Affiliate Interview Series - Aposta Ganha

**GPWA Daniel** · 26 June 2018, 3:19 pm

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(This interview was originally published in the February 2018 issue of the GPWA Times Magazine)

How did you first get into the iGaming business? What did you do before becoming an affiliate?

Fifteen years ago, I frequently played poker and I was working in the IT field. I visited several online forums, until one day I decided to create a computing forum as a way to gain more clients for my work. Two years later, bwin – Betandwin at the time – joined the Portuguese market. Since I’m hooked on football, combined with the pleasure I have in online gambling, I created a new forum specializing in sports betting, the Apostaganha forum, which was the closest to my heart at the time.
Since then, I have never stopped.

Tell us about your sites. When did you launch your first site?

As I said, I launched the first website in 2005. Shortly after – about one or two years – I created the portal, because I was the first and only affiliate in Portugal. More recently, I launched the Brazilian, Spanish and English websites.

Are you a full-time or part-time affiliate?

I’m a full-time affiliate, and it couldn’t be any other way. The demand for content, the design, the podcasts, the updates on our platforms, the dozen of e-mails that the websites receive and so many other things make it impossible for me not to be 100% invested. It's impossible for me to do everything by myself. I have some employees who are extremely dedicated and maintain all the websites updated daily with valuable content.

Do you have plans for additional sites?

I thought about launching a French website. In fact, I was already halfway through the design and translating some articles, but quickly I figured out that it was a waste of time and money. The French market, much like the Portuguese, doesn’t leave room to maneuver for me to have a profit that would minimally compensate the effort, so I gave up on it.

What makes your sites unique?

Content, content and more content. And always with quality. Content without quality is the death of a website. We have the best tipsters with the best tips. Besides the tips, which are the “core” of my websites, we have weekly betting podcasts. In fact, we are the only ones doing it. And finally, we have a team that develops tutorials and betting guides weekly, which are very popular and always tackle what bettors look for to help them in their bets.

One of your sites focuses specifically on sports betting in Brazil. Why did you decide to target Brazil specifically? Can you tell us a bit about what the sports betting market is like there?

Brazil is an emerging market when it comes to online betting. The competition isn’t very fierce at the moment, and the growth is exponential. Because of that, I didn’t think twice when it was time to decide whether I should advance with the Brazilian website or not.

The Brazilian bettor is still very immature and uninformed when it comes to online betting. Most of the people still think that the bonuses are free money that the bookmakers put on their account, just to give an example.

Another problem is the Brazilian government’s protectionism when it comes to transactions with foreign countries. The Brazilians only practically have one way of making deposits on the bookmakers, if the bookmakers offer that same option: Boleto. That naturally fends off most of the Brazilian bettors.

How do you decide what sportsbooks to promote?

That is a tricky question. It depends on the markets. In the Brazilian market there are bookmakers that are heavily focused on Brazil, while in the Spanish or Latin American ones, there are others. I always look for the ones with more quality and the ones that are more popular in each region. But that’s something that is volatile. Sometimes you reach the conclusion that a certain bookmaker isn’t going anywhere, so you look for a replacement. It is not an exact science.

Sports betting can be a tough sector, especially when players are doing well. How do you handle the volatility?

There’s one thing called saving! I save every month as a way to have a nest egg when things go wrong. But thank god, most of the times things go well.

Do you gamble online?

Of course, I love to gamble online, I gamble every day. I don’t like brick-and-mortar casinos. I don’t like to play in casinos or work with casinos.

How often do you get to see and interact with other people in the industry? Have you attended any conferences?

Every day! Normally via Skype or e-mail. I know hundreds of people in this industry, and I work with them on a daily basis. I attend conferences with some frequency, especially the LAC in London, but I've also gone to others. As I always say, talking in person is the way to make the best deals.

What traits do you look for in an affiliate manager? How about in an affiliate program?

Competence, professionalism and availability. I already dealt with everything. Unfortunately, in this business there is a lot of swindle. You always need to be very alert; I’ve had my fair share of crooks.

The affiliate programs are, for the most part, efficient, but nothing compares to the one offered by bet365.

What's your preferred method of communication with affiliate managers?

Skype. In the age that we’re living, everything is possible remotely and for that effect, Skype is, for me, the best tool.

What prompted you to join the GPWA?

At the GPWA I finally found the best website and forum about webmasters of online gambling. The ideas shared and the news you publish have been incredibly helpful.

What do you like about the industry?

The alliance between sports, money and advertising. Making deals all the time with people all around the world, besides the dozens of friendships I made in this industry.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be and why?

The rules the bookmakers must comply with regarding affiliates should be the same for all of them worldwide. I’ve seen some unbelievable situations where the bookmaker changed the rules out of nowhere or even cancelled affiliate accounts. That’s inadmissible. That’s what happens when they can pick and choose, and can afford to do what they want. Whenever a bookmaker/affiliate partnership is made, there should be a contract signed to avoid situations like that.

What do you think the industry will look like in five years?

Affiliation as we know it today will end. Unfortunately, I have full conviction that the bookmakers will end the affiliate programs and start to make marketing offers to the websites they are more interested in.

What do your family and friends think of your work as an affiliate?

At first they considered it a waste of time, saying that it was a business without any future and that it didn’t help me in anything. Fortunately, they see it differently now.

How do you manage your to-do lists? Do you use any special software to help you out?

It seems impossible but everything I have to do is in my head, since the night before I define the following day’s priorities.
There are three programs that I can’t dismiss: Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Filezilla.

How much time do you devote social networking for your site?

A lot. Apostaganha has about 130,000 fans. It is another tool that you can’t leave on the side, just like every social network.

What's the most difficult thing about running your site?

Managing the prize leagues sponsored by the bookmakers we work with. Whether it is because they take too long to pay the prizes or because they don’t send the payments to one or two people, I end up being bombarded by them asking for explanations of why they didn’t get paid. It’s a horror movie, even more because we have a lot of leagues.

What's the best thing about running your site?

Seeing the work validated. Having thousands and thousands of people reading our articles is priceless.

What do you do to stay in shape – both physically and mentally?

I used to do Crossfit, but I had to stop due to a dislocated knee. I run and I take great walks. For my anxiety, there is no cure.

What do you do with your spare time?

I play strategy games on the computer, and go to the movies. I read and travel, which for me is the best thing in the world.

What did you dream of doing, both professionally and personally, when you were a kid?

Ha! I dreamed of being an astronaut. It was always been my childhood dream.

If someone from out of town were visiting you, what’s the one place you'd definitely take them to see?

Palácio dos Jerónimos, Torre de Belém, Bairro Alto and finally, to go out for a drink: Cais do Sodr?

When you need to get as far away from work as possible, where do you go?

I travel. I travel a lot and my next trip is already scheduled: Budapest.

What's your all-time favorite movie?

S7ven. Up until this point I hadn’t seen such a fabulous movie, so well performed and with such an incredible plot.

If you could invite any five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be?

Jesus – I’m Catholic, and I would like to validate some things.
Albert Einstein- I would give everything to spend a day with this man. He is absolutely fascinating.
Leonardo da Vinci – Probably the personality most ahead of its time.
Stephen Hawking – The topic that fascinates me the most is the universe; it has always been.
Donald Trump – To give him some slaps in the face.

Name three things that people reading this magazine don't know about you.

1. I’m very reserved.
2. I played rugby, and I practiced Taekwondo.
3. I’m addicted to going out to dinner.

**Cash Bonus** · 26 June 2018, 3:30 pm

An excellent affiliate interview series with Aposta Ganha. It's Much appreciated

I can definitely relate to some of your points here.

I also got into the gambling industry in 2005 with my first website. I can't believe how many years it has been already, but we've come a long way since then.

**ApostaGanha** · 28 June 2018, 6:52 am

it wa an honor giving this interview

**sweetbet** · 28 June 2018, 6:45 pm

The question that I'd ask Donald Trump would be; "Stormy Daniels? What the hell were you thinking?"

**Mlndrss** · 29 June 2018, 4:46 am

Brilliant! I absolutely love these interviews! Keep up the good work!

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