Casinos Still Standing Strong
Finally, we’re closing the list with online casinos. Russian audience seems to have an equal interest in casinos since the beginning of 2011 (as indicated by Google Trends).
Both Google and Yandex report quite high number of searches done every month:
- 246,000 searches on Google,
- 200,000 on Yandex.
This popularity also has to do with the legislation changes banning land-based casinos and gaming venues. The Russian government doesn’t seem to plan any sudden shifts in policy, so entering the online casino market in Russia may be a nice step for affiliate marketers who have the funds to invest in quality translation services and marketing resources.
The main takeaway here, before you decide whether to join Russian markets is that you have to remember about all the additional costs. The aforementioned translations, servers that are placed in Russia for fast access for Russian audiences, and also the different online environment and many cultural differences, which we can’t even hope to explain here.
Also, since you’re probably based somewhere in the US, you’ll have to constantly monitor the news and the trends in Russia to have an immediate indication of anything bad going on. This, of course, requires additional time and budget.
Finally, do you have any experience in foreign affiliate markets? Feel free to let us know and share your thoughts and insights.