1 Attachment(s)
Affiliate Manager Interview Series | Kobi Nahmani, InterPartners
Attachment 5078
You started working in the online gaming industry when you were 21 years old, and you've spent nearly a decade in the industry. When you were first getting started, did you expect that you would build a career in the industry?
I started to work in this industry at quite an early age. I started my career working as a German customer support agent on the front lines, helping new and regular players with all their questions and giving any assistance needed. I have always been interested in the gambling industry, as my dad used to have offline slot machines in restaurants and bars in Germany. I used to play a lot of backgammon with my dad when I was child. Sports, like football or Formula One, are also one of my big interests, and I have always been fascinated by the odds at these events as well. Poker became a hobby of mine when it started to become popular few years ago.
To be honest, I did not expect that I would build a whole career in this industry, but it does go hand in hand with my interests and hobbies so I guess it's not that surprising. I have learned a lot over the years as a customer agent, retention manager, VIP manager, VIP host for PartyPoker/PartyCasino, German affiliate manager at William Hill and at AffEurope, and German senior affiliate manager at Netbet — and nowadays, as you know, I am a senior affiliate manager at InterCasino for the international market.
You started as an account manager with PartyGaming right after the company left the U.S. market in the wake of the UIGEA? That must have been an interesting introduction to the industry!
Indeed, it was a very interesting introduction. I started as an account manager for the AffClub brands and few months after the U.S. market closed, the company had a merger with PartyGaming. It was very interesting to see this big change in the industry, as the U.S. market was the biggest one for all of us. In those days, everyone was super busy as this was definitely a game-changer. All regulated and clean brands needed to focus on the European market with new strategies. I was responsible and helped build up the German market in the right way, so that it's fair, transparent, easy to understand and — always important — user-friendly for the players.
You joined InterPartners as a senior affiliate manager about a year and a half ago. What were some of the things that made that position attractive to you?
When I was approached a year and a half ago by Tony Simouni, who I got to know in my time at William Hill, he told me that InterCasino was going to open an office in Tel Aviv and that he needed my help for InterPartners. Tony has also been in the industry a very long time, he was always a big key player and he has immense experience from his past roles in the industry. I knew InterCasino from back in the day (around 1996), and as I got to know what the plan was for the next few years and I saw so much potential to help build up the brand again, I could not refuse the opportunity.
You started after the new owners (Intertain) took over the company. The company is publicly listed on the Toronto stock exchange. What are the benefits, from an affiliate's perspective, of partnering with a publicly traded company like Intertain?
For a public company, it is always important to keep a good reputation and to be transparent. Also, a public company needs to show all the numbers, so it is easier for an affiliate to find out and see how the company is doing and what its current trend is. A wise man once said, the trend is your friend. If the trend is good, it is better to be a part of it.
In all the brands I have worked with in the past, I have found that there is better teamwork in a public company than in a private company. The reason is simple: In a public company, you are pushed to bring good numbers and you are pushed to work with each other in order to succeed. Everyone knows a team works better than an individual.
So, from an affiliate point of view, the chances are higher to earn a better income with a public company, and you will be treated with more transparency and fairness, which is what makes a partnership successful in the long term.
InterPartners is the affiliate program for InterCasino, InterPoker and VIP Casino, with InterCasino being the oldest of the group, launching back in 1996. Why has InterCasino succeeded over such a long time period? And are any plans in the works to celebrate the company's 20th birthday next year?
That is correct, InterCasino was established in 1996, the first online casino that is still around today and very successful. InterCasino has always been transparent, fair and very loyal to the players, and to our affiliates as well.
There are players at InterCasino who are still playing with us after more than 10 years, because they know that they can win at InterCasino and also get everything cashed out. In May 2015 we had a player win $1.3 million on the Native Treasure slot, which is not even a progressive and only a regular slot. InterCasino even broke the record for largest online slot jackpot when a blacksmith with the player name of Obaesso won $8,000,000 in May 2007 playing the famous Millionaire's Club progressive slot.
On the affiliate side, InterCasino pays its affiliates on time and we are still paying affiliates for players that the affiliate delivered more than 10 years ago. With us, it does not matter if you are on a CPA or revenue share deal, we show all the numbers as we want to have a fair business and so both parties know what is going on in the established partnership.
We celebrated our 18th birthday at the Barcelona Affiliate Conference last September and I hope that everyone had lots of fun and enjoyed it. We gave out lots of bonuses to our players for in November of 2014 as birthday gifts. I do not know yet if there will be a party for our 20th birthday . . . let's stay tuned.
The site was redesigned early in 2015. How was the redesign received by players? Has traffic increased since the redesign?
When we knew that we were going to do a relaunch, we asked more than 3,000 players for feedback. The accumulated information contributed greatly to our relaunch, which turned out to be very successful, according to the numbers over the last few months. Also, we started to run our TV campaign on Sky Network with the relaunch, which helped a lot with the increase of numbers. Players say that the new site is very user-friendly and easier to navigate than it used to be, and we've seen an increase in player activity, too.
VIP Casino launched six years ago. How is VIP Casino unique from the InterCasino brand?
Our main focus is on InterCasino, but let's see what happens with VIP Casino in the near future. With its name, VIP Casino is definitely interesting and it has potential to grow. Every player likes to receive a VIP service and feels like a VIP already if they play in a VIP casino. For now there are no new games being launched at VIP Casino, but the future is always bright.
Intertain also owns several other online gaming properties, including Jackpotjoy, which was acquired earlier this year. InterPartners is not the affiliate program for those sites. Do you think the company might decide to consolidate affiliate management operations at some point in the future?
Well, in my personal opinion, it would make sense for a company to have everything under one umbrella, but I don't decide this. It is too early to say what is going to happen, but I am sure that time will speak for itself and for sure things are happening for the good of the Intertain group. This group has great potential and is one of the fastest-expanding groups I have ever seen. With smart and successful moves, the Intertain group managed to grow from $4 a share to a maximum of $20 a share in April 2015, in the space of only one year.
InterPartners changed its affiliate terms and conditions from a tiered revenue share based on total monthly revenue to a tiered scheme based on the number of first-time depositors earlier this year. Why was this change made? And how is it working out so far for the company and for affiliates?
At InterPartners, it is very important for us to look for long-term partners, which we have done in the past and still do today. The tiered scheme based on the number of first-time depositors did not apply retroactively for old affiliates and is only for new affiliates. We understand the cost involved in bringing more first-time depositors, and we are willing to share more produced revenue with our affiliates who can deliver more traffic. An affiliate who is all of a sudden delivering more first-time depositors has the ability to also earn more through the default deal.
In general, the default schemes are not affecting affiliates so much, and the affiliates who are active and who want to work closely with us are always welcome to a special affiliate deal. (That's the reason an affiliate program has affiliate managers!) We check all the statistics daily and we immediately contact new affiliates who are delivering new first-time depositors, as we want all of our affiliates to grow with us together on good and fair deals, which are hopefully based on long-term partnerships.
What role do affiliates play in generating new depositing players at InterPartners' brands?
Affiliates play a very big role nowadays. Those that are looking for targeted paid traffic are converting the best and delivering the highest-quality traffic.
Our DNA is running an online casino and taking care of our players. We trust our affiliates to work hard to bring the best players for the InterPartners brands. The InterPartners team prides itself on working hard for our affiliates and helping them grow their businesses and maximize their profitability with us.
InterPartners has been a GPWA sponsor for a very long time, dating back to when the affiliate program was known as PartnerLogic. Why is it important for affiliate programs to sponsor the GPWA? And how has InterPartners benefited from its sponsorship?
As I mentioned before, we at InterPartners are trying everything to keep old partnerships alive and happy, and to make more and new partnerships today, which are hopefully based on the long term as well.
I would call the GPWA the control center of the gambling industry, helping webmasters and affiliates do fair and honest business with good online casino brands. For this reason, the GPWA does not take anyone's sponsorship if it is not a regulated, clean and honest online casino. As a new or more advanced affiliate, you automatically trust a brand from the sponsorship more than others, which may not apply the rules and philosophy of the association. We were always close to the GPWA, and we are very happy and appreciate the partnership we have today, which helps us to find good and profitable business through branding and publicity in the portal.
How do you ensure that payments are sent out on time? And when do your payments go out?
We pay our affiliates before the 10th of each month. In case there are delays, which can happen, we inform the affiliates through our newsletter.
At the end of the each month, each affiliate manager takes care of the payment report for each of his affiliates, which is double-checked by the Head of Affiliation, the finance department and the COO/CFO.
Our payment methodology ensures that all affiliates get paid the correct amount and on time.
It's one thing to bring in a new person to a site. It's another thing entirely to get them to stick around. What do InterPartners brands do to retain players sent by affiliates?
Our customer relationship management (CRM) team at InterCasino is one of the most experienced and most professional I have seen. They create weekly promotions where our players can win prizes. Our last promo was the "SuperCar Showdown," where six lucky winners were invited to an event where they could drive six supercars for an incredibly fun day out — cars like the Lamborghini Hurricane or the Ferrari 458. It is always important to treat each player like a king and to ensure his time with us is as enjoyable as possible. Our CRM team sends out bonuses by e-mail and SMS on a weekly basis. All of our promotions are of course also visible in the InterPromotions section, so that you will never miss one of our attractive and fun adventures.
Players can also enjoy our nice loyalty points program, where you can cash in your earned points for real money. In each game session you earn a different number of points and in your account you can find the loyalty bar very easily on a right-side widget.
Another very nice feature InterCasino offers is our long-term VIP program, which has been very successful for years. Players who reach this tier will be assigned a personal VIP manager, who will send gifts, bonuses and invites for events.
InterCasino is always looking for ways to improve, and therefore it is very important for us to work constantly on the product by introducing new games and new game software providers. Besides that, players know that there is a great payout percentage for our games at InterCasino and that there is a possibility of catching a big win.
Describe your typical work day.
There is not really such a thing as a typical work day at InterCasino, as each day is different, dynamic and an adventure. On some days, I have more meetings on Skype or outside of the office, and other days I spend more time with e-mail, creating statistics reports and discussing them afterwards with the affiliates in order to be on the same page. Of course, my top affiliates are getting a little bit of extra service and I spoil them with monthly reports and special exclusive bonuses for their players. Optimizing each campaign is also a key factor, as we all want to grow, right? We know that only with hard work and good energy is it possible to succeed and to show good results on both sides.
Describe the office culture at InterPartners. If we were a fly on the wall, what are some of the topics of conversation we'd hear about at the water cooler?
The office culture at InterPartners/InterCasino I would describe as having incredible team spirit and teamwork, positive energy, fun, enjoyable, professional, respectful and oriented toward success.
On the one hand, we work very hard and help each other on projects and strategies; on the other hand we sometimes have fun in between by shooting each other with Nerf guns.
There many different personalities at InterCasino, and we learn from each other on a daily basis. At the water cooler we usually catch up on what happened over the weekend, like who is going to which concert, or talking about the statistics over the weekend and celebrating if there was a big winner.
Which online gaming conference do you look forward to the most?
The affiliate conference I am always looking forward to the most is of course the one in London, as it is the biggest one and very good for business. It used to be at the St. Paul's Cathedral Hotel, which was by far the best official conference hotel ever . . . there even used to be a Lamborghini in the hotel for the conference, which was really cool. From the conferences in Amsterdam, I have received some of my best contacts and made many new friends.
What do you wish you could change about the industry?
I think that many great changes are already happening in the industry with the introduction of regulation in different markets. Besides that, I wish that the American market would open its doors again. That would be awesome.
Where do you think the industry will be in five years?
My guess is that more than 50% of the players will be playing through their mobile device and that it will be regulated in each country in Europe in the next five years. Also, there will be more 3-D animation games, and maybe it will be completely virtual, so that you will be able to play with your Google glasses or any other virtual glasses.
You speak English, German, Hebrew and Italian. How important is it to be multilingual in the online gaming industry? Are there any other languages you'd like to learn?
I wish that I had the time to learn Japanese or one of the languages spoken in China, as I'm very curious about understanding these markets and how to do business there. In general, it is important to be multilingual in this industry since you meet so many business partners from all over the world. It is definitely an advantage if you speak the same language as your affiliate, in order to not have misunderstandings, which can happen sometimes. All in all, I am happy with the languages I already speak, which of course help me in my day-to-day work.
You live in Israel, correct? Is that where you grew up? Where else have you lived?
I have lived in Israel for nine years now, specifically in the beautiful and friendly city Tel Aviv, and it was for sure the right decision to come here. I grew up in Munich, Germany, where I went to school and where I spent all my life before I moved to Israel. I do not know if I will spend the rest of my life here, but for now I really enjoy it, and for sure I will spend the next couple of years in Israel.
If someone from out of town were to visit you, where is the one place you would have to take them?
This is an easy answer, as I like adventures, culture and traveling.
If someone from out of town is visiting me, I usually take him to Jerusalem to the Wailing Wall and to the historic Dead Sea, where you are able to float in the water. Jerusalem is for many people a holy place, and you can find all different kinds of religions in one place. This usually makes a trip unforgettable and it is the experience of a lifetime.
What is the last book you read?
I have to be honest with you, I wish I had more free time to read. In my spare time (I don't have enough of it), I love to read the news about all kinds of stuff, for example, politics, sports, gaming and gossip.
What's your favorite movie?
My favorite movie is Star Wars. I basically grew up with all the Star Wars movies and there was never a time where I got bored re-watching it. I am also a big fan of all the Marvel movies, such as Iron Man and The Avengers, which are very good. So the last movie I saw was Ant-Man, which I recommend to you as well, if you like Marvel movies too.
What do you use for most of your Web surfing: A desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone?
I have not used a desktop computer for a very long time as I need to be flexible, especially with my job and the traveling. So mainly I use my laptop for Web surfing, but I also use my smartphone and my iPad here and there.
iPhone or Android? And if we took out your earbuds, what would we find you listening to?
I am definitely an Apple person and connected with their whole network. I have an iPhone, an iPad, a MacBook Pro and Apple TV at home. It makes a lot of things easier as everything is saved on my iCloud.
Concerning music, I am very open-minded, but you will always find me listening to classic and modern hip-hop. I also like to listen to a little bit of R&B, electro, house and mainstream.
If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?
Thailand, as almost everyone who has been there already has said nice things about it and that it is very relaxing. I also would really like to vacation in Las Vegas to see the capital city of gambling and what is going on over there.
If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be?
Tough question, but I guess it would be with the hilariously funny comedians Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen. I know that from the beginning this would be one of my most amusing dinners ever.
Name three things that people reading this magazine don't know about you.
As I have nothing to hide and I am an open book, there is not much that people don't know about me. Though only my good friends from the past know that I was a professional Go-Kart driver — I started at the age of 10 in a Go-Kart that went 150 km/h and drove in the Club and South Bavarian Championship series for about six years. Besides that, I have been a vegetarian for ethical and health reasons for three years. Also, I love extreme sports and I have been I have been a huge fan of the football team Bayern Munich since childhood as it is my hometown club.
