In 2020, John Gold established one of the most famous for its trustworthiness gambling review websites, BetPokies.org. On the platform, Aussie gamblers find a lot of valuable info, including online casino reviews, payment method guides, game developers reviews, gambling news, an online pokies guide, gambling statistics page, and a responsible gambling guide with unique insights and a self-assessment test. Taking into consideration the growing popularity of the site as well as its one-of-a-kind content, we decided to learn the secrets of the success from John Gold, the person behind it all.
About His Role and Expertise 
Hi, John! It’s incredibly nice to meet you finally. So, let’s start our interview with some basics. Can you share your journey in the iGaming industry and how you came up with the idea of creating BetPokies.org?
Hi, it’s my pleasure to be invited here! Sure, so it all started over 10 years ago, when I started my gambling journey. At first, I was just a regular gambler. However, I am the kind of person who if I start doing something, I learn everything possible on the subject. Therefore, the hobby has grown to be one of my biggest passions. As you can imagine, I have to learn how to take control of it so as not to become completely addicted. Therefore, I learnt many things, from the basics of all casino games to responsible gambling tactics. And then in 2020, the lockdown started. It was depressing and boring, so I thought to myself, “Why, having so much knowledge, don’t I help other players find decent online casinos?”. That’s how it started: a little site (BetPokies.com at the time) where I posted my online casino reviews. Honestly, I had no idea that it would grow into something as big as BetPokies.org now.
Wow, that’s an interesting story! As an expert in gambling laws and responsible gambling, what drives your passion for these topics?
I cannot call myself an expert on any of these topics, as I am rather a gambling expert. But I do know lots of things about gambling laws and responsible gambling. I believe the main motivation for learning more about responsible gambling was my desire to dive deeper into the online gambling field without getting harmed by the activity. Besides, throughout over a decade in the field, I heard and witnessed many unpleasant situations when people lost their normal and happy lives because of the addictive effect of gambling. Regarding gambling laws, it was more of a need than a “passion”. Being a founder and an editor-in-chief, I must know such things so that BetPokies functions within the Australian gambling law. When I collected quite a lot of info, had numerous consultations with professional lawyers, I thought it might also be useful for our readers and, so my team and I created the “Gambling laws” guide.
We thoroughly researched BetPokies while preparing for the interview and found out there is quite a wide variety of content. So, we are curious to know what the most challenging aspect of content creation for BetPokies.org is.
To be honest, it’s incredibly nice to know my BetPokies, as my creation, has gained that much success and draws so much attention!
Researching is one of the hardest aspects of content creation. In the gambling field, there is an immersive amount of false information from writers who are just too lazy or too biased to search for valuable information. Therefore, at BetPokies, we pay special attention to fact-checking, researching gambling forums, contacting online casinos, etc. All of us need information that will actually help our readers. However, as you highlighted, we have a lot of different content topics. I genuinely believe that one person should not focus on many things at once. Therefore, the BetPokies team consists of four writers, including me (I write about casino categories, such as real money, fast payout, new, mobile and other casino types, plus I take care of big guides like online pokies guide, responsible gambling and gambling laws), Poppy Bate (she writes about online casinos), Charles Morey (our finance expert, who prepares payment methods guides), and Alicia Want (she makes game developer reviews and writes gambling news). Each one of them has become a real expert in the topic they write about, and this is exactly what allows our readers to have the most recent and top-notch information.
Also, on our “About Us” page, readers can find more details about our research process and mission in the gambling review field.
Insights on Gambling Laws and Responsible Gambling
So, let’s discuss topics in more detail. How do you go about finding information about gambling laws in various parts of the world?
Well, first of all, I look for government resources, legal sources, and reputable publications – it’s quite interesting. I make an effort to verify concerns with lawyers because every country has its own peculiarities. In this case, I need to be concerned about the readers regarding the dynamics of change of information. To be frank, I had a great deal of learning from the discussions with many practitioners about the real situation of regulation. It’s a blend of traditional methods and advanced technologies.
We hope that our readers can utilise this information for their own research! Which trends have you noticed in gambling regulations in Australia lately, by the way?
Yes, of course. In my opinion, carrying out your own research is of great importance. At BetPokies, we strive to have the right information and keep it current, but the online gambling industry is quite dynamic. In researching, you are merely making things right.
With regards to Australian gambling regulations trends, I can observe that the advertising and player protection issues are definitely on the rise as government winds of control shift to the sector. There have been calls for more robust regulations on responsible gambling, such as mandatory split sessions and spending limits. At the same time, the aim is to ensure that players are not completely driven to unregulated offshore sites so that a reasonable number of players remain. It is a difficult dance, but player protection is clearly a priority.
Can you provide an instance where the information provided on BetPokies.org has made a difference in players’ responsible gambling practices for the better?
Oh, yes! One such instance is when a player contacted us, thanking us for the information on deposit limits available in one of our guides. They had a problem with their betting spend and didn’t even know it was possible to set such limits. After reading our article, they took the test and got concerning results. In the end, they instituted limits and felt as though they were in control. You realise how what we do is not only about people searching for gambling games, but also about how people can be responsible gamblers. It’s moments like that that put a smile on your face.
Thanks for your responses! It is also great to have an opportunity to explore how responsible, high-quality gambling can actually be done, particularly on platforms such as BetPokies. Let’s hope that by this time around next year, BetPokies has grown even further, and we can do another interview like this one!
