THE NORDICS
ROUND TABLE : CATENA , RAKETECH , XLMEDIA
Ahead of our Nordic Affi liate Conference , we rounded up top management from three of the biggest affi liate networks and consolidators in the region , Erik Bergman , Chief Strategy Offi cer of Catena Media , Michael Holmberg , CEO of Raketech and Ory Weihs , CEO of XLMedia , to gauge their reaction to the proposed Swedish opening and get their views on the current state of play in the Nordic affi liate space .
The Swedish government review has now recommended the opening of the online market to non-monopoly operators with a tax rate of 18 % on GGR . What is your initial reaction to this news , and how do you see this scenario affecting affiliate activities and business models in the country ? Erik Bergman ( EB ): I ’ m positive towards the 18 % GGR tax rate . The talk beforehand was of it falling in the range of 15-20 %, but in my opinion the most likely scenario was 20 %, since that ’ s how it is in Denmark . However , this is still a long way from being signed off by the politicians , so we will see where things end up . relations with the operators will provide us with an exceptionally solid base for further successful business development in Sweden going forward . We are also expecting PPC advertising through Google to really take off . Ory Weihs ( OW ): My initial thoughts on this are very positive , as we have seen this to be a very workable tax rate in other countries . As we have always said , a regulated environment is the correct one in the end , creating a larger addressable market with more marketing methods available ( paid search , video , social etc .). We believe e affiliates with a strong tech foundation and multi methodology approach will benefit from this regulation .
MH : We have no experience from the Danish market but regarding player value , Norwegian players are worth most , then Swedish and lastly Finnish . OW : We see many countries as high value , from the Nordics to the UK , as well as a few other European ones . The Danish regulation as a whole was a very positive development , as following an initial dip the market picked up and now allows for a wide variety of user acquisition methods to be used .
Erik Bergman
“ We have seen the 18 % GGR tax recommended ended in Sweden to be very workable in other countries . As we have always said , a regulated environment nt is the correct one in the end ” Ory Weihs , XLMedia
With regards to effect on the affiliate activities or business models , I don ’ t think much will change . This is in line with our expectations and in line with the UK and Denmark , which are markets that have a lot of similarities to Sweden . Michael Holmberg ( MH ): We think it will be business as usual . The difference will be the tax , which we believe the operators will try to pass on to the affiliates . However , this will mostly impact the smaller affiliates and not us to such a large extent . We feel confident that our position as one of Sweden ’ s biggest affiliates in combination with our very good
What are the most valuable countries in the region for affiliates in terms of average player values , and what impact did Denmark licensing online casino and betting have on player values and profits there ? EB : With regards to player values Norway is and has for a long time been the country with by far the highest average player values . Sweden is second and Finland comes in as the third . When it comes to Denmark , I unfortunately have very limited experience since it has never been a focus market for us .
36 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR / MAY 2017
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