Much of the iGaming industry speaks English, but that doesn’t mean you have to operate your site in this language to be a success. Kingbet Media is one such example.
Providing a range of sports and casino content in Greek, the site has been nominated for Best Non-English Affiliate Website at this year’s iGB Affiliate Awards.
As Kingbet prepares to descend on London for this and iGB Affiliate London 2020, Affiverse CEO Lee-Ann Johnstone caught up with Giannis Koutivas. He discusses the award nomination, plus the ideas behind starting his first website.
And without further ado, let’s get started!
Affiverse: Giannis, welcome to Affiliate Spotlight! Tell us about your business and how you got started with your first site?
Giannis Koutivas: “Kingbet Media is a big family of newspapers, magazines and websites around sports betting and gambling. It all began in 2004, when three people had the idea of starting a business around betting – a popular activity in Greece. It was exactly this product-market fit that allowed us to grow exponentially over the following years.
“Year after year, newspapers, magazines and websites started to appear on its portfolio. Kingbet Newspaper and Kingbet.net were and still are its flagships. The company follows a double-sided model, where the end user gets their betting tips and news and reviews for free. Meanwhile, operators need to pay to be advertised through CPM, CPA, fixed and revenue share deals.
“Over the past two years, we’ve developed English-language websites. These include helpbet.com, becasino.com and others. They started as an internal startup, starting low and scaling successfully.”
AI: And of course, you’re shortlisted for Best Non-English Affiliate Website at the iGB Affiliate Awards. What does this mean for you and the team? Why is it important to be recognised?
GK: “For us, now is the time to show the industry that we’re here and capable of achieving the best. It means that all of our efforts during these last years have proven successful. When you get such attention from people you do business with daily, it means that the value you provide is mutually-beneficial. We see this as an appreciation token by these people.
“We feel that this is a victory for the Greek market, too, and proves that betting is a sector we know well.”
AI: What are some of the important lessons that you’ve learnt on your affiliate journey so far?
GK: “Performance marketing is by far the best modus operandi if you are a dynamic company that is made of people motivated by success. Affiliate marketing has taught us to be results driven, data oriented and most of all, extroverted.
“It has also helped us understand that we are a fully operative cog in the machine of iGaming in particular. Advertising should benefit all parties and of course the visitors above all!”
Kingbet Media will be present at iGB Affiliate London, which takes place from 6-7 February 2020.
