In this Affiliate Spotlight special, we speak to CoinPoint Group’s General Manager Oron Barber. CoinPoint Group is a digital marketing agency, which specializes in blockchain and cryptocurrency for iGaming plus other industries.
Oron has been involved in affiliate marketing for almost two decades, holding a range of roles at other major gaming companies. This series will be divided into two blog posts, with this piece focusing on cryptocurrency and the second – which will be released soon – looking at blockchain.
And without further ado, let’s get started!
Affiverse: Tell us a bit about your background in iGaming, affiliate marketing and crypto?
Oron Barber: “I have been involved with iGaming and affiliate marketing for 18 years. Previously I was at PlayTech and worked for some of their sub-companies and other gaming platforms. I was an affiliate manager, product manager, managed a few projects and had some additional roles over the years. Back in 2006, I also started my own marketing firm.
“When the crypto revolution started, we saw a lot of operators jumping on this and adding it to their payment offerings. After doing that, it was natural for these brands to seek suitable affiliates. There were many affiliates who focused heavily on iGaming, but not so much on crypto. On the other hand, there were others that knew about crypto but not necessarily the other field.
“What we’ve done with operators is tell them that their work isn’t done just because they pay affiliates with crypto. They need to educate affiliates on how to exchange and store their currency once it has been received.”
AI: And what does today’s landscape look like when it comes to paying affiliates via these means?
OB: “The first involvement we’ve seen is to educate and work with affiliates. You can send the traffic to many new operators and will be paid in crypto. Once you’ve been paid, there are certain steps that must be taken to secure your bitcoin. They’re also told about their wallet, how it works and so on.
“This learning curve has helped us to understand things from both operators’ and affiliates’ points of view. Operators are a lot more sensitive about paying affiliates in crypto these days, because they understand the related challenges and so on.”
AI: When it comes to cryptocurrency, how innovative is the iGaming industry at the moment?
OB: “There is a lot of innovation in the market. Operators have had to think about factors related to their programs, since affiliates that are paid in crypto are used to getting paid immediately. Rather than promising to pay on a certain date each month, brands have therefore had to adopt a different mindset with regards to this.
“Everything is a process and of course, there are still plenty of opportunities. Markets all over the world are looking for this kind of traffic and new channels exist to drive this. It’s fine to compare it to the traditional displaying of banners on affiliate websites – this has worked for many years. But today there are new funnels, new sources and new traffic.”
AI: Do you feel that there’s a duty for affiliates to educate players about crypto?
OB: “Yes and no. There are two different kinds of players that offering this currency attracts. The first is an individual who knows all about casino game offerings, but little about crypto. However, you also have people who are aware about how crypto works but know little about casino. They need to be taught about the games to play, bonuses to use and so on.
“But the bottom line for both of these is the same. You can play the same games as before, just with crypto instead of real money. It’s actually the players doing a lot of the education. Those that are knowledgeable about crypto help affiliates to understand the landscape better through their challenges. On top of that, they’ve helped us to build these funnels and educate affiliates on where and how to find these players.”
Keep an eye out for part two, which will be published in the week commencing 16th December.
