Interview with Heleen Lambrecht – Head Of Partnerships at Feeling Lucky

Interviewee: Heleen Lambrecht
Interview Date: 02/22/2024
LinkedIn: Click Here
View Affiliate Profile: Feeling Lucky

In an exclusive interview presented by Feeling Lucky, led by Heleen Lambrecht, Head of Partnerships, we had the privilege of delving into the dynamic world of iGaming. Heleen shared her invaluable insights on the industry’s latest trends and growth strategies, providing a comprehensive exploration of what lies ahead in this ever-evolving landscape.

Edward: Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got involved in the iGaming affiliate industry?

Clovio has various media brands: Feeling Lucky, Best Reviews, and Financus. At first, I started working at Clovio as a Content Creator, where I got my first glimpse of the gambling industry. Later, I switched to Partnership Account Manager and became Head of Partnerships. This allowed me to get in touch with the gambling affiliate industry from different angles.

Edward: Many affiliates face challenges when starting out. What difficulties did you encounter on your journey to success in the iGaming affiliate industry?

Feeling Lucky focuses on organic search, where we specifically target people looking to educate themselves about legal gambling options in their country. It takes time for traffic to pick up, particularly for organic search. Also, because we work in regulated markets, link building options are more restricted.

A challenge more specifically related to regulated gambling markets is that only a limited number of operators are available. Moreover, every country is different. It’s impossible to translate the content when writing for another country. Everything needs to be adapted to not only feature the locally licensed operators but also adjust it to the target market. This requires extensive market research.

Edward: What aspects of being an iGaming affiliate do you enjoy the most? Are there specific elements or experiences that keep you motivated in this industry?

What keeps us motivated is the key idea shared with many responsible gambling advocates. Namely, people looking for gambling information should be able to find it. We want to educate our visitors about the legal gambling options in their country and explain the key differences (withdrawals, number of games, customer service, apps, etc.) between these.

We also enjoy the fact that the gambling industry is a relatively small world where everyone knows each other personally and meets often at conferences. These connections get reinforced as many people stay within the gambling industry, even when changing jobs.

Edward: On the flip side, what aspects of the iGaming affiliate industry do you dislike or find challenging?

While this also brings benefits, the gambling industry is a very fast-paced world. There are frequent regulation changes, with some countries legalizing gambling while others impose restrictions. This makes it important to be active in different markets and countries. Furthermore, because regulators often don’t know what an affiliate does, they don’t take affiliates into consideration and don’t specify which rules apply. This makes it increasingly more difficult to cope with these changes.

As an affiliate, conversions don’t happen on our affiliate website but on the operator’s platform. Therefore, there needs to be adequate conversion tracking in place to make sure everything gets attributed correctly.

Edward: Could you share some of the most common or recurring issues you face as an affiliate in the iGaming sector?

As clovio works in regulated markets, we work with operators that have a license from the local gaming commission. Nevertheless, we find that operators don’t always honor their relationships and agreements with affiliates. Although we strive for long-term partnerships, operators sometimes do not respect them.

Edward: In what ways do you think Affiliate Roulette can help affiliates overcome these challenges and streamline their operations in the industry?

As a review site ourselves, we’re convinced of the value of informational content alongside expert and user reviews. Therefore, having a review site about affiliate programs is very useful. At Clovio, we also share more about how we work with operators and how our partnerships work through our Partner Case Studies. Through initiatives such as the reviews on Affiliate Roulette, we hope there will be more recognition for affiliates.

Edward: What changes or improvements would you like to see in the iGaming industry that could benefit both affiliates and operators?

We would like to see more content collaborations with game developers. This way, it’s easier for affiliates to showcase the games on the operators’ websites and therefore better inform their visitors. This format is also perfectly suited for video content.

We also hope to see more technological innovations. These can give more transparency to the traffic referred by affiliates. A clear overview of all affiliate programs together, such as on StatsDrone, is also beneficial.

Edward:  Building a strong online presence and standing out from the crowd can be challenging. Can you share your experiences and strategies for establishing your presence as an iGaming affiliate?

There are a lot of affiliates, so we constantly need to innovate to stand out. One example of this is our video content. We create 6-minute overviews of a specific operator, videos where we discuss soccer matches, specific slot games, and so on. We’re also active on TikTok, where we share short-form content. This not only increases the brand’s video SEO results but also the time-on-page and conversion rate when embedded on the website.

Edward: Affiliate Roulette’s platform allows affiliates to gather real reviews from operators they’ve collaborated with to build trust. How do you believe this feature can enhance your negotiations and relationships with potential partners?

The gambling industry is built on relationships. We’re frequent attendees of gambling conferences such as iGB, SiGMA, and SBC, because we know building one-to-one relationships is important. However, despite these connections, not every partner acts as well as others. Moreover, the reviews on Affiliate Roulette also show which operators have the best-converting brands and most responsive account managers, for example, which all contribute to a good partnership. Therefore, having an objective third party that gives honest reviews is extremely useful.

Edward: What are your thoughts on the future of the iGaming affiliate industry? Are there any emerging trends or opportunities that excite you?

As is the case for many industries, AI’s presence in gambling is increasing. AI can help streamline processes, be a sales assistant, identify broken links, analyze large sums of data, and much more. Regarding content creation, we believe AI should rather be used as a research companion in the initial stages before writing. Content should be written by real people with extensive expertise in the fields they cover.

We’re also enthusiastic about the increase in responsible gambling awareness. We believe that responsible gambling advocates will raise awareness and implement specific measures to safeguard gambling through more advanced tracking solutions.

Edward: Lastly, how can you see Affiliate Roulette contributing to your success as an iGaming affiliate? What do you like most about Affiliate Roulette?

We’re excited to see that Affiliate Roulette creates more awareness of what affiliates do. This is a great starting point for a dialogue between affiliates and operators and will result in stronger partnerships.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Heleen Lambrecht, the Head of Partnerships at Feeling Lucky, for generously sharing her invaluable insights and expertise with us today. Her thoughtful perspectives on the iGaming industry and partnership strategies are truly enlightening. We also want to express our sincere appreciation to our loyal audience at Feeling Lucky for your continued support. We look forward to bringing you more engaging interviews and content to empower your journey in the iGaming world. Thank you for being a part of our community.