Do you gamble?

[Casino-Matt]

I am honestly surprised that a majority of voters report they gamble less than once a month or not at all. Gambling is, of course, a personal choice. But I would find it difficult to set up a website and participate in an industry if I didn't have first-hand knowledge of the casinos, the games, the bonuses, etc. If I didn't have an honest and deep passion for the games I don't think I could run an effective site to promote them. That's just me

Brilliant post.

Me and my website partner have been gambling for 20-30 years. We both have good jobs so decided to share our experiences via slots guide.

Looking at all the sites out there we figured there was room for a site written by actual players.

We might not have the web desugn skills but we try to make up for it with actual experience.

So yeah, we play all the time.

[BSC]

Why would this be different to any other niche? People who set up 100's of successful Amazon affiliate sites don't go around buying all the products and reviewing them in depth they just pay content writers to do it and make the necessary tweaks to SEO optimise it. So to answer your question no you don't need to gamble to be successful in this industry the same way you don't need to own every sump pump that amazon sell in order to build a successful sump pump niche site.

That is an interesting observation. You are right, one can set up an affiliate website with little or no knowledge of the product or service they are selling and generate sales but does that make it successful?

Perhaps in a case where you are only looking for an initial sale (CPA), this can be considered a success.

However, I would maintain that if your niche market is one of potential repeat sales (revenue share), especially over the long-term, your strategy is to build a site that encourages repeat visits and engagement. That is very difficult to do if you don't know much about the product you are promoting.

Affiliate websites are growing and because there are a lot of people with the "quick buck" mentality it is getting much easier to distinguish an authentic, dynamic website from a static one that has little or no authority behind it. If you were a potential player would you rather take the advice of a site built by a "get rich quick" affiliate or one that put a little sweat into it and seems to have some first-hand experience in what they are talking about?

After being in this industry for a few years I can tell the difference between an authentic gambling portal and a "get rich quick" static page of "reviews" and the player in me has no desire to spend time on those pages. There is a well known affiliate site that I visit every 2-3 days because that's how often the front page is refreshed with new content. Do the site owners spend all day gambling? No. In fact, they probably haven't played at all the casinos they have posted reviews on. But they do play and they stay engaged with their audience. That keeps me coming back to the site and even trying new casinos. Bottom line is you can tell they put a lot of first-hand work into it and as a visitor/player, that is the most important factor in their page design.

If you wouldn't make a purchasing decision off a "get rich quick"-style affiliate portal why in the world would you expect other people to?

[FruityJelena]

As a player, I'd always choose a website written and lead by the people (or a person) who gamble themselves, do analyses, try out games, go through T&C of each casino published and write posts from their personal experience.
That's why, for example, I highly appreciate ThePogg, Slots-Guide.eu and WizardOfOdds (these are not the only ones I know working this way, just good examples imo).

[rouletteguru]

Depends on what you call gambling. I'm a professional player. Its not gambling for me.

Of course if I ever played on RNG casinos, now that's gambling. You cant beat slot machines / rng. I never play at online casinos though. Its too hard to hide winnings and accounts get restricted or banned.

[donlynd]

online betting for me and I really really love it

[leokilixx]

I play the odd sportsbet here and there.

[ALEXRAW]

Personally, I play in casinos and betting in bookmakers,

[Magic-Johnson]

Sometimes I bet on sports (football, basketball and tennis) for enjoyment and relax =)

[muffincrumbs]

I am still playing slots, but now I try to not play online much. This year I have spent $40 USD at Lucky Red and that is it for online. I won a $2,600 jackpot in February and I have almost gambled it back. Good news is that gambling losses are tax deductible up to how much you win!

[adamlane]

last time I did, I lost 8 grand

[dgoin]

I think most of us would gamble being in this business, be it at the tables or a new program :P

[ALEXRAW]

and I bet on Euro 2016

[FruityJelena]

https://giphy.com/gifs/xT0GqtbirePc5WbYEU/tile

[JackTenSuited]

and I bet on Euro 2016

I'm really wishing I didn't.

[Aeternus]

I usually try out new casinos before I list them on my sites (not always) and I like to stay updated on new slot releases now and again. Usually with demo credits, but some times with real money as well.

I think it is important to stay updated in the industry, but if you use to much time on the gambling part, you are not going to be productive.

Oh, and I bet $200 on England winning the euros, not a great bet that was..

[Magic-Johnson]

I've done bet on France winning the European title, but they will face Germany in semi-final, and i'm afraid of this a little bit...

[AlexTu]

As for me, I prefer simple gambling like online slots just to kill some time sometimes. However, my friends and I play poker 1 time per month.

[Magic-Johnson]

Kill some time by losing some money?! i still think that slots cannot be beaten by us.
Poker - i respect , the most interesting game!

[Bikram]

Last time I bet on Cricket.

[Magic-Johnson]

Last time I bet on Cricket.

i've never bet on this kind of sport.. i know just a liitle bit about Cricket. Won't you tell your strategy of betting?