Slots Temple CMO Fraser Linkleter: “Be Patient, Implement Changes and You’ll Be Rewarded with Your Users’ Trust.”

Affiliates are not a dying breed, but they do need a proper shakeup. The best way to change the paradigm for affiliate marketing in the iGaming industry is to seek and create genuine value for consumers, stakeholders and marketing companies at the same time and this is precisely what Slots Temple is actively working towards.

The company makes no big promises it can’t deliver on either. Slots Temple has all the bearings of a traditional affiliate but with a few twists. They are focusing on ensuring age verification standards are met in every jurisdiction the company operates in.

For quite some time now, Slots Temple has stressed the importance of creating genuine relationships between stakeholders and affiliates so that marketing agencies can provide consumers with the most relevant and accurate information.

Slots Temple has also taken its offer up a notch and now plans on launching various slot tournaments to generate higher engagement with consumers, improve acquisition and boost stickiness.

Q: Slots Temple is looking to do things differently, but how different can an affiliate company be from the mainstream? What are Slots Temple’s tells for being a unique player in the sector?

A: We are really only at the start of our journey, but I think what makes us different at this point in time is the fact that our customers are age verifying with us, creating an account with us and benefiting from a more entertaining, bespoke experience as a result.

Q: Why age verification? What inherent improvements do you feel can be made to ensure that we can all enjoy a safer gaming industry?

A: As we are primarily a free-play slots website with a large audience in the UK, it was necessary for us from a compliance point of view to introduce Age Verification for users in the UK to access our demo game content.

Having seen the clean data it provides us and also the impact it has on under 18s not accessing demo content we are rolling out in other territories too.

In terms of improvements to safer gaming, I think regulation is the best way for affiliates and operators to improve consumer experience and protection.

Q: Do affiliates have the leverage to pursue a safer gambling industry by directly influencing iGaming operators’ way of doing business?

A: If you have the size and are delivering lots of new players month after month then you do have the power to demand that those operators you work with have a sound safer gambling policy and appropriate responsible gambling tools on site. If operators want to work with you then they need to meet your standards.

However, to bring about real change a number of large affiliate groups need to act together, which is why organisations like RAiG (Responsible Affiliates in Gambling) are starting to get some traction now.

Q: How can affiliates improve stickiness and boost consumer acquisition in a safe and meaningful way so all parties benefit?

A: As the industry matures and regulates, affiliates that fail to add real value for their visitors and are not up to date with compliance will not be successful.

In comparison to bingo and poker, the casino affiliate business has been slow to innovate, however, we are now seeing lots of the best affiliates working to create communities and developing tools that add value. Sites that offer services that encourage repeat visits are the ones that will have a long-term future.

Q: Could you tell us a little more about the upcoming tournament feature you are planning to offer?

A: The strategy behind introducing free slots tournaments to the site was to offer something entertaining and unique that our competitors don’t have and to improve our relationship with our customers.

We hope that the user experience will be enhanced by creating an account with us, not just by playing, fun, free tournaments, but by the bespoke offers and promotions, we can offer by knowing our customers that little bit better.

We’ve been really surprised at the take-up in Beta mode, players are signing up and playing the tournaments multiple times, so we are confident we can develop a really sticky product in the long run.

Q: What are the main challenges you face in doing business in the sector today?

A: Changes to regulations are invariably what causes the most headaches from year to year. However, what can seem like a disaster when first announced, generally does not tend to be as bad as you thought it might be. Be patient, implement the changes and generally you’ll be rewarded with trust by your users.

Q: What markets are shaping up as leaders for your products in 2021 and what markets do you want to pursue further expansion in?

A: UK, Canada, NZ, Spain, Italy, USA – markets that are either English speaking or are fully regulated. We are looking at Brazil as an emerging market.