AI CEO Lee-Ann Johnstone caught up with Buffalo Partners Key Account Manager Andrew Stone earlier this year. Amongst other things, the conversation touched on how affiliates can adapt to newly-regulated markets. Here are some of the key takeaways:
Affiliates must become regional experts
One of the biggest changes for 2019 is the emergence of a number of regulated markets. There are a number of newly-regulated markets, with Buffalo Partners looking to move into Sweden, the UK, Switzerland and Mexico for starters.
“Previously we’d worked mainly with unregulated markets, so this is something that’s new for us,” Stone explained. “We’ll see the majority of countries fully regulated within the next few years, so this approach is inevitable to be able to be competitive.”
For affiliates, the biggest considerations are going to be choosing the right partners and addressing the different compliance rules and regulations that exist in each individual market.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
“Affiliates need to understand that casinos and their affiliate programs are businesses. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is,” Stone insists.
Affiliates quite often get caught up in the percentage. They choose a program based on the percentage without taking into account a whole host of other factors which are just as important, if not more important. When a percentage is very high – 40% or above – it normally means that hidden costs are being deducted from the bottom line.
Look at what the big boys are doing
One of the safest ways to determine the best programs to work with is to see who the top affiliates are promoting. These affiliates tend to understand all of the factors that need to be taken into account when choosing a program, and the amount of money involved is simply too much for those affiliates to be making the wrong decision.
Be prepared!
“I really appreciate it when an affiliate comes to me prepared,” Johnstone admits. So look at the brand, look at which new markets it’s trying to expand into, consider your own website and where it can plug a gap. Come prepared with numbers, figures and a business plan and explain how you can make that program grow.
Listen to the full interview below.
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