The EURO is arguably this summer’s hottest sporting event and the entire sports-betting world is getting ready for one of the busiest times of the year.

The Income Access team reached out to Neil Roarty, editor at Gaming Media, the masterminds behind BettingPro, to find out how they are preparing for this exciting event.

Neil, what impact does a tournament like this summer’s EURO have on your business?

It’s massive. The sports betting industry is heavily dependent on key sporting events so when there is an extra tournament in the calendar – that is a month long – there is a lot of excitement among football punters that normally dread the summer slump every other year. We saw a spike in 2014 due to the World Cup and there’s an argument to be made that the Euros are even bigger from a gaming point of view. The tournament is closer to home, match times will be better for a UK audience and England should at least make it to the second round, which will help greatly. We’re anticipating a great Euro, both on and off the pitch.

With the tournament less than a month away, what are the top three focuses you have had leading up to the event? What activities have you yet to complete?

Creating targeted content: Our biggest preparation for Euro 2016 is the acquisition and launch of our own Euros site, www.eurotips.com. We’ve devoted significant time and resources to this property and we’re confident that it will pay dividends during the tournament. The site already has ante post tips, latest odds, news stories and previews of all the first round of matches. I know I am biased but it’s a really great resource for anyone with an interest in either Euro 2016 or football betting.Readying the team: Internally, we are ready for the tournament. It’s important to have staffing organised and roles well defined in advance as things move so quickly in our industry that you have to be prepared or else you can miss crucial campaigns completely. Thankfully our team is hugely experienced in this regard and we’re hopeful that we can cope with the strain of an additional tournament during an already busy summer of sport.Having promotions ready: Finally, we have already spoken to key partners to confirm details of their campaigns so that we are ready to promote them as soon as they are launched.

What have we not completed? I’d say we are in good shape but the fact that there are other key events (Champions League Final, French Open, Epsom) that take place between now and the start of the Euros means that we still have to split our focus. Things like social properties won’t necessarily turn over to Euro 2016 until the matches start taking place and so we will still be in for a busy week leading up to the tournament!

What can Sportsbook brands do to help affiliates like yourself prepare for the tournament? Once the tournament starts, what can these brands do to help affiliates maximise results? What tools do you find most useful?

The majority of the Sportsbook brands do a great job of communicating with affiliates and we are very rarely left unhappy with the level of support that we have been given.

The changing nature of the industry does mean that there is more onus on the Sportsbook teams to relay marketing information to affiliates as quickly as possible. The more notice that an affiliate has of any offer or promotion, the more time there is to promote it.

It’s also imperative that affiliates are given instant notice of when a campaign ends – there’s nothing worse than promoting an enhanced odds offer only to find out that customers can no longer claim it.

In terms of prioritising brands, what criteria do you use to select your top partners for the Euro?

To be honest, we won’t be changing very much in terms of brand prioritisation. We’ve been working with the same brands for years now and we have built up very solid relationships with them. We trust them and they trust us and that makes things very simple in that regard. We are, of course, always looking out for brands who are willing to be a bit disruptive as then we can try something a little bit exciting when it comes to promoting their campaigns and, invariably, yield good results.

And finally, your take on the cup: what team do you think will win and deep down in your heart, what team do you hope will win?

As a Scot I have to tread carefully here. This is my Andy Murray “anyone but England” moment! Seriously though, I have some family ties to France and have previously lived there so I’ll go with them. They have a really strong squad and home advantage is huge when it comes to the knock-out stages so they’ll take a lot of beating.

I’d actually like England to go quite far as that is obviously great from a business perspective, but it also ensures that the TV coverage is far more dedicated. The enthusiasm amongst the presenters tends to tail off a little bit once England are knocked out, which is a little disappointing.

Are you ready for EURO 2016?

To make the most this EURO season, reach out to the Income Access Team to go over your strategy, optimise your affiliate programme and ensure your results really score this summer!