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Interview with Boris Pashnev – Head of Affiliates at Alpha Affiliates
AffPapa recently spoke with the Head of Affiliates at Alpha Affiliates, Boris Pashnev, who talked about the challenges of managing more than 15 thousand affiliate partners and shared his insights into how the company maintains its excellent growth momentum while providing players with safe gambling experiences.
Yeva: Could you briefly introduce Alpha Affiliates to our readers, Boris? What does the company offer, and how does it stand out from the competition in the crowded gambling market in your opinion?
Alpha Affiliates is a market leading, global gaming direct advertiser, working with online casinos, gaming, and various sports betting sites. The company was founded over a decade ago by an experienced group of people with significant insight into the iGaming industry. We now pride ourselves on having 15,000+ partners across 50 countries, alongside a very unique community of around 2 million players. This year, we went through a notable period of growth, with a 20% increase in partnerships.
At Alpha Affiliates, we create an environment for our players and partners to succeed. We support our clients and always strive for new opportunities to improve and achieve the best results; we do so by supporting clients in as many ways as we can, from integrating into a new partnership to setting up any products. In addition, we offer our existing partners guidance and insights into new and emerging trends and different practices on how they can increase their net revenue.
As a result, we have built a positive brand reputation, and become well known in various markets over the past 11 years. Operating as a partner program in gambling and betting verticals, we boast a portfolio of 13 diverse and unique brands, all of which hold licenses from the Malta and Curacao gaming authorities. Our innovative approach to affiliate marketing, and extensive network of affiliate partners, continues to set us apart on our mission to become a global force in iGaming and direct advertising.
Yeva: Alpha Affiliates has a staggering player base of more than 2 million users around the world. Which jurisdictions is the firm’s audience primarily based in? Additionally, which markets does the company aim to allocate more of its resources to in the future?
Our core markets are across Europe, with partners in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Italy. We have plans to expand into LATAM, focusing on Brazil and Chile, with our new Sportsbook offer, WinToro.
These markets are undergoing significant growth, as iGaming becomes more regulated, and as such, is creating a demand for affiliate marketing services to help operators in the region acquire customers. We believe that we can harness the untapped potential, through innovating and driving competition in these markets.
As part of our market expansion, we plan on strengthening our partnership network as well as our global reach, all while supporting existing affiliates to expand and increase their product portfolio and revenue potential.
Yeva: Continuing on a similar note, Alpha Affiliates has paid more than 50 million euros to its affiliate partners throughout the course of last year. In your view, what is the most challenging part of leading the affiliates team of an operator of this magnitude?
Considering the volumes of traffic we receive, one of the most challenging tasks is definitely quality control. This includes proper pre-deal analysis, daily monitoring and timely reporting from each affiliate manager. We believe that competent professionals and well-structured workflows are the cornerstones of efficient performance and success in affiliate marketing. It is also important to have a strong team leader, who can bring everything together and oversee the general course of operations.
Yeva: Having solidified a leading worldwide presence for itself around the world, has Alpha Affiliates ever had to deal with a fraudulent affiliate, Boris? How does the firm protect itself and its legitimate affiliate partners from such threats?
The most common issue we have had to solve on several occasions is fraudulent traffic of all kinds. Another less widely spread, but arguably more dangerous, is the issue of identity theft. We have had people reach out to us previously pretending to represent companies or websites with which they are not actually affiliated. Unfortunately, this type of fraud does persist within affiliate marketing, however at Alpha Affiliates, we have efficient monitoring tools that help us to spot the early signs of suspicious behaviour and, in turn, prevent fraudulent activity within our networks.
Yeva: As the online gambling space continues to expand at pace, what steps does Alpha Affiliates take to ensure that it can keep up with the evolving demands and requirements of the sector to maintain its growth momentum?
We will continue to foster existing relationships with our clients and acknowledge their successes in order to maintain our current growth momentum. That being said, we hope to establish ourselves further as a global market leader by expanding and building on relationships in LATAM, Australia and New Zealand. We aim to cater to a diverse pool of players’ preferences across online casinos and betting platforms, while investing in more cutting edge technologies and analytical tools to support our clients and drive maximum ROI.
Yeva: Another thing gaining traction with the expansion of the gambling industry is the topic of responsible gambling. How does Alpha Affiliates ensure its players can enjoy the pastime safely while maintaining excellent growth opportunities for its affiliate partners?
We are fully licensed to operate across iGaming platforms and encourage our users to act conscientiously by providing a safe and organised platform to advertise their offerings. We are committed to ensuring responsible gaming is upheld in our services globally and make sure to follow regulations, only expanding into regions in which iGaming is properly regulated.
More importantly, we also implement industry-standard measures for players who want to control their gambling habits. These include applying various limits on losses, deposits and bets. In addition, we make sure to display reminders for the amount of time spent in a casino and for players to take a step back to step away and cool off.
When it comes to supporting our affiliates, we strive to develop and maintain close relationships with our partners, particularly trusted webmasters with whom we have worked for a long time. They are entitled to exclusive working conditions and special terms of cooperation. We also organise private events for our partners to feel valued and included.
Yeva: As the Head of Affiliates at the company, where would you like to see Alpha Affiliates in about a decade? Additionally, what exciting expansion plans does the company have for the shorter-term future that you could share with our readers?
I’d definitely like to see us continue to expand and better establish ourselves in the Australian and Neozealandian markets, while also building our presence across LATAM.
In order to build on our existing partnerships, we have some exciting projects and announcements in the pipeline, to celebrate our affiliates and our successes this past year.
We will be running the Alpha Affiliate Race from October 15th until December 25th, which is a unique opportunity for our affiliates to win prizes and a spot in our coveted hall of fame. It’s our biggest and most competitive promotion as of yet; our top 30 affiliates with the most net gaming revenue (NGR) could have the chance to win 200,000 euros, while the top 5 will receive Alpha-branded rings. This is our way of motivating our clients and rewarding them for their constant loyalty and achievements.
This comes after our current expansion, which has allowed us to achieve our wide-spanning reach across over 50 countries. Our growth is the result of our new product portfolio (including Spinch, Rakoo and Casino Infinity) which will also be displayed at SiGMA Europe in Malta this November, where attendees will have the opportunity to meet our team and learn more about our unparalleled approach to marketing.
Yeva: Let’s bring our interview to a close by changing our topic of conversation a bit. What motivates you, both at work and in your spare time?
I am very enthusiastic about relationship-building and networking, particularly following the pandemic which had a long-term impact on how we socialise and interact with people at work, but also in our personal lives. I believe making new connections and building strong relationships is the cornerstone of happiness and success. I love meeting new people, hearing their unique points of view, and sharing new ideas and concepts – it’s a brilliant way to learn and form new relationships – both professionally and personally. This is definitely what motivates me at work; building last connections.
Outside of work, I am an avid sports fan, particularly football. To me, it’s not just a fun group exercise, but also an incredible opportunity to clear my thoughts and “reboot” before a busy week. It’s almost meditative, and prepares me for whatever challenges may be thrown at me.
Company: Alpha Affiliates
Interviewee: Boris Pashnev
Date: 24.10.2023
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