eGR Power Affiliates 2013 - Poker

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 first mobile app in 2013.

Q&A

eGaming Review (eGR): With online poker moving away from the rakeback model, how have you had to adjust?

Tim Heath (TH): We had a very big existing business in the rakeback world (RakebackEngine) and found that there had been changes in the industry which meant that rakeback was not as well received any more by the operators and to a certain degree by the players as well. That forced us to look at our business and look at what the players wanted rather than what everyone else was doing.

We needed to look inwardly and realise this isn’t growing as it used to, so what do we need to do to improve our business model and move forward as the times change. It’s no longer about saying ‘here’s your $2,000 bonus, come back and we’ll talk to you in a month’ ““ it’s ‘here’s your smaller bonus which is released regularly’, to increase customer engagement and satisfaction levels.

We’re doing that not just on a vertical level of playing on one network, but also a horizontal level where they can get merchandise, hoodies or free spins at casino if you clear the first-level bonus across every network. It’s very much achievement focused.

eGR: How does the model of a single account and single cashier across several networks work?

TH: We ideally want people using our application as their home of poker, so anything poker related, that’s where you go, and we’re also in the process of integrating live poker TV shows, casino, live casino and soon sportsbook offers, so when you want to play poker you have this one app whether it’s on the desktop, iPhone or iPad, where you can play on all the relevant networks.

Underlying all this is the ability to move the money around and play on any network, but we don’t want to just have a professional on one network riding it out ““ we want to push them around everywhere and get them back enjoying

their poker again. That’s why, even though we don’t work closely with PokerStars or PartyPoker for instance, in our application we still offer those 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 find 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 five which have a mobile application, and those are the four or five 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 five, but you can still transfer funds from your central account to any of those rooms and play directly from the iPad whenever you want.

Power Affiliates – Poker

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.

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 diversified into casino with Kolikkopelit and Leijonakasino sites. Newly appointed COO will join Hirvonen in leading charge into four new markets in 2013.

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 first 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.

PokerPT.com

Founder/Principal: Joao Nunes, Juan Barros

Domains: More than 40, including pokerpt.com, poker10.com, apuesta10.com, lasapuestasdeas.com and elpokerdeas.com

Set up by former Spanish ex basketball player Juan C. Barros and Team PokerStars Pro member João Nunes, the group Hastoplay averages more than one million unique visits per month across its network of sites. Recently agreed a landmark deal with media group Prisa which will see the Iberian-focused affiliate run gambling sections for Spanish-language newspapers AS and El Pais. Plans to increase Portuguese presence and expand into South America in 2013.

PokerStrategy.com

Founder/Principal: Dominik Kofert, founder; Damian Sokol, CEO

Domains: PokerStrategy.com, with sub-domains for 19 languages

Has ended agreements with major partners including bwin.party but remains a dominant force in the sector with a higher poker gross rake than many operators. Parent company etruvian has branched into financial trading through tradimo community.

PokerVIP (NEW)

Founder/Principal: Jamie Nevin

Domains: PokerVIP.com, Pokercube.com, Pokertube.com, PokerUpdate.com, PokerDictionary.com

Changed its name from iPokerVIP last year to emphasise growing number of sites to which it sends players. Followed rebrand with the acquisition of video and streaming site Pokertube, which it has revamped with a redesign and live event streaming.

Rakeback.com

Founder/Principal: Mika Ollila

Domains: Rakeback.com; Pokerbonus.com

Exploring potential non-gambling ventures after a year of improved search rankings, while the company has also focused heavily on high-quality, targeted content creation.

RakeTheRake.com

Founder/Principal: Karim Wilkins

Domains: RakeTheRake.com; Rakeback.co.uk; PokerLoyaltyPrograms.com; EnglishPokerOpen.com

Approaching a decade in the industry after launching in 2004. Brought back live showpiece English Poker Open after a year’s hiatus.

This article first appeared in the March issue of eGaming Review – for subscription options click here.