear view of the
market and how to evaluate these assets”.
“From a value perspective we don’t see
any reason why prices should go up given
that our competitors know how to do their
math, which we assume they know if they
are taking part of the game long term.”
He says the valuation model looks at
eight to 10 various parameters depending
on the category. “Some of the parameters
are SEO, size, content quality and
history. Needless to say you need a deep
understanding of SEO.”
Robinson of RB Capital disagrees with
Holmberg and Andersson. “In addition
to their optimal cost structures, simple
economic forces would suggest that the
value of affiliates will rise as a result of
increased demand,” he says.
“The more savvy affiliates will recognise
the scope for increased valuations and will
work to maximise the value of their assets,
thus increasing their overall chances of
selling their businesses at a good price.”
On this last point a related parameter
is people and the key value they hold
within these companies. Ihre points out
that the most successful sites are driven by
webmasters “spending 24-hours a day on
this”.
Interestingly, those very people’s actual
value is virtually impossible to quantify.
“Once they have left the building, the
biggest asset has gone with them,” adds
Ihre.
Andersson disagrees, although the
company’s prospectus when it floated in
Stockholm did make the point that the
number of highly-skilled professionals
within the online casino SEO space was
“very limited”.
“We’re building brands,” he says,
pointing to sites such as AskGamblers,
Slotsia and SBAT, which runs sites such
as SBAT.com, FootyAccumulators and
AccaTracker.
Supply chain controlLuke Cotton, head of analytics and data
at Digital Fuel Marketing, suggests that
the value of the affiliate networks that are
being acquired comes down to some simple
metrics.
“Assuming they are keeping their
traffic scores, then yes these deals are
worthwhile,” he says. “The key is buying
good businesses and keeping the staff.”
Where the consolidation will have an
effect – in the long term – will be with the
operators. Andersson portrays the affiliate
acquisitions of GIG and Cherry as “nice-
to-haves”, but Cotton points out that these
businesses are hoping to control more of
the supply chain.
This is reflected in GIG’s recent results
which showed that of the 36,100 new first-
time depositors its affiliate arm Innovation
Labs had referred in 2016, 19% were
directed towards its own brands, which
include Guts.com and Rizk.com.
“Will other operators join the chase?
Generally, they have gone the other way in
terms of acquisitions and have spent more
time looking at games developers and other
services,” says Cotton.
“That said, Sky Betting & Gaming has
Oddschecker and others are likely to look
at it and it might be a sensible strategy. So,
yes, I’m surprised others haven’t taken that
route.”
Looking ahead, the obvious issue for
affiliates is if the biggest of them keep
getting acquired, there will need to be
independent ones ready to step in.
Additional reporting by Jake Pollard
Figure 4: Cherry Gaming affiliate acquisitions
PROPERTY DATE FEE + EARNOUT MARKET FOCUS
Game Lounge (51% share) January 2015 $3.4m
Finnish affiliate network July 2015 $1.2m Finland
Moorgate Media December 2015 $4m
Interclick August 2016 $1.5m UK/Germany
JapaneseCasino.com December 2016 Unknown Japan
“Many affiliates operate at very attractive margins of 60%, if not more. This is harder for the larger players to achieve”Ben Robinson, RB Capital
42 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
THE NORDICS
42
Q&A: BEN ROBINSON, DIRECTOR, RB CAPITAL NPDs, FTDs, EBITDA or KPIs; no acronym can explain or shed light on the complexities of selling a business. With more and more affiliates looking to cash in by selling their companies to groups such as Catena or GIG, iGB Affiliate speaks to Ben Robinson, co-founder of corporate and M&A advisory specialist RB Capital, to hear about the key drivers behind the current M&A wave and how affiliates can best prepare their business for a sell.
What is the current state of play when it comes to M&A in the affiliate space?The recent upward trend in M&A activity
has mainly focused on the larger affiliate
groups attracting investment for the purpose
of stimulating growth through non-organic
means. There are several reasons for this but
our top three are as follows:
First, the profitability of affiliates using
link-building and content-based SEO is
usually high, with many small affiliates
achieving margins of between 60% and
90%, this compares with operators whose
EBITDA margins range from 10% to
30%. Thus the interest in this category of
affiliates, specifically if they can be easily
integrated into the acquirer’s business and
their platform.
Second, operators such as Cherry and
GIG are recognising the importance of
having their own traffic source – this is
symptomatic of larger affiliates charging
such high rates for traffic, effectively
extracting all the value from the player and
leaving very small margins for operators.
Finally, affiliates themselves are fuelling
the activity, looking to cash in on their
many years of hard work.
On average how much business structure or advice does an advisor provide to affiliates looking to exit? When we are engaged by affiliates, it is
usually after they’ve been approached by
one or more interested parties. Evaluating
and selling your business can be a
daunting process, although many affiliates
are enticed by the allure of a quick process
and (potentially) large amounts of money
in the bank. They jump in head first
without properly assessing the business,
leaving themselves open to a problematic
due diligence process.
Affiliates are multi-taskers who are
primarily digital marketers, but also web
developers, graphic designers, managers
and accountants… many of the acquirers
we deal with have specialist M&A teams
who will place all aspects of the business
under a microscope in order to identify
possible risks, many of which the affiliate is
likely to have missed.
Our job is to identify all the underlying
mechanicals that power a business as
well as the possible risks/pitfalls before
entering the process. The aim here is
to either ‘rightsize’, or at least have an
explanation as to why and how the
business is addressing the issue. Our
analysis covers financials, traffic, IT &
infrastructure, geographic and market
breakdown. This analysis also reveals
the unique selling points of the business
and helps us determine which acquirer is
likely to be most interested, based on our
extensive network and understanding of
their businesses.
While potential buyers carry out due
diligence (DD) to identify risks, they are
also doing so to drive the value of the
affiliate business down, so it’s vital that a
proper analysis is applied before handing
over financials and traffic data to the
inquiring party.
What are the key issues/sticking points you encounter during the whole process, whether valuation, DD or key performance indicators?I’ll break this question up into two parts:
pre- and post buyer engagement.
Pre-buyer engagement is the analysis
phase where most of the issues will surface
and are ironed out. The majority of these
stem from financials (revenue and costs)
which will determine the earnings before
“Operators such as Cherry and GIG are recognising the importance of having their own traffic source – this is symptomatic of larger affiliates charging such high rates for traffic”
43iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
THE NORDICS
43
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
(EBITDA). This is the most important
metric to establish as it will be used to
calculate the Enterprise Valuation (EV).
NDPs (new depositing players) or
FTDs (first time deposits) are an indicator
of player value - with the recent demise
and prior misinformation of StatsRemote
(until recently the most commonly used
program to monitor revenues and players),
there are many affiliates who are relatively
blind as to the real player numbers their
sites are generating.
Misaligned expectations can cause issues
further down the line if not picked up early,
so managing expectations, on both sides,
is important. Therefore it is necessary to
create a process that imparts fair market
value to the business, and often this
involves managing owner’s expectations
around reasonable EV bandings (and the
respective earn-out period), but importantly
ensure would-be buyers also recognise the
value of the assets to be acquired. Thus
we spend a significant amount of our time
managing expectations on both sides.
Turning to post-buyer engagement, there are so many acquisitive buyers in the
market it is pragmatic to engage numerous
parties. This can create complexities and
is certainly time consuming, although it
is invariably countered by an increased
valuation through simple supply/demand
economic forces.
Managing and properly gating potential
buyers ensures a smooth and expeditious
process. Considering the buyer is
responsible for preparing the sales purchase
agreement (SPA), the final stages can be
unpredictable – having applied our own
due diligence on many likely acquirers,
we are well positioned to help guide the
affiliate in selecting the right buyer and not
necessarily the one with the most money
on offer.
If we’ve done our job properly, this
phase is usually smooth sailing but it’s
crucial that a proper structure is adhered
to, ensuring that we are in control, not
the acquirer.
What is the outlook for M&A in the affiliate space?M&A cycles tend to consolidate sectors
to a small number of large players and
a handful of medium-sized players.
This is certainly the case with travel and
financial price comparison industries.
However, considering the fragmentation
of the affiliate space, we believe it is likely
to take a slightly different path, where
large affiliate businesses are controlling
hundreds of small to medium-sized
brands. This is likely to be the case due to
the diversity in the industry in terms of
verticals i.e. casino, sports, bingo etc. and
myriad sub-categories within each, not to
mention the segmentation of player types
they attract.
Currently we have a sellers’ market,
however based on recent transactions we
are privy to, we believe that the true value
of affiliates is yet to be realised and with
the correct preparation and positioning
combined with the increased buy-side
demand we’ll see multiples increase over
the next 12 months.
NAME: BEN ROBINSON DATE: 7 APRIL 2017 WHEN: 14.45
BEN ROBINSON, is co-founder of specialist M&A and funding brokerage RB Capital, combining best-in-breed expertise for growth, investment and M&A across gaming, fintech and media verticals. Ben has more than 15 years’ commercial experience across technology and media, of which the last seven have been deeply embedded in the online gambling and blockchain sectors. Ben sits on a number of advisory boards for fintech and igaming companies across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US.
In a nutshell: exit advice for business ownersThis really depends on the category of seller (and buyer), but here are the most important points in RB Capital’s view:
• Provide all the required information to support the process. Especially with businesses at a relatively early stage in their lifecycle, the importance of providing all the necessary data upfront is sometimes dismissed by owner/founders, which requires us to spend much more time on the ground with the affiliate business to fully map out all the underlying entities
• Play the long game. This may sound like stating the obvious, but the longer the founders/owners are prepared to help the right buyer transition a successful sale, the better the incentives for them. We work extensively in these kinds of scenarios, the intention is always to get the best possible value and return on the assets.
• Set reasonable expectations as to the value of your business – if you come into the process thinking you will get the “best case” valuation, you are likely to be disappointed. As a broker we are incentivised to achieve the highest possible price, however at the end of the day the value of your asset is what someone is willing to pay for it.
INSIGHT
45iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
FOUR CONTENT STRATEGIES TO BUILD LOYALTY WITH MILLENNIALSConventional wisdom may say that Millennials are flighty and spend money only reluctantly, but Corey Padveen of t2 Marketing International and author of Marketing to Millennials for Dummies, says this is a misconception and that there’s one strategic asset that stands above the rest when it comes to building loyalty with this audience – content.
THERE IS A COMMON misconception
among marketers that the Millennial
audience is notoriously fickle. But contrary
to what many think, Millennials are
actually more loyal than any generation
that came before them. Moreover,
Millennials have the potential to be worth
more on an individual basis over the course
of their lifetime. This goes against another
common misconception — that Millennials
are price sensitive and hesitant to spend
any money. While this may be true in
some regards, they will spend money and
stay loyal to a brand if: a) they feel there
is a significant degree of economic utility
in their expenditure; and b) they have
developed a relationship with a brand on a
personal level.
You might only need to achieve two
conditions to build that sought-after
loyalty from Millennials, but they are
not necessarily easily reached. You may
read about campaigns or initiatives that
have succeeded at driving Millennial
engagement and conversion, but when it
comes to loyalty, there is one strategic asset
that will stand out above the rest: content.
Developing effective, objective-oriented
content strategies will help you connect
with Millennials on a personal level,
which will help build those long-lasting
relationships that lead to conversion, high
lifetime value and long-term loyalty.
Content is a fairly broad term. It comes
in many shapes and sizes, and it differs
from one medium or communications
avenue to the next. While some aspects of
your content might change, the strategies
outlined here are designed to build
strong relationships with your targeted
Millennials, regardless of the platform on
which these strategies are implemented.
Provide valueValue comes in many forms. In some
cases — likely the one most marketers
immediately assume when they hear the
term ‘value’ — it can mean economic
value, for example, coupons or specials
offered to fans, followers and subscribers.
The value referred to in this particular
strategic initiative, however, is somewhat
different. When you’re trying to connect
with Millennials, you want your content to
contain some type of value that stretches
beyond a one-off deal or offer. You want
there to be sustainable value that keeps
your audience coming back.
There are several different types of
content that offer sustainable value. Most
come in the form of knowledge. If you can
educate your audience in some capacity
that leaves them with something they did
not have before, you’re in an excellent
position to build a lasting relationship. In
terms of the kinds of educational content
that Millennials are most often attracted
to, there are three types: informational,
instructional and inspirational.
Informational content is rooted in the
explanation of theories, concepts and
other brand- or industry-related concepts.
When you share informational content,
you are providing your audience with the
stepping stones needed to become experts
in a given subject. Let’s say, for example,
you’re sharing information about the kinds
of bets that exist in the casino game of
craps. To do this in the most effective way
to drive continued traffic, you’ll create
content (which can be in virtually any
form, be it written, video or audio; though,
the last two are worth more of your effort,
as explained in the third strategy) on
“To make your content more digestible, the key is simplicity. You want your brand experience (or buyer journey) to be fluid and clear, and your messaging to be short, to the point and genuine”
INSIGHT
46 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
an ongoing basis and share it with your
audience on various media.
Creating and sharing this content will
lead to continued engagement from your
most interested targets. Links to operators
anchored within this content will allow
you to naturally and seamlessly push users
to your partners, while at the same time
providing these users with information they
need to become better (read: longer term)
players. An added benefit to this strategy
is the fact that it highlights your own
expertise in the field.
In the case of instructional content,
you’re providing value by walking your
audience through the necessary steps to
taking some sort of action. That could
be anything from analysing the odds of
a given wager to hedging bets in such a
way that you maximise your potential
earnings and mitigate potential losses.
Whatever the case, this is a content strategy
that once again showcases your expertise,
builds trust with your audience by giving
them a form of insider information, and
drives continued engagement through the
sustainable value of the instructions you’re
providing.
Lastly, you have inspirational content. In
this case, the use of the term inspirational
doesn’t relate to motivational phrases, but
rather content that is inspirational in terms
of the elicited actions. You can inspire
your audience to try something new and
different, and the best way to do this is to
provide tips and tricks that might not be
particularly obvious when you share, say,
the standard instructions involved in a
particular act. Again, this is a content type
that drives repeat engagement and provides
your audience with value.
Make it personalPersonalising the content you share to
Millennial audience segments is a two-step
process. The first involves segmenting
your audience of Millennials using one or
several of many (often free) tools that are
available to marketers. While this process
could easily be a series of articles on its
own (and a process that I cover in fairly
extensive detail in my upcoming book,
Marketing to Millennials for Dummies), in this
case you could conduct this segmentation
process by using Facebook’s Audience
Analysis tool on your email lists to
identify segments based on interests and
behaviours. In this segmentation process,
one of the important factors to look out
for is the expressed (or implied, based on
likes and engagement with other brands
on Facebook) interests your audience
possesses. These interests will allow you
to get a better understanding of what
makes your Millennial audience segments
tick, which will allow for extensive
customisation of your messaging.
Customisation of your content is an
important strategy because of the almost
overwhelming amount of noise that exists
online. Your audience can simply be too
easily distracted by something else in a
timeline or news feed to pay attention to
your generic content. It needs to speak to
your Millennial audience on a personal
level, which will accomplish a number of
objectives. First, personalised content will
catch your audience’s initial attention.
Once you have that, the more personalised
the message, the longer your audience will
be willing to stick around. The average
attention span of online adults is only a
handful of seconds. If you want to extend
that, think customisation first. Lastly,
personalised content will lead to faster
relationship development and nurturing.
The closer you can get to your Millennials,
as noted in the previous strategy, the more
loyal they will be and the greater their
lifetime value becomes.
Rich and digestibleRich and easily digestible are two qualities
that may not necessarily go together well in
the world of dining, but when it comes to
marketing, the more your content possesses
these two qualities, the more successful
it will be at driving your Millennial
relationships forward. Rich media are
pieces of content that leverage delivery
methods beyond standard text. So, for
example, an image or a video are forms of
rich media. These are the types of content
your Millennial audience will be most
attracted to, and that will most effectively
and rapidly deliver your message.
To make your content more digestible,
the key is simplicity. You want your brand
experience (or buyer journey) to be fluid
and clear, and you want your messaging
to be short, to the point and genuine.
Authenticity (discussed in the final strategy)
is key to the digestibility of your content. If
Millennials come across content presented
in a way that makes it simple, eye-catching
and conversational (also covered in the
next strategy) then the likelihood they will
engage with it is increased significantly.
That is especially true if you’ve followed the
previously outlined strategy of making the
content personalised to the audience segment.
By using rich media and developing a
simple enough message that your content
can be digested easily by Millennial
consumers, you increase the chances that
ongoing engagement can be derived from
a particular segment of your audience.
That ongoing engagement is crucial in
the nurturing and strengthening of your
Millennial relationships.
ConversationalYour content should entice your Millennial
audience to participate in a conversation.
This doesn’t mean that you need to avoid
your sales pitch at all costs; you simply
need to be smart about when and how it is
integrated into your messaging. Millennials
will spend money, despite what you
might have read, but they will spend it at
their own discretion. This means that the
aggressive sales tactic of new media will
not only fall flat (leading you to spend
marketing dollars that lead nowhere) but
it also means that your brand will leave
no lasting impression on your targeted
Millennial audience. Instead of building
relationships and loyalty, you’ll need to
run ongoing brand awareness campaigns
that target the same audiences, and this is
simply a waste of resources in the long run.
Conversational, authentic content is the
remedy for this problem.
There are three stages of an initial
content strategy: education, differentiation
and motivation. In the education stage,
you’re teaching your audience about
the industry you’re in and the products
or services that are available (some of
which you might offer). This provides
value to your audience (the first strategy
“There are three stages of an initial content strategy: education, differentiation and motivation”
“Customisation of your content is an important strategy because of the almost overwhelming amount of noise that exists online”
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47iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Corey has an extensive background in econometrics and statistics, and is a Partner at t2 Marketing International. He has worked on some of the most innovative Millennial-oriented campaigns for both online and bricks-and-mortar operators, speaks on his work and research at events around the world, and is a member of a number of gambling and Millennial-facing advisory boards. He is also the author of Marketing to Millennials For Dummies, which is part of the renowned For Dummies series.
we covered) and builds trust through
conversation and content sharing. The
differentiation stage is where you’ll
highlight why your products or services
are better. This is most effectively done by
sharing third-party content or engaging
with existing customers to highlight that
it is not simply your own opinion which
places your product or service above the
rest, but the market opinion.
The last stage, motivation, is the point in
the conversation where you can implement
some traditional sales tactics. Motivate
your now-engaged audience to take
action by offering some sort of incentive.
That can be a discount, a special for first
time customers, or another incentivised
offer that leads those members of your
Millennial audience to take action. The key
throughout this entire process is to make it
an ongoing conversation. Engage with users
on either an individual or large-scale basis.
Talk to them on a personal level as opposed
to simply sharing marketing materials.
Ask questions and let your audience know
they are being heard. Millennials have seen
enough advertising content. Converse with
them by following this outlined path and
you’ll see conversions and loyalty start to
ramp up.
ConclusionMillennials are not unique snowflakes;
they are consumers like anyone else. Media
has evolved in such a way that they engage
with brands and make purchasing decisions
differently than previous generations.
Loyalty still exists, however, and these
strategies will not only work for the age
brackets that we’ve come to know as
‘Millennial’, but will also extend into other
consumer demographics that have adopted
what I refer to as the ‘Millennial mindset’.
Generations that follow Millennials will
not revert back to the old ways of doing
business, and older generations are now
beginning to adopt the same kinds of habits
and media that have led to a lot of these
misconceptions about Millennial spending
and loyalty coming about. Take the time
to build relationships and develop content
tailored to audience segments and you’ll
see that loyalty exists and it means greater
and longer-lasting lifetime values.
More details can be found on
www.BerlinAffi liateConference.com
T H E M O S T E X C I T I N G A F F I L I A T E E V E N T O F 2 0 1 7
You can expect:
An innovative, analytical and strategic conference programme
Expert speakers, which will provide information on hot industry topics, trends and technologies
Unrivalled networking opportunities, allowing you to connect with the industry
FREE ENTRY FOR ALL AFFILIATES
BERLIN AFFILIATE CONFERENCE1ST - 4TH NOVEMBER 2017, MESSE BERLIN
INSIGHT
49iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
THE IMPORTANCE OF INFLUENCE The use of influencer marketing has grown rapidly over the past decade, but new Committee of Advertising Practice guidelines regarding the transparency of affiliate marketing could prove a stumbling block going forward, says Marie Clements of Digital Fuel Marketing.
INFLUENCER MARKETING IS by no
means a new concept. It can be traced all
the way back to the 1800s, when companies
realised celebrity endorsements increased
their sales, and over time the role and
power of that influence has changed and
diversified. And while the role of influence
has evolved over time, particularly in the
last decade, our approach as marketers has
too, with the need to understand different
types of influence and how to create
effective and converting campaigns.
One of the key developments in
marketing and advertising is that
consumers are more conscious of and
impervious to the effects of advertising,
with a general mistrust of paid ads as they
are very aware of the financial motivation
behind them. However, when it comes
to an individual recommendation, even
from a stranger, consumers are much more
trusting, and so brands have been investing
more time and resources into working
with individual influencers. Investment in
influencer marketing is about more than
building brand awareness, it’s a way of
validating your product to consumers using
someone they have trust in.
Defining influenceHow do we define who is an influencer?
There are some essential qualities for an
individual to be considered an influencer.
First, there is their reach — fundamentally,
influencers need an audience to be able to
convey messages and distribute content to.
Second, their own content and aesthetic
also needs to be relevant and fit with the
brand they’re promoting; the connection
between the influencer and the brand
or common topics will determine how
effective their results will be with their own
audience. Finally, having enough of an
influence to inspire a group of people and
affect their buyer behaviour is key.
All influencers will have a hybrid of
the above qualities. An influencer with a
large reach may not be able to influence
their audience’s behaviour as much as
an influencer with less reach, but a very
engaged audience who trust the influencer
and will base their decisions on their
opinion. Below is a tiered system based on
the idea of ranking affiliates on their reach
and engagement.
MegaReach: 1 million+
Engagement up to 5%
Celebrity and super social influencers
are brilliant as brand ambassadors and
are likely to produce great results for
impressions with an unparalleled reach.
Although they are not the best for
converting or ROI, the brand awareness
and association is an entirely different story.
MacroReach: 10,000+
Engagement up to 25%
Value-added influencers including
journalists, bloggers and specialists will
likely prove to be most successful in terms
of their relevance as their audience is likely
to be engaged by a shared interest and
the value of their expert opinion. This is
particularly relevant in gambling and sports.
MicroReach: 500+
Engagement: up to 50%
Social influencers are a modern take on the
classic marketing tool word of mouth. An
audience will value their opinion and make
decisions based on the influencer’s personal
experience with a brand. These influencers
are key for building relationships and
as they grow, so can your rapport. The
influencers themselves are likely to
personally engage in conversation with
their audience via social media/blogs, take
care of their audience and respond better to
brands showing a personal interest in them.
Influencers in the affiliate channelInfluencers have been working in the
affiliate channel for years, especially during
the mid-noughties when blogging, vlogging
and social media gave a new platform for
anyone to have a voice.
Working with influencers in our industry
has historically been based on a final click
model, meaning influencers signed up to
an affiliate programme are only rewarded
if they are awarded the final click in the
user journey, whereas research shows us
that influencers play a significant role in
the research phase, rather than the tail end
of a transaction. In other industries, it is
no surprise that attribution models soon
recognised the influence of these affiliates,
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50 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
keeping them on board, and rewarding
them for their efforts.
In the gambling sector, the last click
model is essential, especially on rev-share
programmes. This means that a lot of their
influence can go completely unrecognised
and unrewarded. For example, if you have
a sports journalist who believes a certain
outcome is a good tip – a horse for example,
the recommendation may come from their
Twitter account to back this horse with
the best odds from a certain bookie, the
audience may then know they can get a
voucher code or cashback or go to an odds
portal to check against competitors – any
one of these routes does not give credit to
the influencer who initiated this wager.
One way we can work with influencers
on the affiliate channel is by offering
appealing or exclusive content,
competitions, offers, etc. This may create
an environment where influencers can
be rewarded fairly within the affiliate
channel, as their audience has more
reason to complete their journey rather
than complete it via another channel or
different affiliate. It’s also necessary for
more flexible commission structures,
with payments for influence becoming
an integrated part of a programme’s
framework. The value of influence cannot
be underestimated, as this side of the
channel is rapidly growing and forming a
channel of its own. Data insights will be
key when it comes to understanding the
value of influencers on your programme,
with the quality of traffic and consumers
being an important metric.
The pirate model (Aarrr) is a brilliant
way to review the effectiveness of an
influencer campaign and here are some
points to consider.
Acquisition: the initial content visible to
audiences, be it through social media, a blog,
landing page, external widget, etc. Here
is where we need to focus on views, likes,
clicks, shares and any form of engagement.
Activation: the second stage of reviewing
your influencer campaign is tracking
signups and depositing customers from the
influencer’s audience.
Retention: while this mostly remains out of
the hands of influencers, it is still possible
to integrate retention methods into your
campaign, through time or event specific
offers/communication sent strategically
from both sides.
Referral: this is particularly interesting
for services that already offer a refer-a-
friend scheme to reward players. If you are
working on a campaign with an influencer
whose audience is very engaged and
passionate, they are likely to be: a) good
converters; and b) more likely to refer your
product to others.
Revenue: ROI is always top of any affiliate
marketing strategy, and while compromise
and flexibility may be required with
influencers, ultimately they still need
to generate revenue to maintain value,
particularly if they are able to provide loyal
consumers. A rev-share model is an ideal
way to work with some influencers as they
have more to gain on a performance basis.
The new rulesWhile looking at different ways to reward
influencers, it’s also important to understand
the guidelines in place for brands and
agencies working with influencers.
Recently the Committee of Advertising
Practice (CAP) issued revised guidelines
for brands and agencies working with
influencers — at the core of these revised
guidelines is the transparency of affiliate
marketing to consumers. The need for
transparency on social media, vlogs,
blogs, news sites and voucher sites was
particularly highlighted, after a recent survey
highlighted concerns that over three-quarters
of consumers are unaware of what #sp
means and just under half did not know
the meaning of #ad. With image-based
Instagram becoming one of the main drivers
in influencer marketing, CAP has advised
that ‘#ad’ should be included on the image
itself or written before any other text so
consumers know the post is for advertising.
One of the most important things to
influencers, their audience and brands is
the authenticity behind the advertising
– influencers are generally passionate
about the things they promote and enjoy
sharing things with their engaged audience.
However, following these guidelines means
that some of that authenticity may be lost
as consumers are more likely to lose trust
in a product if they see it as advertising and
not a genuine recommendation.
The true impact of these new guidelines
will become clearer once more brands have
implemented this strategy when working
with influencers on campaigns and reviewed
results. One thing is for certain, influencer
marketing is growing at an exceptional rate,
with increased budgets and more attention
from agencies and brands.
The recent news about PerformanceIN
launching an influencer marketing show
connected to PI Live this October shows
how much the industry has recognised the
importance of these relationships. Even
Google jumped on board by purchasing
an influencer platform late last year. If not
already in place, now is the time to devise
a strategy to work with and reward existing
influencers on your programme and recruit
new influencers to work with.
MARIE CLEMENTS began her career in affiliate marketing at Awin, working across a range of clients, before a move into the betting industry at Marathonbet, where she headed up PR and advertising. She joined Digital Fuel at the start of 2017 as an affiliate account manager.
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51iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
WHY UX SHOULD BE YOUR TOP PRIORITY Crystal Content’s Steve Lee explains why if you care about your traffic, you need to care about your user experience as well.
AT THE RECENT LONDON Affiliate
Conference, I was approached by countless
operators with one question, ”What’s your
traffic?”
A solid question, and one we should all
care about. However, with the growing move
towards user experience (UX) and the way
it defines your website’s ranking in search
engines, that question needs to change.
MobilegeddonThe focus from Google (and the other
guys) towards UX influencing SEO isn’t
a new one. Search engines have always
existed to provide the user with the best
results and the best experience possible.
But it wasn’t really until March 2015 when
Mobilegeddon (Google’s mobile-friendly
update) hit that people started to sit up and
take notice.
In response to a dramatic increase in
the number of users searching on a mobile
device, Google started to promote websites
that displayed well on mobile devices over
sites that did not. Why? To provide their
users with the best results and experience
possible, with no pinching or squeezing the
screen required.
Now, two years and countless Google
updates later, the focus remains firmly on the
user, and websites that don’t prioritise the user
experience will be quickly left behind.
There are some great examples in our
industry of affiliates that are really driving
this movement forward, with some now
hiring UX designers. But there is also a lot
of work to be done to move away from the
‘attrition’ model — stacking them high and
hoping a few drip through — that many
have focused on until now.
In my talk at LAC I covered some quick
and easy steps that affiliates can take to
prioritise the user experience to make sure
their sites aren’t left behind.
Know your audienceAs with any business, you need to build up
a picture of your ideal customer and use
that to focus your efforts. As a first step,
find out who they are, how they found you,
what they like, what keeps them engaged.
This will allow you to create engaging
content across all channels that will keep
them coming back for more.
Analytics is a necessity for any site, but
I’m still amazed at the number of affiliates
that don’t track what users do on their site.
Google Analytics is quick to install and
gives you a wealth of data. Once you have
customers on your site you need to find
out what they do there, what works and
what doesn’t. Hotjar is a great piece of user
tracking software that shows you what’s
working and what isn’t.
Don’t make them thinkOnce you know what your users like, make
it easy for them to find it. Create clear
signposts and calls to action that will lead
them through your site. Too often I see
websites with a flashing myriad of offers and
promotional banners, or long screeds of text
that only serve to confuse or bore users.
When redesigning a website, we like to
ask the site owner to take the 10 step, five
step test. We ask them to bring up their
homepage on the screen, stand up, take 10
steps back, then five steps forward. Then
ask them what they see and what they
should do as a user. More often than not
it’s a real eye-opener and leads to some
great insight.
Keep improvingAs Google refines its algorithm to focus
more on UX, you need to make sure you
are continuously improving your site. Our
motto is that a website is never finished.
You should always be testing your site
and looking for ways to improve its
performance to make sure you don’t get
left behind. Run short tests on key pages by
making some small layout changes. If they
work, great. If they don’t, try something
new. The whole point is to remain flexible
and keep improving.
Following the talk, I was asked a great
question on what affiliates can do to stay
ahead of Google and the answer is simple.
If Google is prioritising the user experience
you should be too.
STEVE LEE is head of design at Crystal Content, a digital marketing agency specialising in the igaming industry. He believes the key to a successful online campaign, no matter the size or budget, is understanding the user and knowing how to take them from a visitor to a paying customer.
“Hotjar is a great piece of user-tracking software that shows you what’s working and what isn’t”
INSIGHT
52 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
CREATING CONTENT FOR THE GEN CThe precise date boundaries of Gen X, Y or Z can be very hard to determine, so perhaps it’s time to focus your marketing strategies on Generation C, an audience which is determined by culture, behaviour and attitude rather than simply age. Lee-Ann Johnstone of Income Access elaborates.
RECENTLY I’VE BEEN reading a
lot about Generation C – an emerging
consumer segment which is creating a
culture that thrives on creation, curation,
connection and a sense of online
community. Gen C is becoming an
important part of your target audience,
and learning how to actively engage
and communicate effectively with these
individuals should be at the forefront of
your affiliate marketing strategy.
What is Gen C?The term was coined in 2010 by Nielsen
and Booz Allen and describes a highly-
connected consumer generation: any
media-savvy person who spends most of
their time comfortably interacting online.
Typically born after the 1980s (Millennials),
this growing group of consumers engage
with brands online via multiple devices.
Today, the Gen C culture defines
people across several generations who
are intimately familiar with digital
communication. They spend upwards of
six hours a day researching and learning
to discover and purchase goods and
services online.
Why are they so important?It’s estimated that by 2020, this segment
of consumers will make up around 10% of
the world’s population – the largest global
online consumer group, according to PwC.
These passionate brand advocates don’t just
passively consume information – many of
them create content at least once a month
to share with others too. Google research
indicates that Gen C customers are 3.6
times more likely to purchase and share
their transactions online.
They care deeply about creation,
both in terms of content and in terms of
sharing ideas, products and services within
their communities. They tend to favour
visual content – 80% of Gen C watches
YouTube regularly, and are twice as
likely to consume content on this channel
compared to the general population. They
are socially-driven when discovering new
brands and products. A Brian Solis article
about Gen C culture reveals that 66% of
the cohort will look up a store or brand if
they see a friend “check-in” there online.
Gen C consumers are great advocates
for brand sharing. Their characteristics
are highly conducive with brands in the
online gaming sector, which rely strongly
on engaging an audience in a live, social
and entertainment-driven setting to
secure additional player conversion.
Communicating with Gen C
Ever heard of the ‘Fear of Missing Out’
(FoMO)? Gen C consumers frequently
suffer from FoMO syndrome and want to
feel constantly connected to the world. This
means they use multiple content platforms
and devices. Gen C craves instant access
to information, exactly when they want
to consume it. Traditional paid media just
doesn’t cut it for these guys.
When communicating your brand or
product messaging, you need to ensure
that Gen C is given the opportunity to
ignore, engage or explore further when they
encounter your content. They are typically
savvy, ad-blocking types, so curating
content with which they can identify
and engage, as well as share within their
communities, is vital for getting maximum
interaction and attention.
Understanding that your content and
advertising should be less invasive is the
first step to adjusting your marketing
messaging. You should seek to engage by
adding value to the online discovery and
promotion of the brands you support on-
site rather than applying a push marketing
approach to get your target audience’s
attention.
It’s time to stop pushing standard bonuses
or games-based offers. Start engaging your
audience with the true benefits of what
makes your website (or brand) truly unique
and a business that the customer wants to be
associated with socially.
Understanding where you can bring
value, engage or entertain a customer prior
to their conversion is the key to generating
success. Ideally, they will engage with
brands that understand their curation
requirements in terms of sharing content
“Gen C consumers are great advocates for brand sharing. Their characteristics are highly conducive with brands in the online gaming sector, which rely strongly on engaging an audience in a live, social and entertainment-driven setting to secure additional player conversion”
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53iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
that allows them to in turn engage with
their own community. They strive for
expression and many will upload photos
or social content specifically to influence
others to purchase too, thus extending your
brand reach at minimal cost.
How to curate your contentThere are five key ways to tailor your
communications strategy to ensure that you
are optimising your content when targeting
Generation C customers:
1) Invest in creating organic social content
– across multiple channels
You’ve seen the stats and understand
where these consumers will likely spend
their time online. A big component of
this time is spent socially networking and
sharing content and information with
others. You need to understand how to
use key social network channels such as
Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to drive
traffic and engage this target audience
to connect with your brand. This will be
key to building a successful and engaging
customer relationship.
2) Create content that will spread your
brand voice by word-of-mouth (WOM)
Some of the most successful brands
never actually talk about their own
products or services – they just speak to
their audience about content that interests
them. As an affiliate, there is no reason
why you can’t build your own brand and
tone of voice to discuss subjects that
correspond with your target audience’s
broader interests.
Think like Red Bull – it hardly ever talks
about its energy drink, but it runs and hosts
events that are all about the experience
you’ll have when you drink Red Bull (it
“gives you wings”). This makes the product
a wider sell for people wanting to affiliate
with the brand and be awesome too.
Content is about engaging your audience
in a tone of voice that suits customers and
their needs.
3) Think about viral contests for social
engagement
Social media channels’ like and share
buttons are incredibly easy to use, so
spreading content virally has never been
simpler. This helps to drive traffic like
wildfire. Finding innovative tools that enable
better content sharing and branding while
saving you time is an effective way to grow
your traffic sources using WOM content.
Bespoke social tools like Vyper.io enable
you to run social-sharing contests that
engage Gen C customers and encourage
them to share your content with their wider
social circle. As mentioned, two-thirds of
Gen C consumers will share any content
they find enjoyable and educational, or
have already seen posted within their social
networks. According to Google’s research,
85% of Gen C relies on peer approval for
their buying decisions. This is a cheap,
effective way to make use of your existing
bespoke content, offers or promotions to
engage and help build your broader brand.
5) Be more heroic than hygienic in your
content curation (entertain – don’t
advertise)
Nobody wants to click on your affiliate
banner any more, unless it’s telling them
something they need to take up right
now (time-sensitive odds, for example,
still work and remain highly effective for
operators in terms of customer conversion).
In addition, today’s online reality is that
most consumers already have ad-blocking
software installed.
To stand out from the crowd, you must
think about the audience and what, where
and when they will be seeing your message.
Then tailor your message to suit. It’s about
hero content, which requires more effort
to create but will deliver a stronger result
when placed in front of a Gen C consumer.
Why? Because it’s entertaining and
engaging, and it speaks about an event, an
action or a subject that brings real value to
the target audience. It allows you to create
content that makes people stop and stare,
or have any kind of reaction rather than
ignoring it, which is largely the reaction to
standardised messages being pushed. Hero
content speaks to the individual – not to
the product or service with which you want
them to engage.
6) KISS – keep it simple, stupid!
Make sure that what you want to convey
can work in as short a sentence or phrase
as possible.
Your target audience has only limited
time to read long emails, articles and
blogs these days – they are too busy
socially networking and interacting with
their peers. Keep your messages short
and “Tweet-able”. Gen C consumers are
consuming content on a mobile device the
majority of the time. It’s therefore key that
you don’t waffle on about information
that might be secondary to your brand and
call-to-action messaging.
If you understand your audience, you
can better target them with content that
converts. This will prove fundamental
to growing your affiliate business to
break through the noise, effectively
communicating your promotional offers,
increasing your revenue and, above all,
driving better customer conversion.
“Gen C craves instant access to information, exactly when they want to consume it. Traditional paid media just doesn’t cut it for these guys”
With almost two decades’ experience in digital marketing in a range of sectors, LEE-ANN JOHNSTONE oversees Income Access’ marketing and business development teams. Previous roles at parent company Paysafe, Centrebet and PartyGaming honed her expertise in igaming-focused affiliate marketing and acquisition.
INSIGHT
54 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Artificial intelligence has been hyped by some as the next big thing in marketing. Adclouds.io’s Alok Alström explains what needs to happen for it to reach its true potential.
THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY has
long been driven by the ideas of creative
people, and in many companies the process
of designing ads is virtually unchanged
since the 1960s Mad Men era.
Apart from rudimentary A/B testing on
top of some Photoshop files in a folder on
someone’s computer, advertising agencies
and marketing departments typically do
not use any more sophisticated digital
tools than this in their creative process
to maximise their return on advertising
investments.
Digitisation has so far improved the
advertising industry’s reliance on humans
by bringing in mathematics and science to
improve audience targeting and channel
selection. But these improvements have to a
large degree plateaued.
Some explain this as coming down to
the lack of science in the creative process,
asserting that creative professionals are
not sufficiently interested in mathematical
algorithms and therefore lack the patience
to spend hours crunching through data. But
perhaps the main reason is rather that only
recently have developers built comprehensive
tools that creative professionals can rely on
to do this for them.
Affiliates, in particular, are motivated
by different aims than the ad men of days
gone past. For many affiliate marketers,
advertising and marketing is not the job,
but merely one part of it, and any way
to streamline the process and improve
their ROI would be very welcome.
Perhaps it’s time to bring the ad creative
process into the future through the use of
instruments that are simple to use but that
conceal artificial intelligence (AI) and the
crunching of large amounts of data under
the hood.
Start-ups around the world are now
taking on the challenge of making the
creative production more automated and
data-driven. Most of them have focused on
building managed products, although one
or two have created comprehensive cloud-
based tools which enable everyone involved
in the design of ads to create, manage
and improve their designs using powerful
algorithms to better capture the interest
of their audience, ultimately rendering
the advertising process faster, cheaper and
more precise.
To understand the extent of the
improvement that the future holds, one
must start by understanding the limitations
of the present. First, the current process
for creating ads is ineffective, because
individuals are deciding what to do based
on guesswork or intuition rather than
mining the rich data universe out there. It’s
also highly manual, with a lot of repetitive
manual production work by creative
professionals. Finally, it’s fragmented, with
different solutions, people and functions
involved. Often the images, brand fonts,
messages, etc, that are used to produce ads
are spread across many different personal
computers, Dropboxes and people’s
minds, with the ads themselves spread
over different networks that make it almost
impossible to get the consolidated view
required to garner the insights necessary to
improve performance by monitoring data
and performance.
So, when we take a step back to look at
the broader marketing landscape, it’s clear
that we as an industry could be using data
far more efficiently in the advertising value
chain, rather than just relying on creatives.
In today’s marketing landscape, best
practice marketing dictates the use of:
●● Programmatic data for intelligent media
buying;
●● Landing-page optimisers to continuously
evolve landing pages;
●● Retargeting to track your audience while
maximising ad exposure; and
●● Funnel optimisers to evolve sales funnels
and increase the value of each customer
relationship.
However, ad design is still largely based
on human intuition, past experience
and guesswork. No one really knows
beforehand if a creative is good or bad or
how a really strong creative design could
have improved conversion and ROI of
a campaign.
However, this could all be able to
change with the application of AI to
ad creation, and in the online gambling
industry, where the cost of acquisition
and marketing spend are incredibly high,
this could have a significant impact on
revenues for both operators and affiliates.
AI-based solutions allow users to
MEET THE NEW AD MEN
“For many affiliate marketers, advertising and marketing is not the job, but merely one part of it and any way to streamline the process and improve their ROI would be very welcome”
“Ad design is still largely based on human intuition, experience and guesswork. No one really knows beforehand if a creative is good or bad or how a strong creative design could have improved conversion and ROI”
INSIGHT
55iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
easily produce and manage display ads
and better still, make suggestions for
how the ads should evolve to produce
better returns. Typically, the AI makes
incremental changes to the ads using
real past and present conversion data for
different creative element, not only saving
time and hassle during the creative process
but revealing the full impact of
a strong campaign.
But crucially, as is often the case with
humans, AI also works best if every piece
of relevant information is made available
for the decision-making process. That’s
why many start-ups are now using AI-
powered cloud platforms, as these types of
tool empower marketers by enabling them
to have everything they need to develop the
ads in one place, cutting the time spent on
repetitive tasks, simplifying the processes
around the ads, assets and parties being
used and, perhaps most importantly,
boosting the output level to make the work
of one man feel like that of a hundred.
The results of the application of
these new AI-based technologies are
impressive and advertisers in the Nordics
are beginning to notice. For example, one
Nordic TV channel saw its conversion
rate increase by more than 30%, a Nordic
gambling firm experienced uplift of
40% and Nordic aggregators have seen
conversion increases of up to 200% from
using these AI-based tools.
But even if these technologies may
be what the advertising industry needs
to renew itself and revive online display
advertising, the effective use of such tools
requires significant cultural change within
organisations. And as we all know, such
change is painful because it means the
individuals involved in the creative process
need to start doing some things they don’t
currently do and are unfamiliar with, and
also stop doing some things that were
previously a core value-add but which
new technologies have effectively rendered
redundant. The question is, therefore, how
many of these more established companies
will dare to embrace the change.
ALOK ALSTRÖM is chief commercial officer of Adclouds.io, a platform for AI-powered ad A/B-testing that enables companies to produce, manage and evolve display ads with the help of AI. His previous roles included general manager of Uber Sweden, director of business development for the Bisnode Group and management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.
NAME: ALOK ALSTRÖM DATE: 7 APRIL 2017 WHEN: 11.00
INSIGHT
56 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
A HIDDEN OPPORTUNITY? AFFILIATE MARKETING IN THE US IN 2017A seminar put together by iGB Affiliate at ICE in London explored the hidden opportunity of affiliate marketing in the US market with representatives from across the main verticals. Speaker Alana Levine of Income Access shares some of the key insights from the discussion.
AFFILIATE MARKETING CONTINUES TO be a driving force for the growth of
regulated igaming markets around the globe.
However, when it comes to the United
States, many affiliates remain cautious
to enter the market, and for a variety of
reasons – high costs, time investment, and
strict legislation, to name a few.
The most exciting change to date came
in 2013 with the regulation of real-money
gaming in New Jersey, which meant brands
could now offer online poker and casino
for customers physically within the state.
This news, plus talk of future states such
as California and Pennsylvania regulating,
certainly brought the spotlight back to the
United States. However, with no states
taking any concrete steps forward in the
past few years, affiliates turned to other
countries and markets where prospects of
growth are more readily available.
Despite what these recent trends may
suggest, the consumer appetite for gambling
products in the United States remains
strong, and there are several verticals that
currently exist in addition to real-money
igaming. Not only are these opportunities
lucrative, they are readily available for
affiliates to explore. To really showcase the
market, we held a seminar at ICE Totally
Gaming in London in February, where we
spoke alongside influential representatives
from each vertical about what US igaming
really means for affiliates.
Real-money casino isn’t the only game in townThe US igaming landscape is diverse. The
market varies state by state, and across
diverse audiences, products, and brands.
Regulated igaming is only one of five key
verticals in the US igaming market. Some
have existed and established themselves
well before the re-emergence of real-money
casino and poker, and others are evolving
in a similar fashion to igaming.
The list of notable verticals includes horse
race wagering, daily fantasy sports (DFS),
social casinos, and iLottery (sports betting
is a sixth worth mentioning, although now
only available in Nevada). Many affiliates
that have US traffic and an interest in any or
all of these verticals have an opportunity to
promote any one of the many brands that
operate in the US.
Established verticals paving the wayHorse race wagering in the United States is
the most historic gambling product available
in the US, having launched the first online
wagering product with TVG in 1993. Since
then, the vertical has grown into a $3 billion
market, with the largest brands Twinspires,
BetAmerica, TVG, and Xpressbet
dominating the market. Advanced deposit
online wagering is now offered in 40 states
and has increased its share of total handle
(online versus on-track) to just over 30%.
In a similar vein, despite what many be
perceived as only a recent development,
DFS has actually been in the United States
for nearly a decade, with the launch of
FanDuel in 2009. DFS is a deviation of
traditional season-long fantasy sports, in
which games are conducted over shorter
periods of time. It, too, is a multi-billion
dollar market and available to sports fans
in 40 states..
Newcomers on the blockAs with many industries feeling the
pressure to move online, state lotteries in
the US are no different. Michigan Lottery
has pioneered the way with its approach
to iLottery, including becoming the first
to offer a dedicated affiliate marketing
program. iLottery represents a very new
and quickly growing vertical, expected
to reach nearly $100 billion in gross
gaming profit this year alone, according to
Michigan’s Digital Products Director Jason
Lisiecki. Michigan is one of nine states to
offer lottery products online, with Georgia,
Michigan and Kentucky selling instant win
and other traditional draw-based games.
INSIGHT
iGB Affi liate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017 57
Another bourgeoning, and slightly more
established vertical, is social gaming. The
social casino space in the US is a $4.4
billion market, with products ranging
from table games, slots and poker. As of
this past month, nearly 25% of the top-
grossing iOS store apps are social casinos,
including DoubleDown, Big Fish Casino,
and Playtika. These powerhouses stand
alongside other gaming products such
as Pokémon GO and EA’s Star Wars:
Galaxy of Heroes. Traditional casinos
have recently begun launching their own
branded social casino products, meaning
hundreds of products are now available for
affiliates to promote.
Opportunities to market igamingSo what does this really mean for affiliates
evaluating whether to invest in the US
market? As Seth Young, Director of Online
Gaming at Foxwoods Resort Casino, put
it: “If you have [US] traffic, then the US
market is worth looking at.”
Specifically for social casino, Young sees
the affiliate market as relatively immature,
which means low competition for affiliates.
“There aren’t too many companies driving
casino traffic,” said Young. “At Foxwoods,
we’re seeing higher ARPDAUs and revenue
per player. It’s up and coming brands like
this that may be an interesting opportunity
for affiliates.”
As for iLottery, the market is young and
growing rapidly. Lisiecki of Michigan shared
that only 2% of the 18+ population in
Michigan is active online, which shows the
immense potential audience that affiliates
can help the brand to reach.
With DFS, the brands are seeking to
educate 57 million season-long fantasy users
of the possibility to play short-term, daily
and weekly games. According to the FSTA,
only 7.8 million have registered with a DFS
brand, and of those, 67% of these users have
yet to monetize. For sports-loving affiliates,
this is a niche with plentiful possibilities.
Most significantly, many of the verticals
face challenges when it comes to marketing
on platforms such as Facebook and Google.
This challenge represents a valuable
opening for affiliates who can help these
brands to target niche audiences in a cost-
effective way.
Challenges to overcomeDespite the compelling opportunities
that exist in US iGaming, there remain
challenges for both brands and affiliates
to address. Some challenges can be
seen across all verticals and others are
uniquely applicable to specific products
or jurisdictions.
For example, a shared challenge for
igaming, iLottery, horse racing and DFS is
the need to geo-target prospective players on
a state-by-state basis. As each state has its
own regulatory approach to igaming, brands
and affiliates must respect the boundaries
and restrictions put in place.
With social casinos, the challenge is in the
volumes required to stay competitive with
the big brands, and this can act as a barrier
for affiliates to enter the market. That said,
smaller brands seeking to invest more in
effectively monetizing a smaller player base
may be a more attractive place to start for
affiliates looking to earn on a traditional
cost-per-acquisition or revenue share basis.
Registration and licensing requirements
are the most obvious barrier for affiliates
wanting to enter the US market. At the
very minimum, for regulated real-money
iGaming, affiliates are required to register
with each state government, and where
they want to earn on a revenue share basis,
may have to complete an extensive licensing
process. In most instances, it was argued by
the panel, this may not be such a bad thing.
According to Young of Foxwoods, “The
fact that it’s difficult to get into the affiliate
space in the US can actually be a good
thing. This means that for affiliates that
are serious about getting into the space,
there is less competition and more room
for growth.”
Whether the barriers have eased as
the market continues to evolve, or the
opportunities are becoming more attractive,
there is no doubt that both brands and
affiliates will mutually benefit from
partnering to grow iGaming in the US.
As Senior Manager, Marketing Services, at Paysafe’s Income Access, ALANA LEVINE focuses on developing partnerships in the igaming and land-based casino sectors in the US and globally. She oversees the creation of turnkey digital marketing solutions for Income Access’ global partners. Alana holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a post-graduate degree in fi nance.
“According to Michigan’s Digital Products Director Jason Lisiecki, only 2% of the 18+ population in Michigan is active online, showing the immense potential audience that affi liates can help brands to reach”
11TH - 14TH JULY 2017RAI EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION CENTRE
AMSTERDAM AFFILIATE CONFERENCE
Part ofT H E G A M I N G
11TH - 14TH JULY 2017RAI EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION CENTRE
Over 4,500 expected delegates
In-depth conference sessions covering the key issues facing the industry
Insightful debate and learning from leading industry figures
Over 180 stands making it the biggest exhibition in the industry
Unrivalled networking opportunities with 7 planned events
Free networking mobile app
More details including sponsorship packages, conference schedule,
official hotels, all the parties and much more can be found on
www.AmsterdamAffiliateConference.com
THIS EVENT WILL BRING YOU:
FREE entry for all iGaming delegates
60 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
In conjunction with Chris Elliott and Beth French of Wiggin LLP, iGB Affiliate provides a regulatory snapshot of igaming markets across the EU. This includes all regulated products and legalised operator types, and any impending market updates. Denmark, Germany and Poland are among those updated for this issue.
AUSTRIA Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Licences for sports betting
and horse race betting are available for
private operators on a regional basis within
Austria whereas poker, casino, bingo and
lottery are controlled by the monopoly,
Austria Lotteries.
Status: An appeal challenging Austrian
tax legislation is seen as a test case by
other offshore operators targeting Austrian
business in 2016 court decisions reached
conflicting decisions on the compatibility
of Austria’s current gambling legislative
framework with EU law, which remains
unclear. The Austrian government put
forward a proposal to block unlicensed
offshore operators targeting the country,
although next steps are unclear.
BELGIUM Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are available
to private operators save for lotteries,
which are reserved exclusively for the
monopoly provider. However, online
operators need to partner up with local
casinos in order to satisfy the land-
based establishment requirement; or
alternatively, apply for one of the 34
retail licences (F1 licences) which can be
extended to cover online (F1+ licence).
Status: The regulator recently introduced
rules to prevent live casino products being
offered to players unless the dealers are
physically in Belgium. The potential for
EC infringement proceedings remains. The
Belgian government has applied VAT of
21% on online gambling transactions with
effect from 1 July 2016.
BULGARIA Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery (excluding raffles and
instant lottery games).
Operator Type: All products are available
to private operators save for lotteries,
which are reserved exclusively for the
monopoly provider.
Status: Bulgaria’s Gambling Act became
law on 1 July 2012 but licences were
not available until mid-2013 as further
implementing legislation needed to be in
force. Any operator from an EU/EEA
jurisdiction or the Swiss Confederation
can apply for a licence. The Bulgarian
regulator has subsequently issued licences,
including to a number of international
operators, and recently removed the
restriction on Gibraltar-based applicants.
The change from a turnover to a GGR
tax-based system has prompted a number
of operators to apply for a local licence.
CROATIA Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are available
to private operators save for lotteries,
reserved exclusively for the monopoly
provider. Private operators can only be
licensed to offer igaming if they obtain a
land-based casino or betting licence.
Status: Following Croatia’s accession to
the EU in July 2013, it was understood
it would submit new legislation which
was compatible with European law.
However, on 5 March 2014 the Croatian
government notified a draft bill which
seeks to embolden the position of the
monopoly and local operators. The
draft bill still stipulates that only land-
based casinos and betting operators can
apply for a licence. ISP blocking is also
proposed. The receipt of a Detailed
Opinion from the EC stalled the
legislative process.
CYPRUS Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator Type: OPAP have a monopoly
over lottery operations; sports betting
licences are available to private operators.
Status: Cyprus regulated online betting
in July 2012, although a licensing
regime was not established until 2016.
Applications for online sports betting
licences were accepted for a one-
month period only from 3 October to 3
November 2016. Following the closure
of the licensing window, the government
announced they would implement
blocking measures with the publication
of a blacklist, and warned local ISP
providers that it would face fines for
failures to block sites offering unlicensed
gambling products. The first sports betting
licence was granted in January 2017.
CZECH REPUBLIC Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: EU and EEA-based
operators are able to apply for licences.
Status: Amendments to Czech Republic’s
gambling legislation became effective
on 1 January 2017, and allow EU/EEA
companies to apply for online licences.
A delay in issuing detailed secondary
regulations meant that no applicants were
granted licences ahead of the introduction
of the licensing regime. The first licence
was granted on 28 January 2017. No
transitional/grace period for licence
EUROPEAN REGULATION
WEBMASTER WORLD
61iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
applicants while awaiting full licensure.
DENMARK Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, fantasy sports, horse race betting,
poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Sports betting, poker and
casino licences are available to private
operators. Bingo, lottery and horse race
betting (fixed odds only) are controlled by
the state monopoly.
Status: The Danish online gambling
regime went live on 1 January 2012.
ISP-blocking measures are active in the
jurisdiction and the Danish Gaming
Authority has been granted an injunction
in order to block operators and suppliers
that have been targeting Danish customers
without the requisite licence. Following
a government announcement earlier
this year, Denmark has submitted draft
legislation to the EC which aims to
open up online bingo and horse race
betting markets to private operators. The
standstill period ends on 2 June 2017.
ESTONIA Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Licences for all gambling
products are available for private operators
save that the monopoly has exclusive
rights to lottery.
Status: As of June 2016, only 16
operators are licensed in the jurisdiction,
12 of which operate online. A blacklist
of around 1,100 operators is maintained
and updated by local authorities and
ISP blocking is in force. A new law
which introduces new player protection
measures and relaxes certain online
sports betting advertising restrictions took
effect in June 2015. Further amendments
introduced in January 2016 extend the
application of self-exclusion lists to lottery
and sports betting players.
FINLAND Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All gambling products
are under the exclusive control of
the three monopoly providers, Raha-
automaatiyhdistys (“RAY”), Fintoto Oy
and Veikkaus Oy. The monopolies merged
into one state entity as of 1 January 2017.
Status: An ECJ ruling confirmed that
Finland’s three monopoly providers are
legally permitted, which was subsequently
written into law. In November 2013, the EC
also withdrew infringement proceedings.
Active enforcement measures are in place
(restrictive marketing for offshore operators
and ISP blocking).
FRANCE Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker and
lottery.
Operator Type: Private operators can
obtain online licences for sports betting,
horse race betting and poker. The
monopoly has exclusive rights to lottery.
Status: A regulated market that has
been sanctioned by the EC. Parliament
announced a full review of French
gambling legislation in 2016. On 7
October 2016, the Digital Republic Act
took effect, allowing international poker
liquidity and the introduction of a new
mechanism allowing players to self-limit
the time spent playing games such as
online poker and provisions relating to the
organisation of esports tournaments.
GERMANY Regulated Gambling Products:
Schleswig-Holstein, a small Northern
German state, regulates sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino and
bingo. The other 15 states of Germany
currently only permit sports betting and
horse race betting.
Operator Type: Private operators can
no longer obtain licences in Schleswig-
Holstein, and those in existence will
expire on 30 June 2019. In the other
15 states, horse race betting licences
are available at a regional level but the
position surrounding the 20 available
sports betting licences is still uncertain.
Status: The licensing regime in Germany
is in a state of flux. The tender for 20
Federal sports betting licences was
abortive, following a number of appeals
by operators who were not granted a
licence. The CJEU ruled in 2016 that
Germany’s sports betting regulation
is incompatible with EU law and that
enforcement actions will be unlawful
where none of the 20 licences could, in
practice, be acquired. The decision led
to calls for comprehensive legal reform
of Germany’s gambling legislation. In
March 2017, all 16 German states signed
amendments to the country’s gambling
law which will allow for an unlimited
number of sports betting licences
(including temporary licences to those
operators that fulfilled the minimum
requirements in the 2012 sports betting
tender), although the ban on online
casinos will be upheld. The decision
to only make minimal amendments
to the Treaty has drawn widespread
criticism, particularly from the European
Commission. Amendments are scheduled
to enter into force on 1 January 2018.
GREAT BRITAIN Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All licences are available
to private operators save for lottery, which
is reserved exclusively for the monopoly
provider, Camelot.
Status: Any operator that transacts
with, or advertises to, British residents
requires a licence from the Gambling
Commission. From 31 March 2015,
licensed operators are required to source
gambling software from Commission-
licensed businesses.
A corresponding tax rate of 15%
of gross profits was introduced on 1
December 2014. This is subject to an
ongoing judicial review by a Gibraltar
trade association and its questions
regarding its compatibility with European
law. The Treasury is confident that it
can defend its position. On 5 December
2016, the UK government published its
responses to the consultation on free-
play tax treatment for remote gaming,
announcing that the first use of free-plays
will be taxed and winnings will be brought
into the duty calculation at the end of the
rewagering process. The changes are set to
be included in the Finance Bill 2017 and
62 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
are due to take effect on 1 August 2017.
GREECE Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are
exclusively reserved for the monopoly
providers although 24 transitional licences
for private operators remain active, with
all products permitted.
Status: The enabling regulations that
implement a Greek online gambling
licensing regime are yet to be implemented.
In 2012, a “transition period” commenced
whereby the Greek government granted 24
transitional licences to operators, enabling
them to keep transacting with Greek
residents. Greece’s government has since
announced its intention to issue licences
for online gambling to end the ongoing
transition position. The fate of the 24
licences is still unclear, although a continued
delay to the implementation of the
legislation has led to the EC sending a letter
of enquiry to the Greek authorities at the
beginning of 2017 to question the lack of
development in the remote gambling sector.
A tax increase has been established on gross
gaming revenues, increasing the rate from
30% to 35% as of May 2016.
HUNGARY Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Only the state
monopolies (Szerencsejáték Zrt. and
Magyar Lóversenyfogadást-SzervezőKft)
and local concession companies can apply
for a licence.
Status: Amendments to Hungarian
gambling law came into force on 1
October 2015 which allow only two
land-based casinos to hold remote casino
concessions. The regulator has since
issued fines against unlicensed operators
who continue to target the market. ISP
blocking of unlicensed sites has occurred
since June 2014. The potential for EC
infringement proceedings remains.
IRELAND Regulated Gambling Products: Online
gaming is not specifically accounted for in
Ireland’s outdated legislation and as such
is currently unregulated. Online betting has
been regulated since August 2015.
Status: Updating its legislation, which will
create a comprehensive igaming regime
and payment restrictions. More substantive
developments are expected in 2017. The
Betting (Amendment) Act 2015 now
requires remote bookmakers to hold a
licence, and pay a 1% turnover-based duty.
ITALY Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products available to
private operators save for lottery, which
is reserved for the monopoly provider.
However, it is currently not possible to
obtain a licence in Italy.
Status: Fully regulated market. A recently
passed Stability Law introduces various
measures affecting the remote gambling
industry, including tax changes and plans
for tighter advertising rules. The law will
provide for the award of 120 new online
gaming licences (lasting for six years).
The tender process for the award of the
licences has been delayed, but it was
recently announced that these would be
issued in Q1 of 2017.
LUXEMBOURG Regulated Gambling Products: Lottery
Operator Type: Monopoly.
Status: The general prohibition on
gambling appears sufficiently wide to
cover all forms of online gambling.
MALTA Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Private operators can
apply for a local licence (save for lottery
products).
Status: On 3 June 2014, Maltese regulator
the Malta Gaming Authority introduced a
number of policy changes. These included
changes regarding hosting servers
abroad, audit requirements and the cloud
environment. Malta recently introduced
the Skill Games Regulations 2016, which
established a regulatory framework for
skill games for prizes. The new legislation
forms part of Malta’s plans to modernise
online gambling rules, with further
amendments to Malta’s gambling laws
expected throughout the course of 2017.
NETHERLANDS Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: After two years of
parliamentary debate, the Dutch Lower
House approved the Online Gambling
Bill, which will introduce an online
gambling licensing regime in the
Netherlands. The legislation will impose
a 29% GGR tax on both online and land-
based operators. The Bill still requires
approval from the Senate and licensing
is not expected to commence until at
least 2019. In the interim, the regulator
continues to implement enforcement
measures against those operators targeting
Dutch players. In May 2016, a Dutch
court upheld fines issued by the regulator
in the first such case to go to trial.
NORWAY Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator Type: Online gambling is
reserved for its two monopoly providers:
Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.
Status: The monopoly has extended its
offering to include live betting, online
bingo and casino games in an attempt to
redirect traffic from unlicensed sites. The
government published a long-awaited
white paper on how best to regulate the
gambling sector in March 2017. The
new government was understood to be
considering a limited licensing regime
for foreign operators; however, the white
paper instead proposes that the gambling
monopoly remain in place and no
licensing system be introduced.
POLAND Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting and horse race betting. Casino and
poker to be regulated from 1 April 2017.
Operator Type: Betting licences
are available for companies with a
representative in Poland. Casino
WEBMASTER WORLD
63iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
and poker will be reserved for a state
monopoly from 1 April 2017.
Status: Legislation enacted 1 January
2012 only permits betting and there are
currently only five licensed operators in
Poland (Fortuna, Milenium, STS, E-Toto
and Totolotek). In December 2016, a
Government bill proposing amendments
to the Gambling Act was approved, which
removes the current prohibition on online
gaming (including poker), although reserves
the exclusive rights to offer such products
to a state monopoly. The amendments
also provide for the establishment of a
blacklist of unlicensed operators and the
introduction of ISP and payment blocking.
The amendments will come into force in
April 2017, with the exception of provisions
relating to enforcement, which will come
into force on 1 July 2017.
PORTUGAL Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Any EU/EEA operator
can apply to be granted a licence for online
gambling. Lottery games and land-based
fixed odds sports betting remain reserved for
a monopoly.
Status: Portugal’s online gambling
legislation was passed by Parliament in
late February 2015 and came into force on
29 June 2015. While operators can now
apply for licences, their Portuguese revenue
streams will be subject to comparatively
high tax rates, particularly sports betting,
subject to an 8-16% tax on turnover. In
2015, the RGA filed a state aid case with
the EC challenging the Portuguese betting
tax as breaking EU trade rules. There is
no deadline for the licensing window or
limit on the number of licences that may be
issued. Delayed technical standards were
introduced in December 2016, paving the
way for operators to certify their online
systems to obtain a licence. The regulator is
known to have granted five licences.
ROMANIA Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, casino, bingo
and lottery.
Operator Type: Any operator from
an EU/EEA jurisdiction or the Swiss
Confederation can apply for a licence.
Lottery games remain reserved for the
monopoly.
Status: The Romanian government
passed legislation at the end of 2014 that
allows entities within the EU to apply for
a licence, imposes a reform on licence fees
and eliminates many (but not all) of the
tax burdens placed on player revenues.
The Gambling Law (as amended)
introduced a legal framework for a fully
regulated online gambling market, and
requires licences to be held by online
gambling operators, as well as software
providers, payment processors, affiliates
and testing labs. After some delay,
the secondary legislation which fully
implemented the new licensing regime
came into force on 26 February 2016. The
National Office for Gambling in Romania
published a blacklist of unlicensed
gambling operators in July 2015.
SLOVAKIA Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are operated
by the monopoly save that land-based
sports betting operators can offer services
online due to a legal loophole.
Status: In November 2016, a bill
amending the existing gambling
legal framework was approved. The
amendments, which entered into force on
1 January 2017, include the introduction
of ISP and payment blocking of illegal
online gambling offerings in the Slovak
territory. The supervisory function in
respect of ISP and payment blocking
measures will not be active until July
2017. Whether amendments will also
be made to introduce a formal licensing
system remains unclear.
SLOVENIA Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Online gambling must be
operated by land-based casinos or lotteries
and, as a result, only the monopoly holds
online licences in Slovenia.
Status: The Finance Ministry notified
secondary regulations for the operation of
online gambling services to the European
Commission on 17 August 2016. The
proposals would remove the cap on the
number of licences and the requirement
for a local establishment, although sports
betting would remain as a monopoly.
SPAIN Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, casino, poker,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Private operators can
apply for licences for all gambling
products save for lottery.
Status: The first online licences were
issued on 1 June 2012. Under the law,
operators must hold a general licence and
a specific licence for each activity from
the National Gambling Commission. In
June 2015, 10 new licences were awarded,
the first since the market opened in 2012.
Also 25 online slot permits were issued to
new and existing operators. This followed
the approval of the regulation of slots and
betting exchanges.
SWEDEN Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, bingo
and lottery.
Operator Type: Only public benefit
organisations, the horse racing industry
and the state lottery may obtain a licence.
No licences are available for private
operators.
Status: The Swedish government is
under pressure to update its regulations.
The commencement of infringement
proceedings by the EC appeared to
mobilise the government. However, a bill
that sets out to strengthen the position
of gambling monopolies has been
submitted to parliament. Simultaneously,
the government has confirmed it is
proceeding with an investigation into
reforming the law with a view to
potentially opening up was due to the
market to private operators in due course.
The review will conclude at the end of
March 2017.
Wiggin is a law firm dedicated to supporting the media,
entertainment and gaming sectors. Its market-leading
Betting and Gaming group provides specialist legal
services to an array of gambling industry stakeholders.
We advise many of the world’s leading gambling
operators and suppliers and also enjoy helping
entrepreneurial, interactive start-up businesses. If you’d
like to hear more, contact us at [email protected].
64 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
US SEARCH DATA
WebsitesSegmented Visits
Segmented Rate
Illinois Lottery 70.71% 23.41%
PCHLotto 3.77% 8.72%
Lottery Post 8.41% 4.58%
Powerball 3.70% 4.34%
Illinois Lottery Online 76.42% 3.71%
Michigan Lottery 5.95% 3.00%
www.draftkings.com 4.10% 2.47%
Fanduel.com 5.50% 2.26%
Bovada.lv Sports 6.61% 2.18%
Lottery USA 4.02% 1.91%
MOSTPOPULAR
GAMBLINGWEBSITES
RANKED BY
RANKED BY
VISITS FROM
VISITS FROMPENNSYLVANIA*
ILLINOIS*
MOST POPULAR GAMBLING WEBSITES
Websites Total Visits Visits ShareRank Oct 16
Rank Sept 16
Rank Aug 16
PCHLotto 23,803,386 9.85% 1 1 1
Florida Lottery 11,996,767 4.96% 8 7 4
www.draftkings.com 11,281,730 4.67% 2 3 3
NY Lottery 7,802,273 3.23% 4 4 6
California Lottery 7,014,070 2.90% 6 12 8
Texas Lottery Commission 6,590,969 2.73% 5 6 7
Fanduel.com 6,174,376 2.56% 3 2 2
Powerball 5,613,850 2.32% 11 10 10
Mega Millions 5,254,214 2.17% 10 9 11
Pennsylvania Lottery 5,187,078 2.15% 12 11 15
Lottery Post 4,903,561 2.03% 14 15 17
Michigan Lottery 4,434,421 1.84% 17 14 18
VegasInsider.com 4,371,627 1.81% 20 20 20
Lottery USA 4,285,247 1.77% 15 23 24
Harrah's Casino Hotels 4,136,245 1.71% 19 19 21
MOSTPOPULAR
WEBSITESGAMBLINGIN
RANKED BYVISITSMONTH FEBRUARY
SHAR
E
2017OF
Competitive intelligence services Hitwise, a division of Connexity, provides data on the top-visited gambling sites ranked by internet traffic for the entire US and by state, based upon a sample of 10 million internet users.
WebsitesSegmented Visits
Segmented Rate
Pennsylvania Lottery 74.87% 37.43%
PCHLotto 3.51% 7.98%
Powerball 4.32% 4.97%
www.draftkings.com 5.45% 3.23%
Lottery Post 3.74% 2.00%
King.com 5.67% 1.98%
Lottery USA 4.05% 1.89%
Fanduel.com 4.37% 1.76%
WorldWinner 7.85% 1.52%
Covers 5.59% 1.48%
*4 Rolling Weeks ending February 25, 2017 Source: Connexity.com/hitwise
65iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
MOSTPOPULAR GAMBLINGWEBSITESRANKED BY
VISITS FROM NEVADA*
MOST POPULAR GAMBLINGWEBSITES
RANKED BYVISITS FROM
FLORIDA*
Websites Segmented Visits Segmented Rate
California Lottery 88.12% 23.62%
PCHLotto 8.79% 8.42%
Powerball 6.72% 3.26%
Harrah's Casino Hotels 16.74% 2.85%
Bovada.lv Sports 20.30% 2.77%
www.draftkings.com 9.98% 2.49%
Bovada.lv 17.46% 2.22%
VegasInsider.com 16.65% 1.94%
Fanduel.com 10.82% 1.84%
Covers 16.30% 1.82%
MOSTPOPULARGAMBLINGWEBSITES
RANKED BY
CALIFORNIA*VISITS FROM
MOSTGAMBLINGRANKED BYVISITS FROM
YORK*
WebsitesSegmented Visits
Segmented Rate
Harrah's Casino Hotels 6.60% 8.30%
PCHLotto 1.06% 7.46%
VegasInsider.com 5.75% 4.94%
California Lottery 2.37% 4.70%
Covers 4.69% 3.86%
The 2 + 2 Forums 7.89% 2.40%
OddsShark 3.78% 2.04%
Powerball 0.54% 1.94%
MGM Grand Las Vegas 14.41% 1.85%
Sportsbook Review 7.39% 1.80%
WebsitesSegmented Visits
Segmented Rate
Florida Lottery 82.17% 44.63%
PCHLotto 7.55% 8.71%
Powerball 5.95% 3.48%
www.draftkings.com 8.46% 2.54%
Lottery USA 10.34% 2.45%
Lottery Post 7.67% 2.09%
Fanduel.com 10.19% 2.08%
Florida Lottery - Second Chance Drawing
87.68% 1.43%
NY Lottery 3.40% 1.29%
Georgia Lottery 5.54% 1.20%
WebsitesSegmented Visits
Segmented Rate
NY Lottery 74.94% 34.14%
PCHLotto 4.21% 5.84%
Lottery USA 13.06% 3.71%
Lottery Post 10.51% 3.43%
www.loteriasdominicanas.com 48.12% 3.00%
Powerball 4.08% 2.86%
www.draftkings.com 7.35% 2.65%
Fanduel.com 8.25% 2.02%
NJLottery 10.48% 1.56%
King.com 6.54% 1.39%
WebsitesSegmented Visits
Segmented Rate
NJLottery 71.06% 22.34%
PCHLotto 1.97% 5.75%
Lottery Post 6.71% 4.61%
NY Lottery 4.62% 4.43%
Lottery USA 6.88% 4.11%
Powerball 2.69% 3.98%
www.draftkings.com 3.66% 2.78%
Fanduel.com 5.35% 2.76%
Pennsylvania Lottery 3.61% 2.31%
Harrah's Casino Hotels 4.12% 2.14%
MOST
GAMBLING
RANKED BY
VISITSFROM
NEW JERSEY*
POPULAR
WEBSITES
POPULARWEBSITES
NEW
WEBMASTER WORLD
66 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
In conjunction with H2 Gambling Capital, the iGaming Dashboard provides a monthly overview of the iGaming sector in numbers. This is the April 2017 edition.
IGAMING DASHBOARDTOTAL GLOBAL IGAMING GROSS WIN (XBN) PERCENTAGE OF GLOBAL IGAMING GROSS WIN “WHITE MARKET”
2003
50
40
30
20
10
0
2011
2007
2015
2005
2013
2009
2017
E
2004
2012
2008
2016
E
2006
2014
2010
2018
E
7.29.6
12.8
16.116.018.7
20.723.0 24.1
26.528.9
32.5
35.9
39.7
42.7
46.5
2003
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
0%
2011
2007
2015
2005
2013
2009
2017
E
2018
E
2019
E
2020
E
2004
2012
2008
2016
E
2006
2014
2010
44.2%
37.5%
33.7% 33.1%
38.8% 40.1% 40.9% 41.4% 45.0%
47.2% 48.0% 49.9%
53.4% 56.6%
2019
E
2020
E
49.4
52.8
60
58.1% 60.2% 61.0% 61.8%
GLOBAL IGAMING GROSS WIN BY REGION (2016E)
N America
Latin Am / Caribbean
EuropeAsia/ME
AfricaOceania
7%
0%
12%2%
50%
29%
GLOBAL IGAMING GROSS WIN BY PRODUCT (2016E)
BingoPoker
CasinoBettingState Lotteries
Skill/Other/Com Lots
9%5%
5%
26%
49%6%
IGAMING AS PERCENTAGE OF GLOBAL GAMBLING GROSS WIN
2003
14%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
2011
2007
2015
2005
2013
2009
2017
E
2004
2012
2008
2016
E
2006
2014
2010
2018
E
IGAMING AS PERCENTAGE OF GAMBLING GROSS WIN BY REGION (2016E)
Africa
Asia /
ME
Europ
e
Latin
Am
/
Caribbea
n
N Am
erica
Ocean
ia
Global
Avera
ge0%
5%
20%
10%
15%
2019
E
2020
E
12%
PERCENTAGE OF IGAMING GROSS WIN “WHITE MARKET” BY REGION (2016E)
Africa
Asia /
ME
Europ
e
Latin
Am
/
Caribbea
n
N Am
erica
Ocean
ia
Global
Avera
ge0%
30%
20%
10%
70%
50%
40%
60%
80%
3.3%
4.0%
5.0%
5.8%5.5%
6.2%
6.8%7.1% 7.0%
7.4%
7.8%8.6%
9.6%
10.3%10.8%
11.5%11.9%
12.4%
6.6%
9.1%
20.3%
6.0%
3.9%
14.1%
10.3%46.3%
49.4%
71.2%
19.9%
24.9%
47.4%
56.6%
10%
WEBMASTER WORLD
67iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Data partner H2 Gambling Capital recently stepped up its coverage of the mobile channel, enabling iGB Affiliate to provide an exclusive monthly overview of this rapidly growing segment, set to reach 43% of global igaming gross win by 2020. This is the April 2017 edition.
MOBILE DASHBOARD
H2 Gambling Capital is the gambling industry’s leading consulting, market intelligence and data team. They have a track record of more than 16 years focused on the global gambling industry. All of the detailed data and the right to re-publish extracts is available via H2’s Global Data and Market Intel Service. Please email [email protected]
MOBILE GROSS WIN BY REGION (2016E)
N America
Latin Am / Caribbean
EuropeAsia/ME
AfricaOceania Gaming
Betting
Lotteries
MOBILE AS PERCENTAGE OF GLOBAL IGAMING GROSS WINTOTAL GLOBAL MOBILE GROSS WIN (€BN)
2003
22.5
20.0
12.5
5.0
0
2011
2007
2015
2005
2013
2009
2017
E
2004
2012
2008
2016
E
2006
2014
2010
2018
E
2003
40.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0%
2011
2007
2015
2005
2013
2009
2017
E
2004
2012
2008
2016
E
2006
2014
2010
2018
E
15.0
2019
E
2020
E
2019
E
2020
E
MOBILE AS PERCENTAGE OF IGAMING GROSS WIN BY REGION (2016E)
Africa
Asia /
ME
Europ
e
Latin
Am
/
Caribbea
n
N Am
erica
Ocean
ia
Global
Avera
ge0%
20%
15%
10%
40%
30%
25%
35%
45%
0.5 0.6 0.8 1.21.01.8
2.1 2.63.4
4.8
6.6
9.0
10.9
13.1
15.1
17.7
20.0
22.4
6.6% 6.7% 6.5% 6.5% 7.2%
9.6% 10.3% 11.3%
14.0%
27.6%
30.2%
33.1%
35.4%
38.0%
40.5%
43.2%
22.7%
24.1%
41.4%
31.1%
19.6%21.8%
37.3%
33.1%
45.0%
35.0%
15.0%
5%
23%
25%
69%
6%
GLOBAL MOBILE GROSS WIN BY PRODUCT (2016E)0%
17.5
2.5
7.5
10.018.1%
47%
36%
8%
8%1%
68 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Welcome to the MarketPlace listings section of iGB Affiliate magazine. All listings are taken from the 2017 version of our iGB Affiliate Directory; a 174 page guide to the affiliate programs and service providers who are currently active within the iGaming sector.
To request a free copy of this publication or to have your company listed please contact:
James Harrison on [email protected] or call +44 (0) 20 7384 7791.
Enjoy gambling responsibly. www.gambleaware.co.uk 18+
Officially sponsored by
Enjoy gambling responsibly. www.gambleaware.co.uk 18+
Officially sponsored by
ACQUISITION, ADVERTISING & AFFILIATE NETWORKS
bet365bet365.com
Gambling Affiliationgambling-affiliation.com
IBMibm.com/watson/marketing
Income Accessincomeaccessnetwork.com
Isle of Man Post Officewww.iompost.com
Watson Marketingibm.com/watson/marketing
BINGO AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Allegroallegroaffiliates.com
138.comaffuk.138.com
bet365 Bingobingo.bet365.com
Foxy Bingofoxybingo.com
VistaGaming Affiliatesvistagamingaffiliates.net
William Hillwilliamhill.com
CASINO AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
OVO Casinoovocasino.com
10Bet Casinoaffiliates.10bet.com
138.comaffuk.138.com
ActiveWins Casinoactivewins.com
Allegroallegroaffiliates.com
bet365 Casinocasino.bet365.com
BetBrightbetbrightaffiliates.com
Betsson Group Affiliatesbetssongroupaffiliates.com
betwaybetwaypartners.com
BROAffiliatesbroaffiliates.com
CasinoWildsaffiliates.casinowilds.com
Casumocasumo.com
Deck Mediadeckmedia.com
Easi Gamesaffiliates.easigames.com
EGOegamingonline.com
EnergyCasinoenergycasinopartners.com
GoWildgowildaffiliates.com
Golden Eurogoldeneuroaffiliates.com
Grande Vegasgrandevegasaffiliates.com
iAffiliatesiaffiliates.com
Intertopsintertops.eu/affiliate
Interwetten Casinoiwcasino.com
Ivy Affiliatesivyaffiliates.com
Jackpot Capitaljackpotcapital.eu/affiliates
LeoVegasleovegasaffiliates.com
NetBet Casinonetbet.com
LVbetLVbetPartners.com
Merkur Partnersmerkurpartners.com
Mr Greenmraffiliate.com
Nektan Affiliatesnektanaffiliates.com
Nethivenethive.com
OnlineCasino.deonlinecasino.de
Optibidoptibid.com
partycasinobwinpartypartners.com
PoshFriendsposhfriends.com
Quasar Gamingquasaraffiliates.com
Rich Club Affiliatesrichclubaffiliates.com
Slotasticslotasticaffiliates.com
Slots Vendorslotsvendor.eu
Springbok Casinoaffiliate.springbokcasino.co.za
StarGamesstargamesaffiliate.com
69iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Enjoy gambling responsibly. www.gambleaware.co.uk 18+
Officially sponsored by
Super Gaminatorsupergaminatoraffiliate.com
VIKS Casinoviksaffiliates.com
William Hillwilliamhill.com
Winnernethive.com
Wunderinowunderino.com
ESPORTS AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
betwaybetwaypartners.com
138.comaffuk.138.com
FINANCIAL SERVICES
UPayCardupaycard.com/en
bet365bet365.com
ecoPayzecopayz.com/affiliates
LOTTERY AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Lottolandlottolandaffiliates.com
Allegroallegroaffiliates.com
MOBILE GAMING
LeoVegasleovegas.com
Betsson Group Affiliatesbetssongroupaffiliates.com
IGTigtpartners.com
William Hillwilliamhill.com
POKER AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
138.comaffuk.138.com
bet365 Pokerpoker.bet365.com
Betsson Group Affiliatesbetssongroupaffiliates.com
EGOegamingonline.com
Intertopsintertops.eu/affiliates
Juicy Stakesjuicystakes.eu
William Hillwilliamhill.com
WPNwpnaffiliates.com
SKILL GAMING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Nethivenethive.com
bet365 Skill Gamesgames.bet365.com
Calientenethive.com
SPORTSBETTING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
bet365bet365.com
10Bet Sportsaffiliates.10bet.com
138.comaffuk.138.com
AffCorneraffcorner.com
BetRegal Affiliatesbetregalaffiliates.com
BetBrightbetbrightaffiliates.com
Betfairbetfairpartnerships.com
Betsson Group Affiliatesbetssongroupaffiliates.com
Betting Godsbettinggods.com
betwaybetwaypartners.com
betworldbetworld.com
bwinbwinpartypartners.com
EnergyBetenergycasinopartners.com
Intertopsintertops.eu/affiliates
Interwettenaffiliates.interwetten.com
NetBet Sportnetbet.com
LVbetLVbetPartners.com
Marca Apuestasnethive.com
Merkur Partnersmerkurpartners.com
Paddy Powerpaddypartners.com
Sportingbetsbaffiliates.com
William Hillwilliamhill.com
TECHNOLOGY
Omarsysomarsys.com
70 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
TOP 100 GAMING SITES WORLDWIDE
Data provided by Casino City Press• Traffic rankings indicate relative popularity of the 100 most popular igaming sites offering real-money wagering and are based on historical web usage of a panel of
nearly 20 million users over a three month period prior to publication.• The rankings are estimates based on panel usage and should not be considered absolute ranking values.• Only the top 5% of all igaming sites are listed. For detailed, current, accurate information on 2,500 igaming sites and 2,000 igaming portal sites, along with rankings of
the top 1,000 igaming sites and the top 1,000 igaming portals, directories of software providers, other suppliers, regulatory jurisdictions, and more, the latest edition of Casino City’s igaming Business Directory is indispensable.
View sample pages at www.casinocitypress.com
Rk Property Name Property URL Games
1 bet365 www.bet365.com Binary Options, Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
2 Bet9ja web.bet9ja.com Casino, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Racebook, Sportsbook
3 The National Lottery www.national-lottery.co.uk Bingo, Games, Lottery, Mobile
4 BetFair www.betfair.com Betting Exchange, Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
5 William Hill www.williamhill.com Binary Options, Bingo, Casino, eSports, Forex, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
6 IQ Option iqoption.com Binary Options, Mobile
7 SportPesa www.sportpesa.com Lottery, Mobile Sportsbooks, Sportsbook
8 MerryBet www.merrybet.com Casino Games, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Sportsbook
9 FXOpen www.fxopen.com Forex, Mobile Forex
10 bet-at-home www.bet-at-home.com Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
11 Paddy Power www.paddypower.com Binary Options, Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
12 SkyBet www.skybet.com eSports, Games, In-Play, Mobile, Racebook, Sportsbook
13 eToro www.etoro.com Forex, Mobile
14 DraftKings www.draftkings.com Fantasy Sports, Mobile
15 Tipico Online Gaming www.tipico.com Casino Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Sportsbook
16 Rummy Circle www.rummycircle.com Games, Mobile
17 Junglee Rummy www.jungleerummy.com Games, Mobile
18 Quasar Gaming www.quasargaming.com Bingo, Casino, Lottery, Mobile Casino
19 bwin www.bwin.com Backgammon, Bingo, Casino, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
20 Marathon Bet www.marathonbet.com Bingo, Casino, eSports, Forex, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Racebook, Sportsbook
21 FanDuel www.fanduel.com Fantasy Sports, Mobile Fantasy Sports, Racebook
22 IG www.ig.com Binary Options, Forex, Mobile, Spread Betting
23 Olimp www.olimp.com Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Racebook, Sportsbook
24 Ladbrokes www.ladbrokes.com Bingo, Casino, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
25 888 Casino www.888.com Bingo, Casino, eSports, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
26 Tatts www.tatts.com InPlay, Lottery, Racebook, Sportsbook
27 Unibet www.unibet.com Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
28 Sportsbet www.sportsbet.com.au eSports, In-Play, Mobile, Racebook, Sportsbook
29 NairaBET www.nairabet.com Casino, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Sportsbook
30 GSN Cash Games www.gsn.com Bingo, Casino, Mobile Bingo, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Games
31 Bovada www.bovada.lv Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
32 Coral www.coral.co.uk Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
33 Alpari alpari.com Binary Options, Forex, Mobile
34 Supabets www.supabets.co.za In-Play, Lottery, Mobile Lottery, Mobile Sportsbooks, Sportsbook
35 Sportingbet www.sportingbet.com Casino Games, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
36 BetIn Kenya www.betin.co.ke Casino Games, Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Games, Mobile Live Dealer, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook
37 Betclic www.betclic.com Casino, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Sportsbook
38 Plus500 www.plus500.co.uk Forex, Mobile Forex
39 XM Markets www.xm.com Forex, Mobile Forex
40 Rivalo www.rivalo.com Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Sportsbook
41 StarGames www.stargames.com Bingo, Casino, Games, In-Play, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Live Dealer, Poker
42 5Dimes Casino and Sportsbook
www.5dimes.eu Bingo, Casino, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
43 Binary.com www.binary.com Binary Options, Forex, Mobile
44 Ace 2 Three www.ace2three.com Games, Mobile
45 BetVictor www.betvictor.com Bingo, Casino, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
46 Pinnacle www.pinnacle.com Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Sportsbooks, Sportsbook
47 Betway www.betway.com Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
48 Betfred www.betfred.com Bingo, Casino, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
49 PokerStars www.pokerstars.com Casino, In-Play, Mobile, Poker, Sportsbook
Rk Property Name Property URL Games
50 Elite Bet www.elitebetkenya.com Mobile Sportsbooks, Sportsbook
51 TAB Sportsbet www.tab.com.au In-Play, Mobile, Racebook, Sportsbook
52 Sports Interaction www.sportsinteraction.com Bingo, Casino, eSports, Games, In-Play, Lottery, Mobile, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
53 Smarkets www.smarkets.com Betting Exchange, In-Play, Mobile Betting Exchange
54 iFOREX www.iforex.com Binary Options, Forex, Mobile Forex
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56 Winners Golden Bet www.winnersgoldenbet.com Games, In-Play, Racebook, Sportsbook
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