Microgaming White Label Issue

[NASHVEGAS]

Originally Posted by jetset

And they are clearly good for the player as a source of information and the protection that knowledge brings in a largely unregulated industry that has few boundaries.

Spot on,kudos,bravo.....enough said!

[Pinababy69]

I see that the CEO of Playshare signed up as a member at the forum yesterday. I have no idea if he plans on making a statement or not, but if he just wanted to read, he didn't have to sign up to do that. So perhaps he will be back, and on the off chance that he will....I had a few questions that I was hoping he could answer, if he so chooses.

1. How long has this white label campaign been in the works?

2. Why does your company feel it necessary to utilize a marketing tactic such as this, when there are many people who clearly find it a deceptive form of advertising? At the very least, the way it is presented now is highly unprofessional, would you agree?

3. Why was this not announced to your player base with complete transparency as to what the campaign entailed, and how quality control of the white label brands would be monitored and enforced? An email to all of your existing players, briefly outlining what a white label is, and more importantly, a complete list of the white labels currently offered by Playshare would have been the proper route to go. In addition a link to the complete bonus terms at these white labels, would have been appropriate. Agree or disagree?

4. Why is there not more transparency on all of these sites clearly stating that they are all part of the Playshare Group? Or I guess as it will soon be called...the Mondial Group?

5. What sort of screening process is currently in place for new applicants to the program? And what sort of ongoing quality control checks will there be to ensure that the websites and their respective owners/partners present the casino in a professional manner?

6. In regards to the Casino2see site, it is pretty obvious that this particular webmaster is one who is involved in the promotion of adult material. How did this escape anyone's notice when he/she first applied for the program? If it WAS known, could they not foresee the potential problems?

7. How do you feel about your casinos being compared to the known rogue group of Virtual Casinos? Do you find this at all troubling that more than one person has made this comparison?

8. What is the problem with having your casinos promoted in the usual manner? Your group has always enjoyed a good reputation previously. Why not just continue on in the same vein? Offer the players Grand Monaco and CasinoShare on sites that are user friendly and actually offer some content that is truly valuable to the player.

9. The one most important to me personally is....how does this benefit any player in any way? There is no niche marketing, you are not catering to any specific group of players. They are clone sites plain and simple. There is no specialty involved. I definitely grasp the concept of financial gain for the casino and the affiliates promoting them, but how does it benefit the player?

10. And finally, what changes, if any, do you plan to make to the program to ensure that it is carried out in a professional manner in the future?

I don't really expect any answers, but it's worth a shot.

[NASHVEGAS]

Originally Posted by Pinababy69

I see that the CEO of Playshare signed up as a member at the forum yesterday. I have no idea if he plans on making a statement or not, but if he just wanted to read, he didn't have to sign up to do that. So perhaps he will be back, and on the off chance that he will....I had a few questions that I was hoping he could answer, if he so chooses........

6........................ If it WAS known, could they not foresee the potential problems?

Hell yeah they could forsee the potential problems (as they must have thought all players are dumb phu**cks) except for one minor problem PINA and KUDOS to you for all your hard work to prove they have grossly miscalculated..........should be fun to see the spin doctors.

[just play]

I always thought that when I call a 24 hr casino support number, I'm actually gonna talk to a casino support person rather than a phone sex operator. Silly me.

[recruit]

With all the discussion about the White Label Casinos, some groups masquerading as others, uncertainty abounding with regard to the "legitimacy" of certain websites, casino links, etc.....why not just stick with the "tride and true" casinos that you know and trust? why take the chance?

Personally, I have a group of about 8-10 casinos (mostly Microgaming, but a few RTG thrown in) that I have played at for years, trust, and have never screwed me around. Why go looking for "new" casinos with suspicious looking sites, questionable links and shady operators? Aren't there enough credible and reputable casinos out there that have proven themselves over the years without having to seek out new ones?

I'm asking this as a genuine question...am I the only one that sticks to the known entity?

[aka23]

Originally Posted by Casinomeister

I noticed the list of Naden casinos that is posted here:
http://list.playsharepartners.com/ no longer includes Cherry casino (from Betson) but still includes Pharaohs and PlayersClub. These two are still Boss Media - not MGS. Perhaps this is an indication of a pending switch of software providers.

Players Club switched to Microgaming recently. I believe it is indeed part of the Playshare group. However, Pharoahs still appears to be Boss Media. I suspect at some point in the future, Pharoahs will become the casino on the list called "Pharoahs Casino Test", which points to http://www.monacoroom.com/ .

[spearmaster]

Originally Posted by recruit

With all the discussion about the White Label Casinos, some groups masquerading as others, uncertainty abounding with regard to the "legitimacy" of certain websites, casino links, etc.....why not just stick with the "tride and true" casinos that you know and trust? why take the chance?

Personally, I have a group of about 8-10 casinos (mostly Microgaming, but a few RTG thrown in) that I have played at for years, trust, and have never screwed me around. Why go looking for "new" casinos with suspicious looking sites, questionable links and shady operators? Aren't there enough credible and reputable casinos out there that have proven themselves over the years without having to seek out new ones?

I'm asking this as a genuine question...am I the only one that sticks to the known entity?

Well, you're doing the right thing. It's perfectly natural to stick to the tried and true.

Having said that, there is a constant stream of new players who start their online gambling and have no idea what's good and what's not. They don't have the experience you have yet - so they would be more likely to stumble into a white-label casino without any knowledge whatsoever.

Then you have those who make bonus hunting a profitable hobby - and they typically will try to find every possible casino and play to earn the bonus. While some might argue that they deserve what they get if they get burnt, I disagree. They have every right to be protected against potentially unsafe operations as well.

And, of course, there are those who seek adventure - who amongst us has been to Vegas and never explored any casino other than the one we were staying at? Couple that with the natural feeling of a player who feels that he's not lucky at one casino, so he heads for another, even if that first casino has been good to him for quite some time before.

Ask a Vegas local, and you are almost certainly going to discover that he/she never goes to the casinos that you ask about - instead, they head for certain "local casinos". The casinos on the Strip are for tourists. And tourists - well, they tour. Meister and Simmo and I did a whirlwind tour last year as well, because it was Simmo's first time - but even then Meister and I used to cruise a few different places each trip.

[PlayShare]

Hi all,

First and foremost we would like to thank everyone for their valuable participation in the discussion and a special thank you to Bryan, Winbig, Pinababy, Vinyl Weather Man and Slots Wizard for all their constructive comments and concerns.

Over the last few days we have worked closely with MicroGaming to define new WL rules. From now on we will be aligning our WL strategy with the strict guidelines that we and MicroGaming have set out.

It is clear from this thread, and we absolutely agree, that for any WL campaign or program to be successful the following should be taken into account:

• Upfront and public announcements about the scheme and accept responsibility for the careful selection, vetting and probity checking on the applicants.
• Develop strict monitoring and system controls, together with clear guidelines on what is acceptable in terms of player respect, player protection, player privacy, spam and general marketing.
• If these guidelines are infringed, then there is provision to terminate the white label's casino or other necessary steps that need to be taken.
• Originating brand identified on white labels
o Clearly state that PlayShare takes full responsibility and operates all the payments, operations, support for all the players.
• Players and affiliates need to be assured that they will be safe and respected.
• The “About Us’ page is going to be updated as we agree it is not clear. You can see some info at www.playsharepartners.com which is a site undergoing some fast work now.
• We are going to make this information such a payment processing far more accessible and more obvious to the player.


PlayShare acknowledges that there are areas for improvement in our White Label Program and we are committed to working on these areas.

I trust that you feel reassured that all your concerns are being addressed and I invite you to get in touch with me should you require anything further by using the Private Message facility at CasinoMeister. Please also see my post below that contains answers to specific questions raised in this thread.

With regards to the “Cat out of the bag” comment, this was said in tongue and cheek and was clearly not in good taste. However, we have been open and transparent about our White Label Program; please see below press release in CasinoMeister posted on July 3rd 2007. In Addition our partners are also openly advertised on the terms and conditions of each WL site.

http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/...den-cairo.html


I will also during the coming weeks post updates on our progress of the above mentioned changes so you can give your input.

Best regards,

Max Wright

CEO

PlayShare Group

[PlayShare]

There were various concerns raised by members of this forum and they will all be taken into consideration and I would like to answer some of these here:

• White label brands are cyberspace clutter

o We acknowledge that just setting up hundreds of white labels is not productive and is damaging . All new partners for the future will only set up as white labels if they have something strong to bring to the table such as an existing powerful brand.


• Where does the responsibility/accountability start or end for the affiliate or casino manager and who supports the players if the white label operator is insufficiently funded or inexpert enough to go under owing players money

o PlayShare manages ALL Player funds and takes full responsibility for all purchases and cashins on behalf of the White Label
o If the White Label goes under and closes their operation then the players will continue to play on the casino and Playshare will honor any associated bets. The Player will not be compromised


• This confuses players, create marketing Spam and in extreme cases lead to deceptive "multiple bonus" disqualifications

o It will always state clearly on all the WL casinos terms and conditions:
 To be eligible to receive the welcome bonus a player must have NOT received a Welcome Bonus from any casino operated by Naden which are on the following updated list:
Click here.
• Note that the previous list was out of date due to the reason of holding dormant or/and test accounts
 This will also be made clearer to the player throughout the PlaySharePartner brand.

• Will these clones fall under the PlayShare umbrella as pertains to eCOGRA or will they be left to fend for themselves
o We are currently not Ecogra Certified however we have decided to apply for certification and will be setting up a date for a full review in the coming months, early discussion are that we are going to go through this process in late November of this year.

• What is PlayShare's stance on multiple accounts across their WL casinos? For example, if I was locked out of one casino for whatever reasons, would I still be eligible to create an account at one of their other skins? Would my winnings be voided at that skin if I were to win, and they found out I was locked out from another skin when they were processing my cash out

o Each case will need to be taken on merit however when it comes to security, there is no deviation from the pressing matter as players security is always high priority.
o The only downfall is one sign-on bonus on any one of the WL.

Best Regards

Max Wright

CEO

PlayShare Group

[PlayShare]

I would like to answer Pinababy69 questions made on this post

1. How long has this white label campaign been in the works?

The White Label program started development around January 2007 with White Labels first started launching in Beat around April 2007, however, many of the previously mentioned white labels were test accounts, dormant accounts or pitch accounts that we made the mistake of making public.

2. Why does your company feel it necessary to utilize a marketing tactic such as this, when there are many people who clearly find it a deceptive form of advertising? At the very least, the way it is presented now is highly unprofessional, would you agree?

I have responded to this question in my two posts above, but the main reason for the White Labels is to enter Niche Markets that would be hard to penetrate otherwise

3. Why was this not announced to your player base with complete transparency as to what the campaign entailed, and how quality control of the white label brands would be monitored and enforced? An email to all of your existing players, briefly outlining what a white label is, and more importantly, a complete list of the white labels currently offered by Playshare would have been the proper route to go. In addition a link to the complete bonus terms at these white labels, would have been appropriate. Agree or disagree?

I have to disagree on this, as there was no reason to announce this to the player base of CasinoShare or GrandMonaco as it does and will not affect them in anyway. The point of the WhiteLabel is to attract new players to our sites. However, saying this, I do agree we have not been as transparent as we could have been and are correcting this by having www.playsharepartners.com (which is being updated at the moment) making clear what the scenario is with regards to player funds and who operates these casinos. Also with regards to term and conditions, it is made clear where the player stands with regards to opening offers. However, we are going to make this easier for the player to spot as not every player actually reads the terms and conditions before playing. The player will only be affected with regards to the opening offer and all future offers will not be affected as every account is treated separately.

4. Why is there not more transparency on all of these sites clearly stating that they are all part of the Playshare Group? Or I guess as it will soon be called...the Mondial Group?

I admit that this was not as transparent as it could have been am I am going to correct this. With regards to GrandMondial, this is a rebrand of GrandMonaco, and even though operated and owned by PlayShare is separate and has no bearing on the white labels.

5. What sort of screening process is currently in place for new applicants to the program? And what sort of ongoing quality control checks will there be to ensure that the websites and their respective owners/partners present the casino in a professional manner?

Each white label applicant will go through a screening process, such as personal background check. Also PlayShare takes full responsibility for the Player so that he or she is not compromised. Also, marketing will be strictly monitored.

6. In regards to the Casino2see site, it is pretty obvious that this particular webmaster is one who is involved in the promotion of adult material. How did this escape anyone's notice when he/she first applied for the program? If it WAS known, could they not foresee the potential problems?

I admit we overlooked this and Casino2See did have link that went to a portal that further went to an Adult site. This link has been removed, and this will not occur again, where any white label links off to a site of adult nature.

7. How do you feel about your casinos being compared to the known rogue group of Virtual Casinos? Do you find this at all troubling that more than one person has made this comparison?

I can ensure you all players regardless if they play at GrandMonaco or a white label will be treated the same, and I hope players see that we are an honest casino and that we run an honest and fair organization


8. What is the problem with having your casinos promoted in the usual manner? Your group has always enjoyed a good reputation previously. Why not just continue on in the same vein? Offer the players Grand Monaco and CasinoShare on sites that are user friendly and actually offer some content that is truly valuable to the player.

The reason why we entered the white label market is to enter niche markets that we could have not entered before and certain countries that have strong barriers of entry. The plan is to partner with existing companies that have a strong brand or a unique idea to expand the group.

9. The one most important to me personally is....how does this benefit any player in any way? There is no niche marketing, you are not catering to any specific group of players. They are clone sites plain and simple. There is no specialty involved. I definitely grasp the concept of financial gain for the casino and the affiliates promoting them, but how does it benefit the player?

We have only just begun with regards to White Labels and there are some very niche marketing campaigns that are about to be released the majority of which will start to be made clear and open in late October, early November. We had only just launched and so are still at the early stages, and have already learnt some very valuable lessons. These marketing campaigns will not benefit our current players, as they are acquisition promotions to get new players on the site.

10. And finally, what changes, if any, do you plan to make to the program to ensure that it is carried out in a professional manner in the future?

This post has definitely got us thinking and given us a kick and so I am putting a lot more resources and my time to improve the white label program for the better. Over the next few days and weeks you will see changes.


Best Regards

Max Wright

CEO

PlayShare Group