Connect with us

Affiliate Industry

Checkd Group expands into Canada as FlashPicks gains Ontario licence

Published

on

 

Fast-growing iGaming business Checkd Group has entered the sports betting market in Canada with its FlashPicks brand after gaining an affiliate licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

The acquisition of the licence, which arrived in time for the start of the new NFL season, comes after Checkd Group met a series of strict marketing regulations in Canada’s most heavily populated province.

The new licence means that sports bettors in Ontario can utilise operator links on Checkd Group’s fast-growing sports betting community site FlashPicks, along with their counterparts in 15 US states where online betting is currently regulated.

It also coincides with the appointment of Callum Broxton as Checkd Group’s Head of US Operations. Broxton has spent the past six years within Checkd’s Media division, as Head of Social, Head of Brand Operations and Commercial Manager, and will now be based full-time in New York.

“Ontario is an important sports betting market and one where there is a high bar in terms of meeting regulatory requirements,” said Broxton.

“To have gained our first licence in Canada is a major milestone, serving to underline the rapid progress since we launched FlashPicks in the US earlier this year. We have been working hard to increase the range of experts that we can utilise to help inform and educate FlashPicks’ rapidly growing community and it is gratifying to be able to serve sports enthusiasts right across North America ahead of what is sure to be an exciting NFL season. Our aim is to provide the community with stats and information that can inform their picks – and hopefully help create some winners.

“On a personal note, six years on from first joining the company it’s a great privilege to head up Checkd’s international arm, just in time for the football season. We have some very exciting plans ahead and I can’t wait to get started.”

Launched earlier this year, North American-focused FlashPicks provides visitors to the website with selections served up by a team of US sports specialists. The brand has quickly gained traction on social channels, hitting 30 million organic Twitter impressions, as well as 250,000 unique visitors on the website.

FlashPicks is also growing its video and audio content presence, with new headline show ‘For Bettor or Worse’ achieving over 500,000 views and listens across all platforms. It has also significantly expanded its resident US sports betting experts, driving traffic to operator partners including FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, bet365 and PointsBet.

FlashPicks has continued to evolve and now features live odds feeds for four major sports, with instant betslip click-outs to selected operator partners – a key feature for enhancing the user experience as the NFL season gets underway. It is currently licenced in key US states including New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Affiliate Industry

SBC Summit North America: Charting New Paths in Affiliate and Marketing Success

Published

on

 

As affiliates grapple with the challenge of higher player acquisition costs and the subsequent need to build player loyalty, SBC Summit North America will serve as the ideal platform to acquire insights into content creation strategies, brand building and the power of big data, all of which can help affiliates solidify their standing in the market.

Scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, the ‘Affiliate & Marketing’ track promises engaging discussions encompassing mergers and acquisitions in the affiliate space, gamification, the rise in popularity of online influencers, artificial intelligence (AI) and customer relationship management (CRM) strategies to foster player loyalty, among other topics.

Kicking off the conference track is the panel titled ‘Affiliate Leaders Panel: Building Brands Through Content and Customization’, which will feature Andrew Garven (Head of Marketing, Covers), Rome Smith (Head of Marketing – North America, Betsson), Marcos Oliveira (Chief Operating Officer, Clever Advertising) alongside panel moderator Michael Daly (Former Chief Executive Officer, Catena Media). The panel will delve into how leading affiliates harness branding and compelling content to build unique and recognizable affiliate brands, optimize acquisition rates and strike successful operator partnerships.

The ‘Big Data at the Center: How Affiliates & Operators Can Make Sense of Their Customers Across Multiple Channels’ panel will delve into the strategic use of big data in understanding customer behavior. Experts Gil Bushkin???? (Senior Director of Interactive Marketing, betPARX), Zachary Sold (Vice-President of Marketing, Caesars), Elizabeth Lodge (Chief Marketing Officer, Winible) and panel moderator James Fox (Industry Manager, Google) will discuss big data’s role in identifying common trends in player acquisition and retention as well as profiling customer archetypes that aid in enhancing player engagement and meet operator partner expectations.

The panel ‘It’s an Influencer’s World: Charting the Success of Ambassadors, Streamers and Other Social Media Stars’ will examine the growing influence of alternative affiliate channels such as influencers, streamers and sports ambassadors. Industry luminaries Kelly Koffler (Influencer/YouTube Content Creator, Slot500Club and Beyond Blackjack), Josh Duffy (SM Influencer /YouTube Creator, Slotaholic), Jon Della Terza (Social Media Influencer/Content Creator, NJ Slot Guy), Josh Margolis (Vice-President of Marketing, Prize Picks), Grant Flannery (Head of Marketing, Rivalry) and panel moderator Lazar Miucin (Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, iGaming Advisor) will delve into the distinctive acquisition strategies and content approaches employed by influencers and examine how they can effectively collaborate with operators. Additionally, the panel will discuss adaptation strategies for traditional affiliates to capture the interest of the next generation of players.

The session panel titled ‘Affiliate Diversification: Success Strategies for the Slower Years’ will delve into innovative approaches affiliates can employ to reach new audiences. Affiliate and marketing experts Noam Klivitsky (Vice-President of US Marketing, 888 Holdings), Shmulik Segal (Chief Executive Officer, MediaTroopers) and Max Bichsel (Vice-President, Gambling.com Group) will explore such strategies while emphasizing the significance of strategic media partnerships in ensuring a strong market presence.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the North American market through dedicated conference tracks covering leadership, sports betting, iGaming, industry and growth, compliance and regulation and payments and technology.

Additionally, the conference will include a dedicated tribal symposium, as well as two pre-day conferences; the Capital Market Forum (entry requires a separate ticket) and the Player Protection Symposium.

Purchase your ‘early bird’ ticket at the discounted price of $795 and gain access to all three days of SBC Summit North America (including the Player Protection Symposium) including the exhibition, the conference and exclusive networking parties. Additionally, operators and affiliates can apply for a free pass to the event.

You can keep up-to-date with the latest news, speakers and exhibitor additions and conference content by subscribing to the bi-weekly SBC Summit North America LinkedIn newsletter.

Continue Reading

Affiliate Industry

UK fantasy football affiliate signs landmark deal with its 5th Brazilian operator-Bitx

Published

on

 Following on from the success with its other four partners in Brazil, fantasy football free-to-play affiliate and marketing firm 20SHOTS has now signed a deal with Brazilian operator Bitx.bet (also known as Bitx) to feature another fantastic competition: the Paulista.

Bitx will also join 20SHOTS’ other Brazilian partners in hosting the Serie A (Brasilierio) once the season kicks off in April.

While this partnership represents an impressive market share in Brazil’s affiliate marketing and free-to-play FTP space, it was the speed and efficiency of the launch that most impressed Bitx’s team.

Franco Oggiano, Bitx’s representative, said that 20SHOTS’ reputation for excellent communication and speedy installation was a driver behind signing the deal.

“We knew of 20SHOTS’ free-to-play affiliate model and it was really attractive. We are excited to have their offering on our site to help acquire and engage with new and existing customers. It’s been a quick and easy process to integrate the game and we’re greatly looking forward to the partnership and seeing what we can bring together to the Brazilian fantasy football community!”

No laurel resting for 20SHOTS

This year has been a big one for the fantasy football FTP affiliate, with a quickly growing operator client list and some great partnerships in Europe, the UK, the US and now, Brazil.

“We’re so excited for 2024 and beyond,” shared 20SHOTS founder Jacob Kalms. “It’s already been a big year for us, and January isn’t over yet! We’re going to continue to push into the Brazilian market, partnering collaboratively there as we do in the UK.”

20SHOTS offers a customisable FTP Premier League fantasy football game that customers such as Grosvenor Casinos, Boyle Sports, Stats Perform and many others have all signed partnership agreements for. The company also has an NBA FTP game, which is direct-to-consumer and focused on the US market.

Continue Reading

Affiliate Industry

Fastmarkets launches new European carbon-reduced flat steel price, catering to growing demand for sustainable steel production

Published

on

 

Fastmarkets, one of the industry’s leading cross-commodity price-reporting agencies (PRA), announces the launch of a new European reduced carbon emissions flat steel price.

This new price, which is for domestically produced steel, forms part of Fastmarkets’ growing suite of prices that cater to steel decarbonization and is a testament to our commitment to providing accurate and timely market information.

The reduced carbon emissions flat steel price is a differential paid for flat steel produced in European blast furnaces with carbon emissions of 1.4-1.95 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel.

According to Andrew Wells, global steel editor and steel pricing director: “A liquid market is emerging where buyers are currently paying around 30-60 euros/tonne for spot cargoes. This new price will provide transparency and help buyers make informed decisions in this fast-emerging market.”

“I am excited about the launch of our new reduced carbon flat steel price. This is not just a new product but a significant step forward in our commitment to sustainability and innovation,” said Raju Daswani, CEO of Fastmarkets. “In the emerging decarbonized steel market, accurate pricing is crucial. Our new reduced carbon flat steel price will provide much-needed transparency, fostering fairer trade and encouraging further innovations in the sector. As we move towards a greener future, we believe this initiative will play a pivotal role in driving the industry’s transition to low-carbon production methods.”

Wells added: “Our approach acknowledges that there are distinctly different premiums paid for steel produced with 0-1 tonne of CO2 (the current range is 150-250 euros) and 1.4-1.9 tonnes of CO2. This new price will provide a more accurate representation of the market and help drive the transition to more sustainable steel production.”

This new price tracks steel produced with carbon emissions that are higher than the maximum 1 tonne of CO2 tracked by Fastmarkets’ flagship European green steel differential, which was launched in June 2023. Our growing suite of prices catering to steel decarbonization also includes the green steel price launched in East Asia in September 2023 and high-grade iron ore in February 2023. Fastmarkets also has the physical and financial benchmarks for 65% Fe fines iron ore.

The new price will be published every Thursday as the Europe green steel differential. Called the ‘reduced carbon emission flat steel differential’, it will be the first of its kind in the market. Alongside it, Fastmarkets will also launch a daily inferred base price. This price is calculated by adding the weekly reduced carbon differential to Fastmarkets’ established daily North Europe domestic HRC price, giving an accurate daily snapshot of the per-tonne cost of buying reduced carbon steel.

Fastmarkets is proud to be the first PRA to launch price tracking this specific slice of the market, further solidifying our position as a leading provider of market intelligence in the commodities sector. The new European carbon-reduced flat steel price is a significant step towards a more sustainable future for the steel industry, and Fastmarkets is committed to supporting this transition.

Continue Reading

Trending

GamingAmericas.com (part of HIPTHER) is your one-stop portal for the latest news, insights, and analyses in the gaming industry across the Americas. From legislative updates and market trends to interviews with industry leaders, we provide a comprehensive look at the dynamic landscape of both online and land-based gaming. Whether you're a stakeholder looking to stay ahead of the curve or a gaming enthusiast eager for reliable updates, GamingAmericas.com has got you covered. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter for real-time updates and exclusive content. Make informed decisions and stay ahead in the game with GamingAmericas.com.

Disclaimer: All the information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Always check your local laws before participating in any gaming activities.

Copyright © 2018 – 2024, HIPTHER. All Rights Reserved.