Microgaming White Label Issue

[PlayShare]

Originally Posted by Casinomeister

I'm just beginning to catch up on this thread.

I noticed that Casino2see (gawd, what a stupid name) removed the other 2-see links. Darn, I was hoping to take someone's temperature

Quality control...hmm. Casino2see is right up there with Connect2casino, Inchilli, Casino1x2, and Joyland Casino as the stupidest named casinos - period.

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.

Hi Bryan,

The list has indeed been updated, with regards to Pharaohs and PlayersClub.

PlayersClub has already moved over to us (August 1st), and Pharaohs will move over at the end of this month.

Best Regards

Max Wright

CEO

PlayShare Group

[aka23]

Originally Posted by mrracetrack

Does anyone know if any of the other Microgaming groups beside Playshare are promoting "white label" casinos?

Jetset? Bryan? Simmo? Mario?

Any of the CM members that are webmasters... can you offer some info on this?

Where's that Jackpot Factory guy... David Brickman... maybe he can add something to this issue...

The other Microgaming groups that offer what I think of as "white labels" do so to target a specific region, rather than market as a separate casino. For example, Casino US and Casino UK.

This is quite a contrast from many other softwares. White labels are relatively common with Grand Virtual, G-Fed, Real Time Gaming, Chartwell, Wagerworks, World Gaming, Futurebet, Parlay, Total E Soft, and others.

[vinylweatherman]

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.

The problem here is that EXISTING players would STILL receive the marketing, even though the intent was to gain new players to the group. Under the earlier model, all an EXISTING player would see is a NEW MG CASINO, one they had not heard of, but because it was MG, and not something like RTG, they might very well give it a try. They would find they had problems from the outset, as they would not receive the opening offer as advertised. This should not be a problem now, but before this thread raised the issue, a problem it most certainly was.
Despite the best intentions, these white label brands are going to end up in mass marketing E-mailing campaigns (the polite term for spam). There is no reason to think otherwise, as pretty much ALL casinos appear in spam campaigns, reputable as well as rogue outfits.

Some confusion will STILL occur as previously independent casinos move over to the white label scheme. For example, PlayersClub is already known, and previously taking the bonus there, even after having had one at Pharaohs and Grand Monaco, would not be a problem. The brands are STILL well known, just changing software, but due to them not renting direct from MG, but going the white label route instead, the "one SUB per group" rule affects previously unrelated companies - to the player, it would be like finding out Grand Monaco refused an SUB because the player took one at 32Red last month With the brands that have mature white label programs, this is an ongoing source of confusion and complaints - and also an opportunity for MG to show these others the RIGHT way to run a white label partnership.
MG themselves could assist, by updating their list of all the MG casinos to indicate who owns what at both the group and white label levels.

[Simmo!]

Originally Posted by PlayShare

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.

Dunno about the rest of you but I find the above response(s) very encouraging. Obviously a lot of this could/should have been mapped out prior to the white labelling process, but it's good to know that Playshare recognise errors of judgement have been made and that they are listening and responding to player concerns (in depth) rather than simply burying their heads in the sand - no other names mentioned

I like the bit about only allowing white labels to be operated by people with established brands too.

Looks like Pinababy's sleuth work is having a positive & useful effect. Nice one Pina

[Aldebaran]

Just a thought:

all Casino XYZ white labels issue a single player number - XYZR0000001 and on registration force a click through that clearly states that this is a white label casino of XYZ brand-casino and the player number will allow access to all casinos in the group, and the sign up bonus can only be redeemed once. A welcome e-mail with a "welcome to the family" and the list again would also be helpful.

I quite like that idea: perhaps when casinowinalotofveryhappyhappiness.com runs cold I can switch effortlessly to oopswrongmovemoneygonewaytooquickcasino.com.

It would even be better if they all shared the single casino download and clicking another casino's icon would essentially be changing skins. One 900mb download serves all m'dear.

I would have no problem with this if it was a group that was accredited and I trusted. It would really appease my superstitious gambler side, those days that I just know that a blue/vegas/cocktail lounge theme will be unlucky and the magenta/ undersea theme is the one for me.

[winbig]

Originally Posted by Aldebaran

Just a thought:

all Casino XYZ white labels issue a single player number - XYZR0000001 and on registration force a click through that clearly states that this is a white label casino of XYZ brand-casino and the player number will allow access to all casinos in the group, and the sign up bonus can only be redeemed once.

That would actually defeat the purpose of white label casinos. To clear things up, as it's been mentioned before, the "parent" company of the white label casino should be prominently placed on the "About us" page, the "promotions" page and the T&C page.

However, there should be automatic safeguards in place that make it impossible for a user of xyzcasino to redeem a bonus that they have already received from the parent casino, or other white label casino from the same group. Yes, it's up to the user to make sure they haven't taken the bonus already from the same group, but hey, we're human - everyone makes mistakes. Winnings shouldn't be voided simply because someone made an unintentional mistake.

A welcome e-mail with a "welcome to the family" and the list again would also be helpful.

Great idea. A welcome letter from both the white label as well as the parent casino would be even better.

I quite like that idea: perhaps when casinowinalotofveryhappyhappiness.com runs cold I can switch effortlessly to oopswrongmovemoneygonewaytooquickcasino.com.

See comment #1 above

It would even be better if they all shared the single casino download and clicking another casino's icon would essentially be changing skins. One 900mb download serves all m'dear.

This is MG's problem, not the casino's. Until the MG programmers figure out that people HATE downloading every single game when they sign up for a new MG casino (when they already have other MG casinos installed), and every single month after the new games come out, this will not change.

I would have no problem with this if it was a group that was accredited and I trusted. It would really appease my superstitious gambler side, those days that I just know that a blue/vegas/cocktail lounge theme will be unlucky and the magenta/ undersea theme is the one for me.

Playshare is accredited. Since they are responsible for all banking and support issues for the white label's, I would trust a white label just as much as any other accredited casino.

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by Aldebaran

Just a thought:

all Casino XYZ white labels issue a single player number - XYZR0000001 and on registration force a click through that clearly states that this is a white label casino of XYZ brand-casino and the player number will allow access to all casinos in the group, and the sign up bonus can only be redeemed once. A welcome e-mail with a "welcome to the family" and the list again would also be helpful.

I quite like that idea: perhaps when casinowinalotofveryhappyhappiness.com runs cold I can switch effortlessly to oopswrongmovemoneygonewaytooquickcasino.com.

It would even be better if they all shared the single casino download and clicking another casino's icon would essentially be changing skins. One 900mb download serves all m'dear.

I would have no problem with this if it was a group that was accredited and I trusted. It would really appease my superstitious gambler side, those days that I just know that a blue/vegas/cocktail lounge theme will be unlucky and the magenta/ undersea theme is the one for me.

MG software DOES actually support this. Grand Prive have a "group" account ID (your E-mail), and with this a player can choose which of the five skins they feel will be lucky for them. It MAY be that the white labels already share this property, just no-one has mentioned it yet. One way to tell with an MG casino is the account ID. Each MG has a unique set of up to 4 letters before the number that defines the source casino. Some have an optional 5th character to separate "real" and "fun" accounts, others use "F" to designate "Flash" registration, and "T" for the download (T for "Thumper", never changed despite the launch of the newer "Viper" lobby). It is possible to log into the Viper lobby with a "Flash" account, and vice versa, so it is probably possible to log into the base "Playshare" casino with one of the associated white label account numbers. If MG or Playshare have not thought of this, they had better check that this does not expose the possibility of a software "Easter Egg" similar to the minor oddity in the Grand Privvy group set-up (which does NOT give the player an advantage because the balances & bonuses are also transferred).

[NASHVEGAS]

Originally Posted by 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

Everyone makes mistakes and you deserve the opportunity to correct them but I repeat via a cut & paste from a previous post: "I want to see actions not meaningless words,promises or even opinions. I am the player damnit who financially supports those spitting out all these meaningless(imo) words,etc." You have only taken the first step, ultimately time and actions will determine if your posts are actually meaningful as your obvious numerous mismanagement mistakes of W/L's(sidenote:still not sure I buy the concept) to date give one the right to be a cynic for now. I do appreciate your willinginess to face the gladiators,LOL.

[Simmo!]

Originally Posted by NASHVEGAS

sidenote:still not sure I buy the concept

I'm with you on that one.

However where I see there is an opportunity here is if the "affiliate" can choose certain options for the white label that differentiate it. For example, I'd love to set up my own MG white label and have a casino where there was no sign up bonus, a better loyalty/VIP scheme, reduced reverse times and unique competitions/tournies. However, this would cause more work for the casino and of course require evaluation, so it may not prove practical.

But this sort of thing would be different enough to justify a white label IMO.

[NASHVEGAS]

Originally Posted by Simmo!

I'm with you on that one.

However where I see there is an opportunity here is if the "affiliate" can choose certain options for the white label that differentiate it. For example, I'd love to set up my own MG white label and have a casino where there was no sign up bonus, a better loyalty/VIP scheme, reduced reverse times and unique competitions/tournies. However, this would cause more work for the casino and of course require evaluation, so it may not prove practical.
But this sort of thing would be different enough to justify a white label IMO.

I think you want a new casino not a W/L What would you chose to name your new casino? I am sure you will welcome suggestions in my soon to be new Wildcard thread.