Check out our latest informative interview with Yeva Avagyan, the Head of Commercial at one of the leading companies for iGaming affiliates, AffPapa, where we had an in-depth conversation about various gripping subjects including their way of work, what it takes to win one of their prestigious awards, as well as their brand new B2B news and directory, TheGamblest.
In the very competitive field of iGaming, AffPapa enjoys a reputation as a leader among its peers. Tell us, when did the journey of AffPapa start, and what was the inspiration to create the ultimate directory for iGaming Affiliates and operators?
First of all, thanks for having me GamblersConnect Team and for the well-thought-out questions you prepared.
AffPapa was founded back in 2020, right when the pandemic hit. Although it was an overall challenging period, AffPapa really managed to take off. The main inspiration behind AP was to fill the gap in the industry. Finding the missing piece, one could say. The iGaming community, especially the affiliates and operators really needed a platform where they all could come together and easily find prospects who perfectly match their criteria. With our advanced tools, we made sure to help both parties save their precious time, resources and energy that was wasted on surfing the web trying to find relevant partners.
And now here we are three years later, expanding our community, organizing live events, and having successfully completed our first iGaming Awards, and second iGaming Club event which took place in London last month…the list of accomplishments is endless. But rest assured, we’re not stopping here.
We can say that the number of both iGaming operators and affiliates expands by the day. What is the most challenging aspect of the process of connecting the affiliates with the operators?
Hmm, good question. Since we made it quite a smooth process for both affiliates and operators to connect to each other I can’t really think of the most challenging aspect, to be honest. We came up with a flow that works really well for both parties, notifying them when a new operator/affiliate joins the platform, promoting offers, providing extensive information/contacts, showcasing what each side has to offer so on and so forth.
As Head of Commercial at AffPapa, you play a very significant role in portraying the image of the company to the public. Do you feel like the increasing global restrictions on gambling impose a problem when it comes to coordinating actions for products and services for a company such as AffPapa?
Restrictions affect iGaming operations significantly. Sometimes operators are forced to leave their major markets. However, we have many cases when brands manage to swiftly adapt to the new reality and either focus on new markets or continue operations within strict rules. It is very unlikely to see an operator shut down because of restrictions.
One of the most recent news regarding AffPapa was the appointment of Levon Nikoghosyan as the new CEO of the company. Can we expect some groundbreaking endeavours for AffPapa in 2023, given his previous tenure as the CEO of Partner Matrix, as well as his expertise when it comes to the iGaming industry?
Levon joining us as a CEO means a lot of things. I can’t imagine anyone more suitable for this role. As you mentioned his valuable expertise, his experience and not-so-traditional approach to product development and growth are something we definitely needed. It is also important to note that he had been involved in AffPapa as an investor prior to the move. We have a steady rode-map planned out for AffPapa and are planning to execute everything beautifully in the next few years which will mark the prime of AffPapa.
2022 was a historic year for AffPapa, being that the company hosted its very first iGaming awards which we may add ended up as a massive success. Can you tell us a bit more about the selection process, i.e. what does it take for an affiliate/operator to win the prestigious AffPapa award?
I love how you put this question. Well yes, you’re right. AffPapa iGaming Awards was indeed a huge success, but most importantly we helped shine a light on our operators/affiliates who’ve been working non-stop, ensuring quality, showing integrity and their dedication to the industry. These are the things that I think we all value in a company, and since our voting was done by our own operators/affiliates, parties who have been working together for over a year, or two years, the process was very organic.
To win an AffPapa Award you simply need to be the best in your game. Have a good relationship with your partners, be transparent, be creative, and have superb communication throughout – all these criteria were put into account when narrowing down the candidates for each nomination and picking out the winners.
Another historic milestone in 2022 for AffPapa was the first edition of one of the most exclusive networking events in the world, the iGaming Club, held in Amsterdam. With the second official event of the iGaming Club starting in a little over a month and being held in London, what can we expect in this year’s lineup and program?
As I’m answering this question iGaming Club has already been successfully completed leaving us wanting for more J iGaming Club is a long-term project that we’ll carry out throughout the years making it bigger and bolder. This year’s line-up is quite packed. Our next big event will be in partnership with iGamingNext in Malta, bringing 600+ affiliates and operators to delegate with potential partners. Our second AffPapa iGaming Awards will be held there as well as iGaming Club’s 3rd event. So, there are tons of exciting things to look out for. We can’t wait!!
Yet another important milestone for AffPapa in 2022 was the launch of its very own iGaming B2B news and directory, TheGamblest. What inspired you to launch The Gamblest, and whom is it intended for?
TheGamblest is, as you mentioned, a B2B Directory that was created to help operators locate the best B2B Providers/software solutions and of course, for the B2Bs to get some well-deserved exposure. We also implemented the filter option here, to ease the process of finding relevant partners with the extensive information provided on each one. We produce original articles, and have insightful interviews with industry representatives, giving them the platform to share any new announcements, and personal milestones and just simply connect with our audience. TheGamblest is slowly but surely picking up its pace and is striving to be one of the leading B2B directories in our vertical.
As a leader in its respective field, AffPapa is constantly mentioned as the go-to solution for iGaming affiliates throughout the world. Why do you feel this is the case?
AffPapa is the only directory in the market right now that is offering what we offer, truly. We manage to bring the industry together at our offline events due to the business model we have adopted. It would have been hard to imagine hosting an iGaming Club and bringing together operators and affiliates if we were charging middleman fees for their cooperation.
We created a community where it’s easy to do business, where you can keep up to date with the latest developments in the industry, learn about the iGaming in & outs, and have unlimited access to original articles, reviews, and interviews – the perfect hub for all things iGaming basically. With all that said we always have our users at the forefront of our vision – keeping them and their experience on AffPapa as a TOP priority.
