Campeón Gaming Partners: The story behind the success

It hasn’t been plain sailing for iGaming affiliates of late, yet Campeón Gaming Partners (CGP) has bucked the trend by recording growth in customer registration of 258.6% from the first half of 2018 to now, and passing €5 million in commission paid to affiliates across the same period.

In conversation with SBC News, the company’s affiliates and partnerships manager Andreza Majela delivered a short story of the brands added under the Campeón umbrella, before discussing some of the biggest companies as part of its 1,500+ strong affiliate network, strategies driving the success and how its highest hiring period came at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.

SBC: What’s the story behind the recent growth at CGP?

AM: CGP has, over a number of years now, offered a strong and successful affiliate program, building strong business relationships based on trust. However, we have quickly evolved over the years of our lifetime. Our network has continuously grown to encompass and reflect the development of our brands. 

Initially, we were known as ‘Campeón Affiliates’, but this name fell short in living up to the launch of our second brand, Evobet. Rebranding to ‘Campeón Gaming Partners’ seemed a better fit with what was to come for our company. 

Soon after the launch of Evobet, our third brand Svenbet came to life. Since then, we have also successfully launched (and expanded) Svenplay, as well as Sons of Slots and Wallacebet. 

Our fundamental in everything we do is that we always try to understand the needs of our players and partners to make sure we are consistently improving our products and to bring to life innovative brands. 

This is a value that our partners recognise and reward by building long lasting relationships with us, something which also led to our award of “Best Casino Affiliate Program” at the iGB Affiliate Awards 2020.

SBC: As well as the regular launch of new brands, has your growth been reflected in the size of your affiliate network?

AM: Our affiliate program focuses on global outreach to build strong, profitable and long-term relationships. Our network capacity has seen a constant rate of growth, and we are currently working with a network of over 1,500 affiliates.

This includes companies such as Catena Media, Better Collective, NetEnt, Raketech, GiG and Interactive Gaming Group. The backbone of our success is our growing affiliate network, which we owe to the trust of our affiliates on our deliverability.

SBC: And what about the team? How do you keep evolving the team to serve a growing set of partners?

AM: It is our firm belief that open communication and mutual understanding is key to our relationship with our affiliates. This is why we have recruited the very best affiliate managers and associates to support our affiliate network in the best possible way. We are a team composed of young, driven and enthusiastic people. 

We offer top-class support, make sure their voices are heard and their requests fulfilled timely and effectively. Today, our affiliate team consists of highly experienced, insightful and highly skilled professionals, always ready to support our affiliates in every possible way.

Our partners’ needs always come first, and their opinion is an important part of our development as a company. We aim to become leaders in the affiliate market and a global and strong competitor in the industry; this is why we always try to be a warm and trustworthy partner to all of our affiliates.

The key point here is developing personal relationships with each of our affiliates, using all means of communication and meeting them in person at every given opportunity. We want our affiliates to feel comfortable to talk to our team about anything that might trouble them, to trust them and be aware that they are always there for them to assist them in anything they need. 

Every affiliate has his/her contact person, who deals with any issue they might be facing or any request they might have, a person who they trust and who will make sure their voice will be heard.

Through our journey with our affiliate program, we have learnt that we need to treat and support each affiliate differently. This is why we have built personal relationships with them and have established a two-way communication to make sure their voices are always heard.

We make sure that all of our partnerships are profitable for both parties, ensuring that all affiliates – small or big-scale – are happy with our cooperation. In this way, we are always welcoming affiliates into our platform, giving them valuable insight and ensuring that we are always maximising their profits for the long-term. 

Our partners have learned that with us they are able to attract more players, and this partially includes the fact that we are extremely flexible with our commission deals, we are able to tailor-made exclusive offers, and we offer the latest technology in affiliate tracking thanks to our collaboration with our platform providers.

SBC: So, applying a personal touch is the way to keep existing partners happy. But what is the strategy for attracting new ones?

AM: Our strategy to attract and retain new affiliates is based on user satisfaction and product optimisation. Our products are constantly updated to provide the latest technology and accessibility, and our team is always creating innovative ways to engage players. 

Launching newer brands with player-friendly interfaces, re-designing our older brands to engage our customer base, partnering with different providers to reach a wider global audience and acquiring more licences are all part of our strategy. 

As a result, our affiliates are always interested in a product where their players are satisfied which, in return, maximises their profits. Thus, our strategy is simple, and it trickles down to all departments. 

Based on player satisfaction we can engage our affiliates with rewarding campaigns and customisable commission models. We provide attention, support and effective tools to our affiliates from day one to cultivate a relationship of trust and to ensure that our cooperation is profitable.

And the numbers are there to show that our strategy and affiliate approach are proving successful. We saw an increase in customer registration of 258.6% from affiliates for the first half of 2018 to date, and an increase of 321.8% for first-time depositors (FTDs) across the same period.

It is beyond any doubt we have one of the fastest growing affiliate networks in the industry. In addition, our commissions payout towards affiliates have reached a total of 5.5 million euros since the first half of 2018 to date.

SBC: And finally, what are your plans for the business? Can you keep moving forward in spite of COVID-19 disruption?

AM: Our team continues to grow in order to be able to support our development and expansion, onboarding professionals with deep industry experience, who help us take the next step as a business and best serve our partners. 

As a matter of fact, during the peak of the COVID–19 crisis from March through to July was the highest hiring period at CGP. This is because we stay focused on remaining competitive, increasing our brand portfolio and conquering more markets. 

We aim to become leaders in the market; a global and strong competitor in the industry but, most importantly, a warm and trustworthy partner to all of our affiliates.