ICANN Releases TLD Application List

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization that regulates top-level domains (TLDs) such as “.com” and “.net”, released its list today detailing applicants of new generic TLDs.
As promised, ICANN revealed the full list of submissions for new Internet address endings. In total, 1,930 requests were made. Companies were required to pay $185,000 per application. A $25,000 annual renewal fee will be charged to companies whose request for a TLD has been granted.
Leading the way with 101 applications was Google whose submissions included “.google”, “.youtube”, “.blog”, and even “.lol”.
Apple applied for just one domain, “.apple” while Amazon applied for 76 TLDs including “.amazon”, “.free” and “.game”.
Some companies are seeking some rather inefficient suffixes. Northwestern Mutual Registry is hoping to secure the “.northwesternmutual” domain. Travelers Insurance put in a bid for “.travelersinsurance” while rival insurance company All-State is betting they can get customers to enter “.carinsurance” at the end of a domain.
The most sought after TLD is “.app”. Thirteen companies are in contention to control that domain extension. Surprisingly, only one entity is vying for the “.porn” domain despite the Internet sometimes being only half-jokingly referred to as “95% porn”.
iGaming Angle
Four applications were submitted for the “.casino” domain. There is not a clear connection between the info for these applicants and an existing iGaming company. Many TLD applicants routed their request through a domain holding company like Donuts.co. Two of the four requests for “.casino” were listed as coming from the U.S. with one from Ireland and one from Gibraltar where many iGaming companies are located.
Another four applications were submitted for the suffixes “.poker” and “.bet”. At least three of these were submitted by the same entities gunning for the “.casino” TLD. One applicant for “.bet” is listed as Ladbrokes International PLC.
Two of the applicants for “.casino” and “.poker” also made submissions to acquire “.bingo”. Single submissions were made for “.cards” and “.lotto”
No submissions were made for iGaming-related TLDs such as “.slots”, “.blackjack”, “.craps” or “.jackpot”.
Affiliate Answers
What does ICANN’s process of enabling “dot anything” domains mean for affiliates?
While it’s still too early to say for sure, the addition of generic TLDs to the web probably isn’t good for affiliates. Search engines like Google may favor companies who paid $185,000 for their own domain extension making it tougher to compete in search engine results. This would be in line with Google’s latest trend towards commercializing their search engine results.
What do you think the new flood of domain extensions means for iGaming affiliates? Please share in our forums.