Exclusive: Gran Via to launch dot.es affiliate network
Marketing company in discussions with operators and service providers, with CEO claiming it will be 'completely white'.
Madrid-based marketing company Gran Via Online will launch an affiliate network catering solely to sites licensed in the newly regulated Spanish market, eGaming Review has learned.
The network will go live on 1 January, the deadline given by Spanish authorities for the first wave of licence applications, and CEO Willem van Oort (pictured) revealed that Gran Via has already begun working to integrate both operators and service providers.
“On top of the legal requirement in the application process for operators to say who their provider is, they also have to get in contact with the regulator to tell them who their affiliate systems provider will be,” he said.
“We manage the marketing campaigns for some of the smaller licensed operators and we noticed a strong desire from operators to ensure their affiliates are completely white.
“We have a strong relationship with a lot of the affiliates in the market and that gives operators the guarantee that they are not competing with those from the dot.com environment,” van Oort added.
Gran Via Online hopes the launch will put Spain in a better position than a number of other regulated markets, particularly Italy where he says the affiliation process “has started very slowly.”
Among the firms set to apply for operating licences in Spain are upwards of 16 online operators and 14 land-based companies or media organisations, with many in the latter camp based in the country.
While 1 January is the official deadline, eGaming Review understands that the door on applications will slam shut as soon as the first list of licensees is published.