Affiliate Manager Interview Series - Veselka Pendzhurova

**GPWA Daniel** · 15 February 2023, 9:25 am

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(This interview was originally published in the February 2023 issue of the GPWA Times Magazine.)

Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and where did you grow up? Where do you live today?

I am from Kostenets, Bulgaria. This is a village in the skirts of the beautiful Rila mountain. When I was 14 years old, I left Kostenets to study at an English language boarding school. Then I continued with my studies in Sofia, traveled, and started working as a lecturer at Sofia University (St. Kliment Ohridski), and as a customer support agent at a gaming company.

Then 13 years after I left, I returned to my home place and started commuting to work. Now, I am working fully remotely from the same village where I grew up.

You have been working in the iGaming industry since 2007 and have worked in a variety of different roles, ranging from customer care to quality management to affiliate manager. How did you get your start in the industry and did you always want to work in iGaming?

In 2007, I was just finishing my degree in Scandinavian studies at Sofia University and was checking what my colleagues from the university had decided to pursue. The gaming industry was one of the best options, so I applied there.

Before I started, I thought I would work in the industry for one year and then move on. There was a lot of turn over at customer support centers, so one year seemed OK. However, when I interviewed for a customer support associate position, the HR representative asked me what I wanted to do a year from that moment. She had already presented to me the structure of the company, and I immediately replied that I wanted to work as a quality management associate.

Twelve months later, I moved to the quality management department and loved it. I loved teaching. During the first four years since I started in the industry in 2007, I also worked at Sofia University as a lecturer in Swedish and Norwegian languages, and Swedish literature and history. So teaching was my thing, and quality management was about teaching the associates on all procedures, helping them learn and grow.

In 2017, I finished a master’s degree in social work. Affiliate management turned out to be a good match for me as it is a lot about helping the partners learn and grow, optimizing campaigns and traffic, and also building strong relationships.

How has your past experiences in the industry helped you in your current role as senior affiliate manager?

My past experiences have helped me get a well-rounded understanding of the business, especially on the marketing and operations side. Our team can support partners on all levels, starting from player queries to campaign strategies and overall analysis.

In all roles, however, the most important aspect has been the relationship with team members and stakeholders from other departments and partners. A good relationship is the glue that keeps all moving parts together and makes things last, despite all challenges.

What is your typical day like at WPT Partners?

As we work remotely from different parts of the world, my day starts with updating myself on all developments since I last logged off. Then my daily job would be to prioritize the priorities, if I can express myself in this way.

I pick tasks with higher impact that will affect all affiliates, like setting up processes, dealing with payments, promotion updates or preparation. Then I take individual affiliate requests and projects, and create leads. I also make sure to keep good contact with my colleagues from other departments and especially the ones from the marketing team. There is at least one day in the week when we do reporting and analysis of the current performance and brainstorm together with the team.

What do you like most about your job?

My favorite thing about my job is the opportunity to connect with people from different countries and backgrounds. The people, colleagues and partners are what has kept me in the industry for so long. Each person is a universe and I meet amazing, smart individuals with great stories from all over the world all the time.

The job is also demanding and challenging, it helps me be alert and practice my work skills on a high level.

The gaming industry ?and specifically online poker ?have seen some dramatic ups and downs over the years. What is the current state of online poker and how do you think the vertical will change in the coming years?

Yes, online poker has had its ups and downs during the years. Some poker brands no longer exist while others have surfaced.

I believe the goal of online poker is to provide a great experience to the player, no matter the skill level and this is what we strive for at WPT Global. The future of online poker is in fairness and innovation, and we have both of them. I have never seen a poker room so genuinely focused on providing mid-level players with a safe and fun environment to play in.

How much does it help to be associated with such a strong and well-known brand like World Poker Tour?

Being associated with the World Poker Tour helps a lot when it comes to recruiting partners. Many affiliates find us themselves and the ones that we reach out to are already familiar with the brand, which makes conversations smooth and engaging.

It also comes with high expectations as the World Poker Tour, by itself, is a standard in the poker industry. Hence, we are working at high speed and with great devotion so that we live up to the high standards of the brand.

How does WPT Partners help affiliates position themselves to maximize profitability?

We offer multiple commission models. Our design team prepares amazing promotional banners for affiliate partners featuring world-famous poker influencers, which can be used for website takeovers, listings, reviews, etc.

The partners, of course, have access to the platform where they can check their performance. The thing we take highest pride in is the support we provide to our partners. We listen to feedback and implement partner-suggested features, like bonus codes for affiliates, detailed reporting, a wide range of banner sizes, etc.

We remind affiliates regularly of the hottest promotions that they can take advantage of and send the WPT Global newsletter, which contains information on the latest campaigns, events, partnerships, and system updates.

Last, but not least, WPT Global offers one of the largest poker cash game networks in the world, along with some of the most generous promotions in the industry, starting from the welcome package all the way to sending players to live events with double-digit guarantees through satellites and qualifiers.

Tell us about the embedded free-to-play games that are available on the World Poker Tour and how they help with FTDs and conversions.

We have the freerolls for depositing players and in the beginning, when we launched the brand, we had a few freerolls for registering players with huge guarantees. These games are good to build brand awareness and exposure for the brand, and also give players the opportunity to enjoy our games and a feel of the action on the table.

However, I believe that we have all it takes to provide the players with a profitable and enjoyable experience at the tables no matter their skill level. We have non-stop action at the tables and a majority of recreational players that gamble there. We have straddles, bomb-pots, etc. We have a fair, safe and secure game offering. All of these are investments for sustainable growth for both our partners and us.

How does being an online poker affiliate differ from other verticals such as casino games or sports betting?

I have worked with all other verticals (casino, betting, bingo, even backgammon) and can honestly say that poker is the most challenging and demanding vertical.

We deal with intelligent, devoted players who win against each other, so commission and profit are based on the rake of the customers. This puts a high standard on the action at the tables and the integrity of the poker room, which is also our highest priority.

Poker affiliates would usually have a good understanding of the industry, many of them work with communities and have a close connection with the players. Many of them have been in the industry for years so the relationship with them is always a long-term investment and is based in trust and transparency.

What are the keys to a beneficial working relationship between an affiliate manager and an affiliate?

As mentioned above, trust, transparency and integrity are the key ingredients of a successful relationship between an affiliate manager and a partner. Both the affiliate and we are here for the long run, so we invest in the relationships and deal with challenges with respect and diligence.

Do you play poker or gamble yourself at land-based casinos or online?

I play poker at internal events. It is fun, bonds the team and also can tell a lot about the player’s personality ?if they make rash decisions, if they love bluffing, if they have strong nerves.

Otherwise, in real life, I am very conscious of how I spend my time. My husband and I have three kids and a small business on the side, so there is no time for gambling at all.

That’s a nice lead into our next question: What takes up your time when you are not working?

On Sunday morning, the kids and I go to church. Once a week I attend a singing rehearsal with a choir that I am a part of. We sing national folk songs with modernized arrangements. I also attend Zumba classes once a week.

What’s your favorite TV show of all time and why?

I love watching historical drama, science fiction and almost all of Marvel movies. Some favorites are The Passion of the Christ, Braveheart, The Patriot, The Matrix, Wonder Woman, and The Chronicles of Narnia.

If someone from out of town came to visit you for 24 hours, where would you take them and why?

The place where I live is extremely beautiful and also a hub for various tourist activities. I would take a visitor to the Kostenets Waterfall, then we would spend a couple of hours at one of the mineral water pools.

I would probably treat them with a home-made Banitsa, which is a traditional pastry with cheese and eggs, and then visit a few workshops where hand-made knives and wooden souvenirs are manufactured.

Depending on their preference, we could also go horseback riding, wine-tasting, skiing, berry picking, or monastery touring. It looks like 24 hours won’t be enough to explore Kostenets and the region!

If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be?

I would love to have dinner with some of the so-called God’s Generals of the past, like Kathryn Kuhlman and Smith Wigglesworth and some of the living ones such as Bill Johnson from Bethel Church. Their ministries have impacted millions of lives all over the world and this is something I have had in my heart for some time now.

I would like to be a vessel so that people’s lives are flooded with the Lord’s love and presence.

Name one thing that people reading this magazine don't know about you.

I have shared a lot already, but if I have to pick other things, I am a devoted Christian with a passion for making people’s lives better, and run a small business for making kitchen and pocket knives on the side.

**CasinosBroker** · 16 February 2023, 1:31 am

Great interview! It was a nice read.

**TheJoker** · 16 February 2023, 2:51 pm

That was very interesting, thanks for sharing!

**NoDepositCasinos** · 16 February 2023, 4:47 pm

Great interview! Thanks for sharing it.

As a woman, I know how difficult it is to find the balance between a highly demanding job and building a healthy family. I think she nailed it and it's great to see examples like hers.

**Rui** · 17 February 2023, 1:10 am

Really cool interview

**VeselkaP** · 20 February 2023, 2:01 am

Thank you for reading it

**VeselkaP** · 20 February 2023, 2:01 am

Happy you liked it!

**VeselkaP** · 20 February 2023, 2:05 am

Originally Posted by NoDepositCasinos

Great interview! Thanks for sharing it.

As a woman, I know how difficult it is to find the balance between a highly demanding job and building a healthy family. I think she nailed it and it's great to see examples like hers.

Thank you! Really appreciate your feedback!

**VeselkaP** · 20 February 2023, 2:05 am

Originally Posted by Rui

Really cool interview

Thank you!

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