Affiliate Grand Slam: Meet Barry Goldwon
Barry Goldwon, website manager at BestBitcoinCasino, gives an exclusive interview to SiGMA News as part of our latest series on affiliates
How did you first get into the affiliate space, and were you always focused on the iGaming sector?
I have started my affiliate business back in 2012, where I realised the crypto revolution is here to stay. Made some research and travelled to a few conferences (including Sigma affiliate grand slam) and I realised there is no other affiliate in the Bitcoin casino niche. So I jumped in and was actually among the first ones. My focus was always about the new games, the new opportunities for players in terms of offers and promotions and always looked for the real and loyal operators to work with.
How is your affiliate business structured, and what aspect of business development are you currently focused on?
The business sis structure around 40+ assets, all in the Crypto gaming space and all are top relevant for the market as it is at the moment. For example, another website we are working on called BestBitcoinDice.com and is listing, reviewing and rating the most popular Crypto game, Bitcoin Dice. The main asset BestBitcoinCasino is the one we are focusing on to provide the top information to our players community, which we in touch with on daily basis via Social networks, Telegram and additional channels.
The main focus is not just to launch websites, but to work with our audience, engage with their needs and make sure they get the best service from the operators and platforms we recommend them to.
Which markets do you focus on and do you see any potential in the emerging markets?
Our best markets are the Eastern Europe countries and Asia.
These are also the regions, together with MENA and LATAM, where we see the future potential for growth
What makes your traffic proposition / traffic sites unique? What can you offer that others don’t? Are there any exciting plans in the works that you can tell us about?
We do not look at our community as traffic, but as community. They visit the website in their hundreds on a daily basis, that’s true, but they are our clients, partners and customers for the long run. What we offer is a reliable community of crypto fans and gambling players in all sectors, looking to be entertained. We encourage our partners, to provide the top, best and most accurate Crypto betting offers, odds, promotions and so on. When everything is packaged in crypto offers and with the right knowledge to convert and retain, it’s a win win for all!
One of the current projects we are working on is to provide the best and unique Bitcoin Casino Bonus to our community, and we are publishing these on weekly basis, together with our loyal partners in the market.
Is the grass greener on the other side – Have you considered giving white label casino or sports betting a go?
Was there, done that, now using the experience and knowledge to do my affiliate work better
Barry GoldwonAre you concerned by the impact on the affiliate sector from shifting regulatory environments? (In particular UKGC, Sweden’s Spelinspektionen, and Germany’s 2020 State Treaty on Gaming Regulation)
Not at all, as the market can not be 100% regulated. As I said before, our markets and the ones where the industry is growing faster, as not these ones but Asia, LATAM, MENA and others. About UK, Sweden, Germany and other top regulated markets, we see the change coming as well, with Blockchain platforms, PF games and different ways to convert traffic. Blockchain is actually helping these top regulators to do their work and it’s just going to be part of their responsibilities soon.
What is the main thing that you’d like SiGMA readers to know about your traffic? Are you focusing on SEO? PPC? Any other traffic source?
80% of our new community members are joining via simple search, whereas others are finding us via social, forums and events we manage.
Together with that, more than 75% of the community are returning players, which are loyal to our offers, news, updates and news. These Crypto player audiences are similar but also different from the FIAT players. They have other platforms they used to use, enjoying different social channels and looking for additional services than a normal player, with things like PF games and Blockchain authorisation channels.
Are you contemplating bringing in investors to scale or grow your business? Or, with such a big M&A market, have you ever contemplated selling the business?
During the years we have sold several assets from our network, while buying and developing others.
I believe everything is for sale, always for the right price. Since the market is going toward the times where big operators will also hold their traffic sources, as we see it a lot in the Crypto space, we believe we will keep on getting offers as we do today. Maybe we will sell the whole business as one, and develop new ones right after.
What can operators do to increase support from affiliates?
Funny, but in 2020 we still get emails from Affiliate managers, with fake names, email hosted in Yahoo and unmarked Skype account. This is not the way to build partnership. For us for example, we do not deal with any operator before we meet F2F, we want to know who we are working with, to see the future opportunities and to have the confidence this is an operator to stay and not to disappear in 6 months. The key factor is communication !!! Between us as master affiliates to our community, between operators to their affiliates and between both operators and affiliates to the market as a whole.
Which qualities and skills are essential in an affiliate team/business?
Honesty, CRM management, Marketing and experience in iGaming
In my niche, its better to know Crypto and Blockchain, all the way to be able to educate the partners and communities in iGaming.
How is the Asian market shaping-up for affiliates?
This is one of our target markets and we are evidence of the changes in some key countries like Thailand and Indonesia. These markets is growing fast, changing fast and we are happy to integrate Western strategies there, for mutual beneficial campaigns with our partners. More than that I will not add.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when starting out?
The golden 80-20 rule
What’s been your biggest nightmare to date?
No nightmares, I sleeps well. Wanted to say Corona Virus, but this is going to be over soon.
We have gone thru a lot in the market, with all exchanges going bankrupt, Crypto price crushing within the hour and operators are closing the business overnight. We have seen it all and survived it all, together with our community. Since we rely on community and not on daily traffic, no nightmares here.
What are the benefits of attending large iGaming events, and what can they do better?
As these events are getting bigger and bigger, the main goal of bringing people together must be kept.
I’m talking to events managers from G2E, Clarion, Sigma, IGB and others on weekly basis an encourage them to bring more f2f meetings opportunities, speaking slots for all sectors, facilitate round tables and such.
Have you ever been to SiGMA? Would you consider attending SiGMA Manila or SiGMA Malta at some point?
Been there few times, also grand slums and dinners. planning Manila 2020 as well
Tell us a bit about yourself – after all business is done between people, not just companies!
Favourite holiday?
Cancun 2005 with my family 30 days on a remote beach
Favourite book ever read? Favourite book you look forward to read some day?
1984 George Orwell
Where would you relocate with family if you had to pick one city?
Cancun
Favourite quote?
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Favourite sport and childhood idol?
Kobe Bryant RIP
Get to know other great affiliates, responsible for killer traffic! Click the link below to read more insights from affiliates:
About SiGMA Expo:
The iGaming summit SiGMA is setting its sights on Asia. Our ground breaking Asian iGaming expo will be held in Manila, on the 8th & 9th of June 2020. SiGMA’s largest venue to date will bring together high quality conferences and content, premium networking opportunities, and luxury networking event. 10,000 delegates from across Europe, the US, and Asia are expected to attend, making this one of the biggest shows to unite East and West in the region. To become a part of the fastest paced Asian iGaming event, book a pass or sponsor & exhibit.
For those planning to attend SiGMA Manila, AIBC Manila and ICE Asia at SMX on June 8-9th, this is the buzzing business environment to be expected:
