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p29-31 victor chandler 29/10/08 13:18 Page 30
VICTOR CHANDLER
VC: Suck it and see. You're never, ever certain with in new ones?
these things. We've gone the 'legitimate' route in VC: We try to look after our customers in a better
Spain, where we hope to launch in the second or way than our competitors and we're quite good at it.
third quarter of 2009 with a partner. We've gone We keep our customers for longer than most of our
through due diligence as required by the Spanish competitors.
authorities, we've had our software investigated by
their specialists, and we're nearly there. That's the CI: Is a customer at www.VictorChandler.com a
same way we've proceeded in Israel and with our Far customer for life then?
Eastern site. VC: No, of course not. We have as much of a
The most important thing is to get the product problem with retention because of people bonus-
right; in parallel to developing the product, you have seeking as anyone else in the industry, but we try and
to make sure that in that territory you can get paid, understand our customers as much as possible,
because in some areas you can't use a debit or credit especially at the higher end.
card online.
That's what's changed in China recently, CI: What's the ideal customer for you?
historically it was very difficult for people to use VC: What you don't want, the worst thing for us, is
credit and debit cards online, but for the younger people getting in too deep. We try to manage people.
generation it's now more commonplace. People that treat gambling as entertainment are what
we want, and people with the income to afford that
CI: Where's your technology base, your entertainment; so we try and manage people within
developers? those boundaries.
VC: Mainly here in Gibraltar, and also in Brazil. We
have 'pods' in Brazil, which is six-man teams that work CI: How does that fit with your site in the Asian
on specific developments. We also have three pods market and the high-volatility gambling Asians
here. All the development for our Far East site was enjoy?
done over there, however, because they could develop VC: They're not much different, really. On the
what was needed for that market. lower levels, they're restricted by their credit cards.
On the top level we do a lot of entertaining in Asia as
CI: With having a higher stake per bet from we do everywhere else.
your customers, does that mean you actually have
less players but you look after them better? CI: How do you look after those high rollers?
VC: We have a lower-end business that's run Most of the casinos in Macau tried to do it the US
perhaps slightly differently but we still cater for the way and it didn't work because of the cultural
big players, and perhaps our only competitor online differences, have you had to change how you
for that is Ladbrokes. operate with high rollers there?
VC: We've been operating in Asia since 1996, and
CI: How does good customer care work with an it took a long time to become a trusted name there.
online casino? It's surely not as simple as it is We had a small share in the Legend Club in Macau,
with a face-to-face client as you'd have in Vegas, which was a high roller club before the laws changed
Macau or Monte Carlo. and all the American investment came in to the area.
VC: It depends on the client really. It can be as We got introduced to a lot of clients through that in
easy as getting them to the football match they want the area, and of course we learned from our partners.
to see. You do a lot of what's called CRM, customer
relationship management, these days. CI: Were you the first gambling company to hit
We have a team of people that manage those Gibraltar from the UK?
relationships, that's their job, in the exact same way VC: No, Ladbrokes were, they came a couple of
as it would work for a land-based casino, except it's years before us and were dealing with high rollers
done a lot online and by telephone. from the Far East and Middle East. They thought they
It's what I always did when I was a bookmaker at a had an exclusive licence, but what happened was that
racecourse. You're entertaining people. You take them when the casino licence was granted here to a Greek
to dinner, to a football match, to the races; it's the gentleman, they granted a betting licence with it as
same thing. It's the opening contact that's the well, which lay dormant, though he paid the licence
difficult one. Once you've established a fee every year. I bought that licence, and here we are.
relationship… These people are going to play
somewhere, it's a matter of keeping them playing with CI: What effect has the 'credit crunch' had so
you rather than elsewhere. The difference with us is far on the business overall?
that I'm prepared to put my name on the door, and I VC: So far, not a lot. Turnover's held up across the
can still entertain people personally when it's board. We've seen no real signs of it hurting our
required. I'll do golf days or whatever's necessary. bigger players. I don't think anyone knows how bad it
might become; the newspapers are full of conflicting
CI: What do you do that's so different to your stories and opinions. It depends how deep the
rivals, then? What keeps the customers and brings recession is, and how long it goes on.
30 NOVEMBER 2008
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