Hi all, first time posting in the forum. I had been aware of this thread but i am currently away on holiday and had to prioritise some other things before being able to post here.
This thread, or something very similar but specifically aimed at us has been posted in another forum but I don’t think its right for me to direct users there. I have spent quite a bit of time on that forum so don’t want to overly repeat myself but do want to make a few points here.
I think its unfair and ultimately not right to view us in the same manner as some other culprits for a few reasons.
- I wont blame our SEO contractor because as owners of the site we are still accountable. That said the content for the page he ordered was removed well before this thread started when we became aware of the page.
- Unlike other culprits who were/are affiliating with these non gam stop casinos to make financial gains we had absolutely no links on that page because we have never affiliated or even been in contact with those brands. The page was purely content (yes completely awfull) and removed when discovered.
- Further evidence of the lack of knowledge shown by our SEO contractor about specific topics that are being written about has become clearer on review of further pages listed on our 'casino guides' (where said page was originally listed ). One page listing USA casinos but going on to mention UK brands with no license in the U.S. We are off course responsible for our site but like any business mistakes can and do happen and its normally how you react and what measures you put in place that should define you. Based on the overriding fact that no affiliation was remotely targeted on this page through the list of casinos named i do strongly believe its unfair to put us in the same category as these other affiliates who are actually earning of there strategy.
It was a monumental mistake and total lack of oversight that the page every got published. But we are a tiny operation with no full-time staff and our SEO contractor did have full admin rights and ownership of the whole 'casino guides' section of our website. Given what occurred and further evidence on review of his work wont be continuing to work with him, not solely based on this one article but it was clear that he does not have the experience or knowledge needed for our type of business, especially as streamers who are much 'closer' to gamblers than most faceless affiliate sites.
I would still argue that i don’t think its inconceivable to believe that someone who does SEO does not know about the seriousness of gamstop like we do or you guys do who are members of this community. Someone who does SEO may not even be a gambler themselves and wouldn’t even know about reputable casinos or rouge casinos like we do but that’s a separate conversation/debate altogether and not one I’m here to get into.
Finally to reiterate, we absolutely agree that the content on the page was terrible and inexcusable and we took swift action upon finding out about it to remove it because the last thing we ever want to do is suggest any ways for problems gamblers who have opted into GamStop to continue gambling.
As streamers we take problem gambling very seriously. I give out my personal number to strangers who contact us about their addictions and gave helped countless individuals. I have gone as far as covering people debts and losses on occasions where I have felt a sense of duty or influence.
I really don’t believe putting us in the same boat as these other affiliates is the same at all. Obviously, I would say that to defend ourselves but for me there are too many differences in what happened and what others have done or are doing vs what we did to warrant being judged the same.
It’s a very strong move to contact our partners with the view of damaging our business and one that I think is very extreme and over board given the circumstances. To actively go out of your way to impact our business without reaching out to us first or getting in touch with us is not something I agree with at all.
I am happy to share my contact details with whoever wants to discuss this in a more private matter.
We do sincerely apologise that this ever came to light and take full accountability that it was published on the site. As soon as this article got removed, we set in place a procedure that all content needs to be approved/checked by myself before publishing to ensure we don’t encounter something as terrible as this again. I have a lot of work to do when I return from my holidays to ‘tidy up’ the site even further.
I’m sorry I won’t be able to respond much but i thought it was important to come into this thread given the seriousness nature of it and at least offer our response to the situation.