FEATURE
RICHARD MOFFAT,
CEO, OLBG.COM
JESPER SOEGAARD,
CEO, BETTER COLLECTIVE
Euro 2016 set to be the biggest betting event
ever. Consisting of 24 teams, up from 16 for Euro
2012, there are going to be more betting opportunities
and acquisition options for affiliates and operators.
Even since the FIFA World Cup in Brazil two years
ago, in-play and cash out capabilities have boomed
on both desktop and mobile. Combine that with the
more Europe-friendly kick off times, as opposed to the
tricky Brazilian time-differences, and this could be the
biggest betting event in history.
The changing landscape in Europe. In 2016,
Romania is likely to finalise their new gambling laws,
with a number of operators looking to secure licences.
Affiliates will have to monitor this situation and ensure
they are ready to move quickly and effectively assist
those launching in newly regulated markets. We could
also see change in Russia, Poland, Czech Republic,
the Netherlands and Portugal. Even Germany could be
added to the list. All promises to shake up the market.
eSports and fantasy sports continuing to grow.
We don’t see the significant growth for eSports and
fantasy sports in 2015 slowing down, with signs that
they are fast becoming an integral part of the gambling
industry. There remain some question marks over legal
structure and regulation, particularly in fantasy sports,
which we’ll be monitoring, but for affiliates this could be
the next big growth opportunity.
Dynamic SEO challenges ahead. As more adblockers are developed, the importance of SEO in the
affiliate landscape will only increase. The challenge
for those with an SEO focus will be to stay ahead and
ensure those blockers don’t hinder campaign tracking
and result in website owners missing out on legitimate
player sign-ups. Understanding and developing for
multiple devices will also put additional pressures
on the tracking and reporting of platforms. But this
flux also represents an opportunity to those who can
harness change and stay one step ahead.
Better integration to provide more partner
opportunities. Bookmakers are now far more open
to giving access to their APIs, which in layman’s
terms means that tech-savvy affiliates have the
opportunity to integrate more operator capabilities
into their websites. Having the ability to place
bets, for example, without even leaving an affiliate
site could become a reality in 2016, an exciting
development for both affiliates and punters.
48
iGB Affiliate Issue 55 FEB/MAR 2016
1. At least one UK
bookmaker will solve the
biggest issue concerning
betting on UK horse racing
today. They will find a
solution that allows them to
accept bets at the prices they
advertise and at the stakes
punters ask for, and still be
able to make enough money
doing so.
2. UK bookmakers’ battle for market share will continue to see a
shift in marketing focus from gaining new acquisitions to gaining a
bigger share of customer spend. Product differential and the ability
to demonstrate why customers should bet with them regularly will
become far more important than what the account opening offer is.
3. UK bookmakers will reward affiliates more for driving
betting activity, recognising that each bet generated is indeed a
sale. Affiliates with the ability to help punters to choose the best
bookmaker for each bet they place will gain over those still focused
on which bookmaker has the biggest free bet offer.
4. By the end of the year, at least one major bookmaker will
announce that they are taking more bets on eSports than any
other sport.
5. By the end of the year, daily fantasy sports sites will be spending
more per month on TV advertising in the UK than bet365.
SHAHAR ATTIAS, CEO,
HYBRID INTERACTION LTD
Everybody will get smarter, due to
the fierce competition, the increasing
costs of running an online gaming
operation and the shrinking profit
margins – courtesy of your national
taxation, system, thank you very
much! We are going to witness an
internal thinking process across the
industry, focused at figuring how the
hell a growth trend can be maintained
with all of those vicious regulators
lurking across nearly all markets.
Everybody will shift their focus, due to the exact same reasons.
We already witness companies trying to explore new territories (was
there a single board meeting this year in which the phrase: “So how do
we penetrate Asia/Africa/Wadiya?” hasn’t been heard?), to optimize
their player management capabilities (“Er, you, yes you – CRM
boy, what was the name of that consultant you have mentioned four
years ago and no-one listened because we were busy trying to get an
invite to Fire & Ice?”), and generally speaking, work leaner and try
to make more money out of any possible lead, including calling any
registration (yeah, that’s happening).
Everybody will get sexier; no they won’t, but hey – these are my
predictions, not yours :)