In a recent interview with SiGMA News, Andreas Dellstrand, the co-founder and CEO of Flamingo Media, shared his journey and insights into the gaming industry. Dellstrand, who previously held the position of marketing director for a gaming company, embarked on a new venture with Flamingo Media alongside his two partners.

Flamingo Media was established over four years ago with a primary objective of assisting small to medium-sized gaming companies with their marketing strategies. The company also specializes in building affiliate sites to drive traffic to these operators. Flamingo Media’s inception coincided with the regulation of the Swedish market, which led to many smaller operators either withdrawing from Sweden or drastically reducing its marketing budgets. Given that its main focus was the Swedish market, Flamingo Media decided to concentrate on building sites and driving traffic to the operators.

Today, Flamingo Media is a team of seven, including Dellstrand and his two partners. They made their first recruitment in August 2023. Prior to this, it was only Dellstrand and his two colleagues at the helm. He reflects that they complemented each other well, but in hindsight, they might have started recruiting earlier.

When asked about the markets they work with today and whether they focus on sports or casino traffic, Dellstrand revealed that the company’s main market is still Sweden. However, Flamingo Media has also expanded to a couple of sites in Finland and one site in Canada. Its focus is almost exclusively on casino traffic, although it also has subpages related to sports.

Their flagship in the Swedish market is Casinogringos.se, which has been with the company since the beginning. Dellstrand explains that the company is also working hard on a couple of other sites, such as n?tcasinoguide.se, which he says he has high hopes for in the future.

Reflecting on the changes in the Swedish market after regulation, Dellstrand noted that it has become significantly tougher for licensed casinos. Many gaming companies withdrew from the Swedish market because they struggled with profitability due to licensing fees, stricter regulations, and increased taxes.

Riding the SEO wave

Flamingo Media faces its fair share of challenges. The company’s biggest hurdle is Google, as its success is heavily dependent on ranking as high as possible in search results. Google’s frequent algorithm updates have not always been favourable for Flamingo Media. In fact, at the end of 2023, the biggest site, Casinogringos.se, experienced a significant setback. Pages that were previously top-ranked dropped to outside the top 100 in search results overnight. Despite the best efforts to identify and rectify the issue, the problem persisted, and consequently a bug was identified on Google. This was a costly and frustrating experience for a company whose work revolves around SEO.

Another challenge is the traffic driven to unlicensed operators. Many players opt for international casinos over those with a Swedish licence, as they often offer multiple bonuses, cashback, and sometimes loyalty programnes. The Swedish Gambling Authority has struggled to keep unlicensed operators away from the Swedish gambling market, affecting not only the operators who pay for their gaming licence but also companies like Flamingo Media.

The recent interest rate hikes and inflation have also posed a challenge. As people have less disposable income each month after covering necessities such as rent and food, it’s natural for them to cut down on entertainment expenses such as online casinos. However, Flamingo Media remains hopeful.

Looking ahead, Dellstrand says that Flamingo Media has a clear plan. Their immediate goal is to stabilize its sites in the Swedish market. Once this is achieved, Flamingo Media plans to diversify its focus to additional markets to spread the risks and plan to expand its team. Despite the challenges, Flamingo Media is determined to navigate the waves of the gaming industry to chart a successful future.