F E A T U R E P O W E R 5 0 A F F I L I AT E S
MUCHOS POKER
Founder/Principal: Tim Heath Domains: MuchosPoker.com; FundooPoker.com; PokerClock.com
B2C offering from RakebackEngine veteran Heath, which operates skins on certain networks as well as acting as a superaffiliate for others. Unique selling point is its single-cashier system where players can transfer money between accounts on various networks. Will launch its ?rst mobile app in 2013.
NEW
DONKR
Founder/Principal: Robin Eirik Reed Domains: Donkr.com
Nordic-focused business underwent a site redesign in 2012, with new features including an online player ranking system. Also launched a ‘refer a friend’ system in an attempt to reach new players.
POKER
EDUCAPOKER
Founder/Principal: Raul Mestre; Simón Muñoz Domains: EducaPoker.com; Poker-Red.com
Spanish-facing affiliate is approaching a return to pre-regulation levels after seeing traffic tail off in H1 2012. Flagship site is now divided between dot.com and dot.es, while plans are afoot to expand into Latin America.
POKERISIVUT
Founder/Principal: Mikko Hirvonen Domains: Pokerisivut.com; Pokeritieto.com; Pokerista.net, Kolikkopelit.com; Leijonakasino.com
Finnish affiliate remains strong in core poker market but has also diversi?ed into casino with Kolikkopelit and Leijonakasino sites. Newly appointed COO will join Hirvonen in leading charge into four new markets in 2013.
sites because we know people will want to play there. eGR: With certain poker sites closing down in recent years, do you see it as important for players to have their money spread around more than one site? TH: Absolutely, and what we’ve found to be really important is who we work with. The priority is the support and communication that we can offer to the player. Traditionally you might have had certain rogue skins on different networks, and I think it’s quite well known that they went about handing out ridiculously high rakeback, which is an unsustainable business model, and we ?nd even if they are licensed sometimes the players still aren’t protected. So instead of trying to follow and enhance that model we tried to bring it back to a proper level, which ensures everyone is rewarded including the operator, the network, the affiliate, the sub-affiliate and the player, with the core element being the safety of the player. With that in mind, we’ve had to be a lot more selective in who we deal with. eGR: Are you looking to move beyond your current model, for example into regulated markets or mobile affiliation? TH: This is part of our long-term strategy
and it’s already something we’ve done with the Estonian market. The way the Muchos app works is whenever you log in from whichever country, we can trigger different rooms to show for different players. So if you’re registering from Estonia then when you log in you can get an account on Olympic-Online, Paf, Triobet and PokerStars. This model can also slide across to the French market, so if you’re a French player you just see the sites that are regulated and available in that jurisdiction, and it’s the same for the Italian and Spanish markets. We haven’t launched a mobile app yet but we are in the process of doing so in the next couple of months. Also, similarly to what we would do in Estonia or France, when you log onto our application from an iPad, instead of offering the 10 networks there might only be four or ?ve which have a mobile application, and those are the four or ?ve you would see. I see poker following a more recreational, fun model, which is why if you sign up on your laptop you have access to 10 networks but if you’re logged in from an iPad it just shows the ?ve, but you can still transfer funds from your central account to any of those rooms and play directly from the iPad whenever you want.
POKERLISTINGS
Founder/Principal: N/A Domains: PokerListings.com; ItaliaPoker.it; PokerJunkie.com, PokerOlymp.com and various others
Successfully launched the live tournament Battle of Malta and has taken a strong position within mobile with the acquisition of Appeak Poker. Expanding its reach through content partnerships with large online portals and newspapers and has stepped up another level in site quality with high quality video documentaries, widgets, impressive competitions and in depth content pieces.
POKERNEWS
Founder/Principal: Tony Guoga Domains: PokerNews.com; and various smaller sites
The ?rst poker affiliate to sign up with Full Tilt Poker after its relaunch in November, long-standing affiliate Pokernews continues to offer video coverage and live tournament reporting from events across the world. Also conducted landmark video interview with former Tiltware board member Howard Lederer in September.
www.egrmagazine.com
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