In this weeks affiliate success story you’ll get to know Chris Trenka, CEO and web developer of Allfreechips.com, a great website which gives you insights on the operators, but it’s also a good  source to get latest no deposit bingo and casino bonuses!

GAV: First of all thank you very much for the opportunity Chris! Could you share your profile with us so our readers can get a better idea of who you are?

Name: Chris Trenka
Age: 44
Hometown: Hudson
Living in: Hudson
Favorite Food: Ribeye
Must Read Book: The Stand
Profession/Job title: Pretend CEO and web developer

GAV: Hi Chris, first of all, tell us and our readers as well a little bit about yourself. How did your career start in the industry? What was the key idea of developing this great online gambling casino guide/community ?

CHRIS: It all started in 2004, I found you can play slots online with no deposit. This was the coolest thing and I cashed out $350 from a Micro gaming casino plating the double magic slot from a $10 bonus. At this same time 1and1 was offering a free domain name and web hosting as their promotion for just launching and a co-worker told me to get it, its free! Well this started a thought of what kind of website do I want to have as I had no idea how to make one. Then it hit me, I can make a site telling people how to plat casinos for free, and I hoped if I sent them players I could maybe get a few more free plays from them. At this point I had no idea what an affiliate was so things were going to change real fast. I got the Allfreechips domain name and learned how to make a table on the web with the casinos, a link and the amounts. The rest is databases and history.

GAV: Since there are thousands and thousands of websites in this niche out there, where do you think Allfreechips.com stands now?

CHRIS: I think I have really made a brand name. I have a monthly contest I run that pays out $300 to $500 each month for my members. My forum Mod Catlicker does a great job coming up with new contest each month and making the forum a fun family feeling area. So between the great loyalty of my members and great SE rankings on Google we keep moving forward.

GAV: How do you see the online slots market/industry at this moment?

CHRIS: I see it getting overwhelmed with white labels and fly by night operators. I also see retention falling with so many options out there. Do people get tired of going to new casinos for $5 bonus at this point is the question. Also the affiliate community is growing of course, many great people from 2004 are no longer in the game but many many more are. We also see a lot of blackhat operations that come and go that take up a lot positions that I just can’t compete with doing things cleanly but then again I have done well since 2004.

GAV: How did you start and most of all what bumps did you have to overcome at the beginning?

CHRIS: Getting users obviously and learning what html is. Users was a funny thing as back then there were a lot of casino forums on free hosts, and they had a lot of friends on the forum pages. This was great as I would drop little posts in there and add something about their site to my 2 page website. Also seems like simply making a site ranked in Google pretty easily then as I had no deposit poker and bingo in top 10 pretty fast for some reason. The next big bump was updating offers, what a pain it is to update a static table all the time!

GAV: We have analyzed Allfreechips.com and found some great quality content. Are you writing it by yourself or do you have a team of people writing for you? How many slots are there on your website? How about the forum, tell us a bit more about it?

CHRIS: I was very stubborn about anyone doing anything with my site forever, but once I started adding slots I needed help. A good friend now, my content writer Doug has done a great job of writing for my 4200 slot machines now on Allfreechips. I keep thinking I’ll catch up to them all one day but it seems impossible. The forum is remnant of the old days, but that is what really turns Allfreechips into a family, its amazing what you learn about people and the real life bonds that are formed there.

GAV: How do you manage to keep the content fresh and relevant on your website, when a lot of fluffy and nonsense appear on the Internet on a daily basis?

CHRIS: Well with new bonuses and new slots appearing all the time the content is pretty fluent. Right now I have 35 slot reviews I need to add so there is very little time to not have new content. I also added a daily list of casino promotions that runs on the homepage and leaves the last 10 on each casinos review page to give my players all the possible info I can. I also started posting the games and bonuses to Facebook, Google plus and Twitter.

GAV: We are pretty sure that you receive messages from Affiliate Managers on a daily basis showcasing their best products. You of course select them by the brands they work with; but what are your thoughts on how a real Affiliate Manager-Affiliate relationship should be built?

CHRIS: Well I have a group of managers I consider friends now, and that goes a long way. I don’t respond well to emails as they get lost really. I also won’t update a casino every 2 days, or work real hard for one that is not converting. If they want my attention Skype is the way to go.

GAV: How do you see the future of the online casino/gambling industry? For instance, will it become a truly global phenomenon?

CHRIS: I do believe its already global, what I am more afraid of is more local run operations like New Jersey, they not only want a piece they want a monopoly, a true government operation. East Europe will hopefully continue to grow and hopefully Canada becomes more open.

GAV: Tell us one change that you want to see in the casino affiliate ecosystem?!

CHRIS: Real regulators. I mean I want them to ensure the software can not be manipulated for payouts to protect the players, and also insure the affiliate numbers are not editable by they operators. I have had 3 very large whales since 2004, all 3 times they deposited 50K plus in one month and either decided not to play anymore or asked to have their accounts closed. I can see that happening but not all three, and I would also assume since they came from me they would re-appear at some point?

GAV: Do you have any advise you would like to offer for the newbies who are looking to venture into this great industry!?

CHRIS: Today you better know what your doing, when I started it was not difficult to get players and conversions. I think today you better have a solid plan, knowledge and real expectations to produce something competitive. I am building multiple other sites still but my main focus is still Allfreechips because it does take that much time and resources to keep going.

GAV: Do you attend any iGaming/online casino conferences? If so, which one is your favorite and what is your most fun experience?

CHRIS: With 2 kids in school I nerve had much of a chance to travel a lot, and 4 years ago I had a real job. I have managed to go to the CBG Canadian get together twice, both times I had a great time meeting the people in person.

GAV: What do you think the chances are for Eastern Europe to become a potential gaming hotspot in the future? Where do you think the region must improve upon?

CHRIS: As I stated before I think that’s the big new area, Russia can be very large as they become more open. I think the industry really needs more structure and proof that it is not the crooked sham that many people still think it is today.

GAV: Where would you like to travel in Eastern Europe?

CHRIS: I would love to visit Germany and Russia, I think the old architecture is amazing, and married to an architect we would have a great time. At this point with the refugees in Germany I think I will wait a few years before traveling though.

GAV: Where you wouldn’t want to travel in Eastern Europe?

CHRIS: I’m up for anything as long as its safe, see some Rugby games and have fun.

GAV: How about a favorite celebrity, do you have one?

CHRIS: I don’t really waste a lot of time with TV or movies, I also think the celebrity mindset of you should do what we think because were famous is a real turn off. I would like to hang out with the boys from ‚Trailer Park Boys‘ something my son got me into watching when I need a break.

GAV: Tell us your opinion about the Gambling Affiliate Voice?

CHRIS: I think it is a great idea to focus on the affiliates, we are a great bunch of people that are all very helpful with each other. We of course have our secrets and strategies we wont share but when in need its a great group. Giving a voice and view into the personal side is a great idea.
GAV: Thank you very much for your answers and time Chris, we appreciate it! All the best to you and if you have some news or updates that you’d like to share, feel free to contact us!

If you would like to suggest some more questions or subjects for future interviews, be sure to send your suggestions to: george@gamblingaffiliatevoice.com .