BetBrain Scores a Hat-trick

As the IGB awards slip away in the rearview mirror and the feeling of exhaustion slowly abates, Income Access thought it would be a good idea to catch up with the winners from the various affiliate categories in order to see what makes them so successful. Over the next week, we will be showcasing exclusive interviews from the winners of the IGB affiliate awards.

2010 is going to be a ‘bonza’ (excuse my Australianism) year for sport, so who better to start off the interview bonanza with than the winner of the Best Sportsbook Affiliate: BetBrain.com. We caught up with George Voyatzis from BetBrain shortly after he returned to his home base from London:

Income Access: How long have you been in affiliate marketing?

George: I have been in affiliate marketing for just under 3 years.

IA: What made you become an affiliate?

G: I did not want to become an affiliate per se; I have a passion for sports, betting and the internet and was therefore keen on being part of the iGaming industry. I had limited knowledge of affiliate marketing prior to joining BetBrain.

IA: What is one of the biggest challenges that affiliates face today?

G: With the ever expanding online space, affiliates need to maintain focus on providing a good service for their site visitors, or risk losing them to competitors. You need to maximize your site’s capability and convert traffic that is relevant to operators. An affiliate’s site traffic is its livelihood, and keeping a steady loyalty amongst existing users, as well as constantly attracting new users, is very challenging.

IA: What is the most satisfying aspect of being an affiliate?

G: Being able to deal with a myriad of people and operators on a regular basis and working closely to make these partnerships profitable.

George, second from left, accepts his award as the Best Sportsbook Affiliate 2010

George, second from left, accepts the award as the Best Sportsbook Affiliate 2010

IA: What words of wisdom would you share with an affiliate just starting out?

G: Find your niche and focus on that. Speak to as many people as possible and learn from their experiences.

IA: What is one thing that you see a lot of other affiliates doing, that you simply won’t do?

G: Working on a CPA basis only, because at BetBrain we view our commercial contracts with operators as long-term partnerships. At BetBrain, revenue generated in the long term is a very significant part of our business. We promote our partners not only to a multitude of new punters, but also to existing account holders, and provide information that reactivates these accounts.

IA: Was there one deciding factor that brought you to partner with Income Access, or a myriad of things?

G: I have dealt with Income Access on both the affiliate software side and their affiliate management with a number of operators. I find that compared to other systems, the Income Access software provides an affiliate with the most relevant data, in a system that is easy to navigate. I find all the Income Access personnel both courteous and knowledgeable and most importantly I enjoy working with them.

IA: In terms of software, what is most important to you/your business?

G: A system that is relatively easy to navigate, provides as much information as possible, and that is secure and stable.

IA: What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about being an affiliate?

G: That is costs very little money to run a good affiliate site. In order to run a successful affiliate site you need to constantly invest money in improving the site and traffic. BetBrain employs well over 50 people and we have considerable development, staff and hardware costs.

IA: 2010 is shaping up to be a massive year in sport; do you have any advice for Sportsbook affiliates and merchants to avoid being lost in the crowd?

G: Both affiliates and operators of course need to be prepared for the abundance of sporting events in 2010 and keeping users updated on these events is important. Making sure your creatives and promotions are relevant to these events is a necessity. Making sure that you are not running out-of-date Cheltenham Festival banners and promotions during the Champions league final is important! I have personally been looking forward to the action packed sporting calendar in 2010, and BetBrain have some nice plans for the year.

IA: With the FIFA World Cup coming up, do you have any predictions?

G: I do want Greece to win, but Spain has a great squad and will be the team to beat. I would also not be surprised to see an African team like Ghana or the Ivory Coast do very well.

There we have it folks, straight from the horse’s mouth. If you want to contact George feel free to email him at gv@betbrain.com. We hope you enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed putting it together! Keep watching this space for more interviews from other great affiliates.

Until next time, keep safe.

Tagged as: affiliate interview, igb awards, income access