Regulated online gaming in the US appears to be a matter of “when”, not “if.” Nevada and New Jersey are both racing to be the first to spread legal online poker games in the U.S. Other states, notably Iowa and California, have shown momentum towards passing similar legislation.
There is no better time than the present for iGaming affiliates to start gearing up for the regulated US market. The big players have already gotten a head start on positioning themselves for a slice of American pie.
Tracking the Big Guys
What exactly are the large affiliate sites doing to gear up for U.S. regulation? Here are some examples:
- FlopTurnRiver.com has gotten the message that iGaming regulation in the U.S. will initially progress in a state-by-state fashion. They are targeting keywords like “US State Poker Sites” with their interactive state map designed to list which poker sites are available for residents of each state to play. Currently, each state links to the same page which advertises the usual U.S.-facing poker rooms, but the platform is clearly in place to change this when the time is right.
- PokerTips.org created a Nevada poker section on their site with reviews of Las Vegas casinos in an attempt to rank for what soon will be lucrative Nevada poker-related keywords.
Tips to Prepare Your Affiliate Site for U.S. Regulation
The fact that no Americans are currently participating in legal online gaming shouldn’t stop you from working to capitalize on the market. It will be here eventually. There are a few tips worth following to help your position your business for the opening of this lucrative market.
1. Educate yourself. This Thursday, CAP is hosting an iGaming Webinar to help prepare affiliates for the re-launch of the U.S. market. CAP CEO Warren Jolly and iGaming legal expert I. Nelson Rose will cover a number of topics including how to prepare your traffic for US legalization. Make use of resources such as these to keep your business ahead of the game.
2. Start targeting keywords now. The playing field is pretty wide open for search terms like “Nevada online poker” where there are no static, informational content pages that currently rank.
Notice how each result is a recent news article? When Google eventually gives weight to static informational sites for search terms like these, will it be yours that ranks?
3. Diversify your hosting providers. Use a few different companies for registering domains and hosting those domains. This is especially important if you are using the .com TLD for your sites as the U.S. government controls all of these domains and can seize them at any time.
4. Anticipate which states will regulate. It’s a good idea to set up Google alerts for popular keywords such as “legalize online poker”, “online gaming bill”, “poker legislation”, etc. This will deliver news to your inbox as soon as it happens regarding the latest legal developments across the U.S. You never know which states could suddenly throw their hat into the iGaming ring or decide to opt-in to another state’s legislation.
5. Geo target your traffic. With the U.S. iGaming market set to be scattered into several pieces as it comes online, it will be important to show different versions of your site and advertisements to visitors based on their location. What good is a banner for a New Jersey online poker room when displayed to a visitor from Nevada? Geo targeting can ensure you never run across this problem and fail to monetize valuable traffic. SEO Design Solutions offers advice on geo targeting and ranking well in local searches.
What do you think are some other tips for preparing your affiliate business for U.S. regulation? Let us know now in our iGaming discussion forums.