Operators, affiliates and affiliate programs from around the world returned to the Messe Berlin for the second day of BAC 2016. The expo floor was quiet at first with plenty of delegates nursing hangovers from the evening before, but filled up quickly as the day went on. Similar to day one, the vibe on the expo floor was energetic and fun, with all sorts of entertainment waiting for affiliates at each booth.
Tipbet had an impressive display this year, with a central position and good sized space including a meeting room, plenty of seating and an open bar staffed with two local professional bartenders. These German bartenders practiced the art of throwing spirit bottles into the air and all sorts of other tricks, attracting the attention of guests and passersby.
Tipbet’sYiannisPagounis told CalvinAyre.com their BAC booth was a success and added affiliates who sign up to their program before October 31st, 2016 will enjoy a 60% rev share until the end of January 2017, a promotion exclusively revealed at BAC. Affiliates who actually signed up with Tipbet at the BAC were automatically enrolled into a draw with the chance to win a pair of Tipbit branded VR glasses.
Pagounis went on to explain Germany and other German-speaking markets are Tipbet’s main target and mentioned the solid presence Tipbet has in the retail side of the sportsbetting industry as well. eSports is another area Tipbet has expanded into, providing an opportunity for affiliates to get involved with one of the hottest sectors in the iGaming industry today.
Today’s surprise celebrity appearance was over at the Active Wins booth, the affiliate program serving BetFred. Fred Done, the founder of BetFred, decided to make BAC 2016 the first affiliate show he’s ever attended and told CalvinAyre.com he plans to attend many more. His purpose of spending time at the Active Wins booth today was to show affiliates how much he cares about the affiliate side of the business and said if there was one thing he regrets the most, it would be getting into the online side of the business so late in the game.
Done emphasized the importance of trust between affiliates and operators and said he’s “old school” and happy to do deals on a handshake. He told CalvinAyre.com he’s open to talking with affiliates about any problems they have with the program and that he looks forward to attending the London Affiliate Conference in February to meet even more affiliates.
Alexandre Tomic of Slotsmillion.com delivered a Virtual Reality (VR) presentation this afternoon, focusing on the history behind VR and the opportunities that lie in the technology today.
Tomic opened his presentation by explaining VR is not a “new fad” and confirmed its been around for over 30 years. The technology was not available for a consumer version back in those days, but it is now and can you imagine what VR will be like in 10-15 years? “Don’t see [VR] as just some new platform, its something that was started 40 years ago…its the continuation of something and will be something much bigger than what we see now”, he said.
Tomic admitted to the crowd his VR casino SlotsMillion is actually more of a gimmick as the VR business is not there yet, but in the meantime, as a first-mover in the industry, he’s receiving plenty of PR, attention, etc. He said some of the other business opportunities for his company are as follows:
-VR creates a “cool” image
-VR attracts millenials
-People talk about you when you do VR
-Developing VR slots for some of the biggest game providers
-Better conversion & retention for better player value
Tomic told CalvinAyre.com he would advise affiliates to get involved with VR right now as opposed to waiting until the technology becomes more mainstream. He advised buying URLs, optimizing pages and sending links to those pages now as opposed to later.
Before closing out the conference, CalvinAyre.com spoke with Leanne Kimmings of Matching Visions, an affiliate network in the iGaming space. Not many affiliates book booths at the affiliate conferences, but Kimmings confirmed how important it is for her team to build relationships and provide a welcoming environment for meetings to happen. Although it wasn’t the biggest booth on the block, affiliates were certainly having a lot of fun when they stopped by.
