Q&A: FeedBACK Casino CEO on the premise behind its online casino comparison site

At a time when the online casino market is heavily saturated, new casinos are under pressure to make their mark to stand out from the crowd. When customers are spoilt for choice, one tool that can help them to pick the right casino is the brainchild of Charles Gross and Alexandre Tomic, best known for their SlotsMillion, LadyLucks and Casino Lemonade products.

Gross and Tomic have launched affiliate site FeedBACK Casino, an online casino comparison website featuring a unique tool allowing users to compare up to three casinos side-by-side simultaneously. Each online casino also has a Trust Flow feature which shows members’ average scores for each product, including reviews and ratings. Visitors to the site can identify preferred online casinos by applying different filters such as payment methods, software and types of games.

Co-founder Gross talks to EGR Marketing about how the idea for the site came about and how it goes beyond just a comparison website by providing news and content to players.

EGR Marketing: How did you first come up with the idea for FeedBACK Casino?

Charles Gross (CG): The idea came from our experience operating Casino Lemonade. The main aim of the brand is to allow players to try slots and table games in demo mode to see if they like them before signing up to a casino and playing with their own real money. Despite this, we found that players would still come to us asking for help when trying to understand what the different casinos had to offer and which ones would be best suited to their preferences. While our customer service team could assist, we had no tool that the player could use. This formed the seed of an idea to create a website that would allow players to compare casinos side by side while also rating and reviewing their experience. From this, players could learn what to expect and from that choose the right brand for them. And that is when FeedBACK Casino was born.

EGR Marketing: How long did it take from the initial concept to launch?

CG: It took three months to go from the first meeting where we sat down and discussed the idea to flicking the switch on our first iteration of the site. Of course, this was a very basic version where readers could just leave a review of the casinos they were playing at. Since then, we have further developed FeedBACK Casino to include our side-by-side comparison tool as well as news, features and guides, with more still to come.

EGR Marketing: Did you come across any challenges with launching this new product? If so, how did you overcome these challenges?

CG: Yes, of course. The greatest challenges came in the technical aspect of building the site. In particular, we developed the website from scratch in-house but, after 12 months, we realised that it was simply too difficult to manage and maintain.

Each new feature or tool we wanted to add was taking far too long to implement and launch, so we took the decision to start again from scratch. So we redeveloped the website, but this time using existing frameworks that gave us much more flexibility to develop and evolve the site as we wanted.

Thankfully, this reboot did not affect our readers but they are now benefiting from a very much improved product and service from FeedBACK Casino.

EGR Marketing: How has your previous experience with SlotsMillion, LadyLucks and Casino Lemonade helped with this new venture?

CG: Across all our businesses and brands, we ultimately focus on the player and go to great lengths to ensure they have the best possible experience and are 100% satisfied. We put great emphasis on designing products that are intuitive and deliver a superior user interface.

Through operating SlotsMillion, LadyLucks and Casino Lemonade, we have a clear understanding of what players look for and expect from an online casino. This puts us in a unique position of being able to create and provide the tools they need to choose the right casino based on these requirements.

EGR Marketing: What makes the site unique?

CG: The side-by-side comparison tool is FeedBACK Casino’s unique selling point and allows players to properly compare several features for up to three casinos at the same time in order to decide which will best meet their preferences and needs. We also provide access to the TrustFlow history of the rating held by each casino, so our readers can see satisfaction levels over time.
We also believe this provides operators with unique insight as they can see how their brands – and those of their rivals – are being perceived by players. This should help improve standards as there is nowhere for them to hide on FeedBACK Casino.

EGR Marketing: How does the player feedback element of the site work?

CG: Every review and rating left by a reader is added to the TrustFlow of the casino that has been commented on. Reviews and ratings can be found at the bottom of our own review of the casino, along with the TrustFlow diagram. The TrustFlow is the important aspect here as it shows whether an online casino is improving, declining or maintaining its rating among players.

EGR Marketing: Does the site offer more than just comparison capabilities, i.e. news, content, etc?

CG: Absolutely. We have a small team of writers who update the website every day with breaking news about online and offline gambling. We also provide a huge range of demo games for players to try, just as we do at Casino Lemonade. We are also hard at work on a soon-to-launch feature that allows players to discover the next blockbuster slot games before they are released via a written preview, short video and sometimes even a demo where possible.

EGR Marketing: How can FeedBACK Casino help people with problems and/or addiction?

CG: Our main priority is to ensure our readers are properly protected and are fully aware of the tools they can use to keep in control of their wagering activity. This includes the various support groups on hand to assist if they feel they are developing problem play habits.

As part of this, we have created a lot of content around responsible gambling and have created a dedicated section that clearly explains all of the limits they can set, how to set them and, if need be, the steps to take if they wish to cool off or self-exclude. Our customer support team is also on hand to help players that reach out about any concerns that they may have around their gambling activity. What’s more, we are currently working on an innovative tool that will connect players and operators over the issue of problem play.

EGR Marketing: What are your plans for launching into more markets?

CG: This year, our focus is very much on establishing ourselves as the go-to online casino comparison site in our core markets of the UK and Germany. Once we have achieved that, we will then look to expand into new markets, with Spain of particular interest.

EGR Marketing: How do you think the affiliate market has changed?

CG: The online casino sector as a whole has changed a lot since we launched Casino Lemonade back in 2005. At the time, I think we were going through the golden age of affiliation in relation to SEO as Google was far more flexible in what it did and didn’t allow when determining where sites rank.

In 2012 we moved focus to SlotsMillion and, now having come back to the affiliate space again, I must admit that at first we were a little bit lost. The game has changed so much. Google operates differently, the competition has increased and budgets are much less than they once were. Today, those with the largest budgets seem to be doing the best, and this is a shame as it has taken some of the love and soul out of the online casino affiliate space. That said, regulation is a good thing and is forcing affiliates to play by the rules for the first time.

EGR Marketing: Do you feel there is more scrutiny on affiliate sites now in terms of compliance and regulation?

CG: Absolutely, and this is a good thing. There has been a big clean up in regulated markets such as the UK and Sweden and this is benefiting all stakeholders, and, most importantly, players. With FeedBACK Casino, the aim is to be impartial and allow players to score casinos based on their own experiences.

That said, we still have to abide by the rules set by the operators that we work with, and this has proved challenging in some respects as we have had to make changes to content as well as certain design aspects of the site.

EGR Marketing: What are your plans for FeedBACK Casino in 2019?

CG: We will continue to develop and improve FeedBACK Casino by adding new features and tools. This includes a user section that will allow for better interaction with the casinos recommended on our site, particularly when it comes to problem gambling.

We also have a mobile application in the works that will allow us to offer the tools and content published on FeedBACK Casino on mobile but with a more personalised and customisable interface.
It’s going to be a busy year, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.