The Key to Future Affiliate Success, Interview with Jan Möller, Co-Founder, Oddspedia
Adjusting to the new iGaming landscape carved out by the pandemic has been an industry-wide challenge and has shown just how resilient we can be as an industry.
Innovation and collaboration will be key to the future success of the online market, a sentiment shared by Jan Möller, Co-Founder of Oddspedia.
We caught up with Jan to hear about his experience over the last few months and how he thinks we, as an industry, can work together and share resources to ensure future success.
How did the lack of live sports impact your operations? What was your biggest learning from that experience?
“It’s undeniable that the coronavirus outbreak has had a devastating impact all over the world and on our daily lives, with many businesses in almost every industry affected significantly. It’s no different with the gambling industry as well, as most major sports remain suspended.
We were in a lucky situation that growing interest in online casinos due to the lockdown of land-based helped us to compensate for the lack of sports events.
But with the vast majority of sports cancelled, we had to find a way to react extra to the situation.
As such, we focused on increasing our sports portfolio to cover almost any event going on worldwide. As crazy as it sounds, the matches from a Table Tennis tournament in Russia were checked over a million times on Oddspedia.”
Esports saw a large increase in activity during the lockdown. Is this something you think affiliates should be looking more closely at as an additional revenue stream?
“Despite the devastation it has caused, there are still some positives that have emerged from the pandemic, with the increased popularity of virtual sports and esports being one of them.
Virtual Sports truly boomed in interest. Esports betting was already rising in popularity before the outbreak, but now is well on its way to becoming a major market for operators and affiliates, and that growth will continue long after we leave lockdown.
But my opinion is that more traditional sports will continue to be most attractive to punters in the grand scheme of things!
We also put a lot of effort for esport coverage at Oddspedia before the pandemic and for sure will continue with it.”
Some industry commentators believe the future of the affiliate market could be greatly impacted by the clampdown on consumer protection. What can affiliates do to manage this increasingly regulated landscape?
“We agree that affiliates need to advertise in a socially responsible way.
They are the connection between operators and customers, and as such, they need to be acting as if they were licensed themselves.
If they don’t act in a responsible way, then they’ll quickly lose both their partners and the trust of their customers.
The increase in regulation isn’t an obstacle, but rather a chance for affiliates who understand them to win over affiliates and rise within the sector.
Affiliates who commit to education, training and a proper obligation to comply with advertising, data protection and gambling regulatory requirements will have a sustainable future and a strong advantage over their less responsible competitors.
Additionally, the regulations should be done in an appropriate manner! There is a risk that if it becomes too restricted, it’s more likely operators and affiliates will not go the regulated way!”
Many believe that operators could do more to help their affiliate partners by sharing their internal resources. Do you agree? And what sort of support do you think affiliates should be looking for from the operators?
“The relationship between affiliates and operators is often a brittle one even during the best of times.
An operator must trust its affiliate partners to be completely compliant with the regulation, while an affiliate must trust an operator to treat them and their customers fairly and with respect.
If that partnership becomes law-regulated and more transparent, it will undeniably last longer and be more fruitful.
I believe that operators can share data they’ve collected that will help the Affiliates understand their customers’ profiles better, which in turn will lead to affiliates targeting their sites better and achieving higher conversion rates, resulting in better profits for both.
Working with operators who provide this data will increase the odds in your favour and maximize your profits.
We can say that some very good partners are doing that already!”
What does the future hold for Oddspedia?
“Moving forward, operators and affiliates will both have to grow their businesses by providing players with the information and entertainment they are seeking while adhering strictly to regulatory guidelines.
Oddspedia’s goals lie in the direction of expanding into new and emerging markets. The main goal of the company is to provide valuable, competitive and user-friendly services for sports betting fans, players and publishers.
For the time being, Oddspedia continues to develop on the LatAM markets, partnering with several operators in the region. The US market is the next step, as we are currently eyeing up the opportunity to secure a license and enter that market as an affiliate.”
Editor’s Note: At the end of the day, the pandemic may have played its part in increasing the necessity for an online market. Many land-based operators will now focus on extending their online presence, which will benefit both them and affiliates.
Success for affiliates lies in having a diversified portfolio and closer collaboration with operators, allowing for a better understanding of their audience. This won’t come easy as operators first need to be able to trust their affiliate partners and recognise the value in sharing data with them. According to Jan, there are already some top operators doing this and reaping the benefits from a great partnership. Hopefully, this trend will continue with more operators in the future.
About Oddspedia:
Oddspedia.com has established itself as one of the most comprehensive odds comparison online portals and an objective observer in the global sports market. Launched in 2014, the company behind Oddspedia barring the same name aims to build the most user-friendly, beautiful, and value-added information websites about online betting. You can visit Oddspedia here.
