Gambling Affiliate Programs debuts

[rowmare]

I cannot see how such an organization can possibly be in the best interests of affiliates or players.

Compare it to, say, if auto manufacturers worldwide were to form an association. Obviously their primary interest is to increase their own profits. How would they accomplish this? Lower overhead, meaning lower wages for factory workers and possibly lower manufacturing standards.

In such a case, affiliates are the factory workers facing lower wages and players and the end consumer who experiences deflated quality of product.

* * *

On the one hand, it's nice to see affiliate programs and online gambling interests appear interested in industry ethics, and be proactive in forming a group.

On the other hand, it's not hard to see such a large group of affiliate programs coming together to support each other in blanket predatory terms.

[triple777s]

OOps sorry Meister!

First post and i gonna be put on vacation already! lol

DIdn't mean to derail. i will learn as i go here.

once again sorry

[jetset]

Honest to God, there should be an affiliate certification process. The way it is now, any Joe Blow can throw up a cheap website, and join any and all affiliate programs in existence. I've often thought that maybe the affy programs should take a bit of responsibility as well....like maybe a vetting of affiliate applications, and/or a pre-screening of the applicant's website(s).

Well, there's one useful suggestion. It's interesting to see the different perspectives posters have of this industry development, especially in light of the calls for programs to withdraw from CAP et al.

It seems to me that that is what the programs are effectively doing here, filling the possible vacuum with a replacement body.

I think the point coming through these posts is that to be truly successful and representative GAP needs to be inclusive in the true sense of the word, with no one faction dominating another.

How to achieve that...or indeed is it achievable at all?

A balanced management team/committee/board from relevant sectors? Independent management ? Maybe something else not yet considered or tried?

Without diminishing its importance, I'd like to get away from the past, individual complaints and obviously essential fundamentals like integrity here and think about constructive, practical ways in which a new outfit like this could be made to work for everyone displaced or disillusioned by the events of the last few weeks.

[NicolasJohnson]

Hi,

First I would like to make it clear I'm talking from an operator’s point of view.

I think regulation and unity are great in this newly formed industry. Whether it is in the form of the CAP community, which despite whatever recent events, The COMUNITY (all the wonderful posters, not any particular business) over there has helped in outing the most egregious offenders (888, Cpays, etc) and helped unity affiliates in hard times. I mean no matter what you think of the owners of CAP, it is a thing of beauty when competitors can get together and help each other out (meaning competing affiliates helping each other).

Whether it is GPWA, APCW, Casinomeister, 2+2, therx, etc. No matter what part of the gaming industry (poker, casino, sports, skill, bingo, etc) and no matter what side (affiliates, players, operators); I think unity and pseudo regulation are much better than the alternative.

I remember a quote, from Churchill:

Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried.

And I think self regulation is sorta of this case. I also remember a very old quote that was originally written in Latin:

Who will watch the watchman?

So what I am getting at is... whenever there is money involved, things aren't going to be handled they way it should be. But I think that having this diverse platform of watchmen (Casinomeister, APCW, CAP, GPWA, etc) will allow for the best sort of self regulation, one where the watchmen are watched by the very public they are defending, and if caught in un-ethical behavior, the voters, the people, can vote with their feet.

Now if only politics where that simple


Kind Regards,
Nicolas Johnson
RegalAffiliates.com Affiliate Manager

[jetset]

Recent events, and the exposure of unethical practises in the affiliate sector, certainly support your contention that the watchmen are in fact being quite effectively watched!

There's no doubting the value of the message boards imo.

Without them and the affy groups the dirty linen at CAP etc may not have been aired.

Are you suggesting, then, that the status quo should continue to pertain? Or is there another and perhaps more organised way of achieving something useful and practical?

[NicolasJohnson]

Are you suggesting, then, that the status quo should continue to pertain? Or is there another and perhaps more organised way of achieving something useful and practical?

There may be... I'd be happy to hear one. The biggest thing that I thing of to be done is regulation from Governments... but from what I can see that is a ways off.

Not only is there corruption in the gov... which I'm sure J Todd can testify is harder to 'punish' and can go immune with greater ease than corrupt online organizations (I mean even Antigua winning a world trade organization dispute didn't solve anything)... but also this whole 'internets tubes getting clogged' confuses the hell out of most legislators who from what I can tell, barely even understand how to use a computer, and probably can't even wrap their heads around the concept of gambling 'even from your bathroom'.

Kind Regards,
NicolasJohnson
Regal Affiliates Manager

[jetset]

I just don't see a uniform online gambling code run by governments across the world materialising anytime soon - hell, even in the EU the member states are having to be dragged kicking and screaming into the principle of free movement of goods and services LOL!

And even that is currently under attack by MEPs spurred on by state gambling monopolies.

In the States it's even more problematic with federal and state law disparities to address before international harmonisation in this eminently cross-border industry can even be considered.

So - outside jurisdictions like Antigua, the Netherlands Antilles and Kahnawake, all of which unfortunately have credibility issues - the only halfway effective government regulation we're likely to see is in the UK, with Alderney, Malta, IOM and Gibraltar to a perhaps lesser extent, having basically similar overall regulatory requirements but differences nevertheless.

In the past there have been "harmonisation" talks between these jurisdictions, but as far as I am aware that has not led to anything definitive or concrete.

Thus, we come back to the problem at hand - how does an association of affiliate programs, and for that matter of affiliates and players, come to grips with a fair and practical system that contributes to the improvement of all?

[jetset]

Just reflecting on the last couple of posts it occurs to me that we may be starting to drift away from the main focus of this discussion, which is concerned primarily with Affiliate Programs, Affiliates and Players and how any new association of these can be practically managed as a fair improvement in the industry....if at all.

[Casinomeister]

What is essential is to specify a criteria that each affiliate program has to abide by.

Number one is the understanding that they represent their properties. If the properties are failing to treat their players in a fair and ethical manner, then they should either be penalized or removed from the group.

Number two is how they treat their affiliates - the affiliate manager should have the same type of relationship with their affiliates as the casino manager has with their players. It should be a communicative and positive experience.

Number three are the ethical topics: advertising and marketing, fairness in stats, payments, etc.

The tough part is that there may be excellent casinos, but their affiliate programs suck, and visa versa. This is where you start running into problems.

[Pinababy69]

What is essential is to specify a criteria that each affiliate program has to abide by.

Number one is the understanding that they represent their properties. If the properties are failing to treat their players in a fair and ethical manner, then they should either be penalized or removed from the group.

Number two is how they treat their affiliates - the affiliate manager should have the same type of relationship with their affiliates as the casino manager has with their players. It should be a communicative and positive experience.

Number three are the ethical topics: advertising and marketing, fairness in stats, payments, etc.

The tough part is that there may be excellent casinos, but their affiliate programs suck, and visa versa. This is where you start running into problems.

Such a simple post, yet so "on the money". It is almost precisely what I would have said if I were asked to summarize what is needed. I definitely want to see player issues incorporated into the big scheme of things.

Maybe even a player representative to deal specifically with that side of things.