Q&A, Ola Brandborn, online poker manager, Paf
Paf's online poker manager talks to eGR about the operator's new MPN room and its multi-network approach
eGaming Review (eGR): What is unique about the new Microgaming poker offering you launched recently?
Ola Brandborn (OB): Microgaming has together with Paf.com developed a unique “deeplinking” feature where a player can sit with a buy-in at a cash game table, sit-and-go or multi-table tournament with one single click from the paf.com homepage. We can even deeplink from an email or news page, registering players to a specific tournament.
Players who are new to poker find it very confusing, or even scary, to have to download a poker client, then to find the appropriate table to play at, decide how much money to bring to the table and so on. Our new system, for beginners, is just: “Press this button if you want to play poker for 10″. We aim to show the beginner players that poker is fun, try it out, and when you get a feel for it, you can then switch to our “advanced mode”.
eGR: What was the thinking behind Paf simultaneously operating rooms on three separate networks? Do you anticipate more operators doing this?
OB: Paf.com has offered play on two networks (Ongame and Boss/International) since we opened our doors for online poker. Microgaming is our third network and without going into too many details, we have seen a growth in the poker numbers so far since the launch of Microgaming.
I expect we are the site that sends the most players to live events compared to our size, and it is a big part of our overall strategy to meet our customers face to face. We even own our own live casino on the à land Islands. Our focus is therefore to always offer satellites to some interesting and affordable live tournaments all over the world, and for that we need to have multiple networks. Other operators have different strategies, and I do not see the need for an operator that is focusing on high-volume low-margin grinders to have multiple networks.
eGR: Is the multi-network model something which could suit operators in regulated markets, where overall liquidity is lower?
OB: No, I don’t think so, it is the opposite. Multiple networks do spread out the liquidity even more. Operators on small markets should just focus on one single network “ or even better tell the government that no poker will be offered until they can join the big dotcom liquidity. Compare for example Estonia and Denmark (who have their own taxes but uses the dot.com player pool) with Spain. Estonia and Denmark are good examples when Spanish online poker is struggling.
eGR: You have introduced instructional videos for beginners – what benefit have you seen from this?
OB: The videos are not educational per se, but we try to show the players that it is not that difficult to get started, poker is not scary, and that you Play Among Friends. The social interaction that can happen at a poker table or a poker trip is very important for us.
eGR: What other features have you brought in to appeal to recreational players?
OB: We work closely with both Ongame and Microgaming both with development and strategy for features aiming for recreational players. For example at Ongame we were beta-testers and then the first site to roll out the Instant Rewards functionality, where recreational players can get instant gratifications for fulfilling different tasks, like collecting all starting hands. We saw dramatic increase in both revenue and time spent within a group of recreational players.