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Slot power and vanguard casinos out of business?

Not working here (the websites).
My money is on this being a temporary server glitch - a real one, not just a lame excuse like Tradition used.
Though there is a possibility they've been taken over by Club World (who own Manhattan Slots) as part of their plan for word domination... :p

KK
 
Hi all,

First off can I just confirm that CWC have not purchased either of these two casinos in our challenge for world domination, nor the domain or anything else to do with the casinos, including the affiliate program.

I checked into this and our business relationship with these URL's extends as far as an affiliate account. It seems they have put a redirect on from their URL sending all traffic to one of our casinos, Manhattan Slots.

Sorry I cannot help any further, but if I do hear anything further I will update this thread.

Cheers,
 
This is strange!

Ooops!

Strange things indeed!

A small investigation shows that slotpower.com is correct website but if you put an www. infront of the url you are redirected to Manhattan slots.

The ip of www.slotpower.com is 195.56.65.76 and info about that IP:

Hosted domains

4players.net
4players.com
xpress.com
szahara.com
budapestbamako.org
degob.org
oplaypartner.com
ourpicturealbum.com
livevegasaction.com
london-technologies.com
phonecash.com
drothalo.com
mail.bestdamnpokersite.com
ns2.drothalo.com

If we go to livevegasaction.com we are redirected to Windows Casino!! :eek:

If we go to 4players.com we are redirected to an affiliate page called Gambling results.

What a mess!:(
 
This is all very strange, especially in view of the CWC denial.

The possibility that these two operations have gone to the wall (the owners are Cyprus-registered First Gaming Partners who acquired Slots Power - formerly Absolute Slots - in June 2009 and Vanguard a little later) is enhanced by the presence of a number of slow-play complaints on the internet dating back over the past few months.

If there are any Rival affiliates active here, now might be a good time to clarify what the position is?)
 
I can still log into my Vanguard account and they sent me a Tuesday promotion. Slot Power was uninstalled a while back.

-----------------
Vanguard Tuesday Bonus

Dear xxx,

It's Tuesday and that means it's time for the Tuesday Bonus at Vanguard Casino!

Get 60% up to $120 FREE
Choose your slots and use this bonus to get up to a cool $120 FREE on your next deposit to help you hit some big cash jackpots.

If you're experiencing difficulty depositing by credit card then open a Moneybookers account. Use your card via Moneybookers, it's fast, easy, safe and secure. Click here for more information.

Have a great week, and good luck!

Warm regards,

Gabrielle
Promotions
Vanguard Casino
 
Just think they also created an affiliate account at CWC and all the links redirecting players there, they are taking the credit for. I also was just told players are still able to access the casino is they have accounts, hope they don't get burned.

Rival needs to step it up and let players know wtf is going on and going to happen.
 
belgamo said:
Just think they also created an affiliate account at CWC and all the links redirecting players there, they are taking the credit for. I also was just told players are still able to access the casino is they have accounts, hope they don't get burned.

Rival needs to step it up and let players know wtf is going on and going to happen.
Click to expand...

RedAndi said:
Why would Rivals redirect to an RTG?
Click to expand...

Well, this is UNBELIEVABLY shady. It looks like these two HAVE had to "fold" in the sense they have taken down their websites, and redirected to a Club World casino. This is DELIBERATE, not merely a "bug", since a redirect has been coded, and preparation IN ADVANCE has been made by opening an affiliate account with Club World. This will squeeze a little extra money from players than visit the websites, get redirected, and think that "their" casino has indeed made a PROPER business deal with Club World's Manhattan Slots.
Worst of all, NO notification to players, who are still being enticed to deposit into a company that cannot even keep it's domain live (so thesefore CANNOT so easily be contacted if things go wrong). AFFILIATES are also getting screwed, since they will still be marketing the casinos, but THEIR traffic gets "hijacked" by the redirect, and they do NOT get the chance to earn income from the traffic, since this traffic is going to be enticed to join Manhattan Slots, for which the CASINO will receive affiliate income.
 
This is soooo strange?? Even the Vanguard Casino webpage links in their promo emails instantly redirect to

http://www.manhattanslots.com/Default.aspx
 
Evening all. I am sure you can appreciate its late here in the UK, nearly 11pm, so I am limited to what I can do right now, however I have been looking into this since I arrived in work this morning.

I dont like knee jerk reactions so I'm conducting a full investigation into this and consulting the bosses also. I am very concerned as to the antics that appear to be happening with the casino URL's in question so hopefully, tomorrow, I will be able to update you all further.

Regards to player and affiliate issues I cannot help in answering that unfortunately, hopefully you will be able to contact the casino support, affiliate manager or someone?
 
CWC-Martyn said:
Evening all. I am sure you can appreciate its late here in the UK, nearly 11pm, so I am limited to what I can do right now, however I have been looking into this since I arrived in work this morning.

I dont like knee jerk reactions so I'm conducting a full investigation into this and consulting the bosses also. I am very concerned as to the antics that appear to be happening with the casino URL's in question so hopefully, tomorrow, I will be able to update you all further.

Regards to player and affiliate issues I cannot help in answering that unfortunately, hopefully you will be able to contact the casino support, affiliate manager or someone?
Click to expand...

THIS is one of my concerns, how can you look up contact details if they have pulled the website. This is the action of a casino that has ALREADY closed down, yet they are STILL taking deposits, and presumably affiliates are still sending players to what is now a CWC casino.

The biggest problem for CWC is the fact that in the eyes of the PLAYER, a connection has been made between the two, and IF the Rival outfits simply "do a runner" leaving no forwarding details, players with outstanding issues will pursue the casinos the sites redirect to.

This also shows that it is far too easy to become an affiliate, as I would have expected such an investigation into these "antics" to have taken place BEFORE an affiliate account was permitted to be made active to earn commission from these redirects.

Since this is a CASINO becoming an affiliate for one of it's Rivals, and seeming to be closing itself down, this should have been handled through a formal B2B agreement, with clear guidelines as to which responsibilities would remain with the operator (such as honouring player balances), and which would transfer (such as player accounts, or merely traffic).
 
vinylweatherman said:
THIS is one of my concerns, how can you look up contact details if they have pulled the website. This is the action of a casino that has ALREADY closed down, yet they are STILL taking deposits, and presumably affiliates are still sending players to what is now a CWC casino.
Click to expand...

Two things on this, most players have some kind of contact with a casino. It's worth a try and I was mearly offering some kind of option to help out those affected. Nothing more.

Most players that are aware of the various platforms available will be able to clearly differentiate between Rival and RTG and understand that these are two separate providers and competitors. It doesnt make sense, or is that just me?

vinylweatherman said:
The biggest problem for CWC is the fact that in the eyes of the PLAYER, a connection has been made between the two, and IF the Rival outfits simply "do a runner" leaving no forwarding details, players with outstanding issues will pursue the casinos the sites redirect to.
Click to expand...

I think if this were the case these players would be redirected to Rival as there really is nothing that we could do. I dont know if this would be the case for sure but a possible solution for the player in the short term.

vinylweatherman said:
This also shows that it is far too easy to become an affiliate, as I would have expected such an investigation into these "antics" to have taken place BEFORE an affiliate account was permitted to be made active to earn commission from these redirects.
Click to expand...

I think that if the affiliate in this case planned on doing something that could affect potential earnings, do you think they would inform us first, even if asked?

vinylweatherman said:
Since this is a CASINO becoming an affiliate for one of it's Rivals, and seeming to be closing itself down, this should have been handled through a formal B2B agreement, with clear guidelines as to which responsibilities would remain with the operator (such as honouring player balances), and which would transfer (such as player accounts, or merely traffic).
Click to expand...

In essence yes, but the duty here is at the feet of the casino to firstly inform both players and affiliates of any intended action regards the future of the casino or casinos, then to inform me of intended practice. Thats in an ideal world.
 
FWIW

info: You are now chatting with 'Lucy'
Lucy: Welcome to casino Live Chat. How may I help you?
me: Hi, I have a question about the Vanguard Casino website. It redirects to a website called manhattan slots. Do you know anything about that?
Lucy: Yes we have also noticed this, The technical department is working to find out what happened exactly.
me: Old / Expired Link
me: Oh
me: Ok, well I received an emailed promotion from Vanguard
Lucy: May I have your Login name and email address please?
me: me
me: [email protected]
Lucy: Which promotion are you referring to?
me: Hang on 1 second so I can get it...
Lucy: No problem.
me: Vanguard Tuesday Bonus Dear Me, It's Tuesday and that means it's me for the Tuesday Bonus at Vanguard Casino! Get 60% up to $120 FREE (rest deleted)
me: My concern was the website redirecting to a completely different brand of casino
Lucy: As I can see the 60% up to $120 Free is already available in your account, Please refresh your casino and claim the bonus.
Lucy: That is just a very odd technical problem that was discovered yesterday.
me: At first I though the casino was closing down...
me: I mean I get an email saying to deposit
me: and the website is gone?
me: SCARY!!
Lucy: I can assure that we are not, That is just a technical failure.
Lucy: The technical department is working on this.
me: Ok well it's a strange thing to happen
Lucy: We totally agree!
me: Is this the only Rival casino that was redirected?
Lucy: Slot power is also redirecting to the same site.
me: Strange
me: Well I'll wait until the website is back up
Lucy: Ok.
Lucy: Is there anything else I can help you with?
me: Thanks and hopefully all will work out!
Lucy: You are very welcome.
Lucy: Thank you for visiting. Please contact us at any mee.
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to [email protected] at the end of your chat.
me: bye
 
all4greed said:
FWIW

info: You are now chatting with 'Lucy'
Lucy: Welcome to casino Live Chat. How may I help you?
me: Hi, I have a question about the Vanguard Casino website. It redirects to a website called manhattan slots. Do you know anything about that?
Lucy: Yes we have also noticed this, The technical department is working to find out what happened exactly.
me: Old / Expired Link
me: Oh
me: Ok, well I received an emailed promotion from Vanguard
Lucy: May I have your Login name and email address please?
me: me
me: [email protected]
Lucy: Which promotion are you referring to?
me: Hang on 1 second so I can get it...
Lucy: No problem.
me: Vanguard Tuesday Bonus Dear Me, It's Tuesday and that means it's me for the Tuesday Bonus at Vanguard Casino! Get 60% up to $120 FREE (rest deleted)
me: My concern was the website redirecting to a completely different brand of casino
Lucy: As I can see the 60% up to $120 Free is already available in your account, Please refresh your casino and claim the bonus.
Lucy: That is just a very odd technical problem that was discovered yesterday.
me: At first I though the casino was closing down...
me: I mean I get an email saying to deposit
me: and the website is gone?
me: SCARY!!
Lucy: I can assure that we are not, That is just a technical failure.
Lucy: The technical department is working on this.
me: Ok well it's a strange thing to happen
Lucy: We totally agree!
me: Is this the only Rival casino that was redirected?
Lucy: Slot power is also redirecting to the same site.
me: Strange
me: Well I'll wait until the website is back up
Lucy: Ok.
Lucy: Is there anything else I can help you with?
me: Thanks and hopefully all will work out!
Lucy: You are very welcome.
Lucy: Thank you for visiting. Please contact us at any mee.
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to [email protected] at the end of your chat.
me: bye
Click to expand...

STRANGE!!
 
VERY strange indeed.

ONE possibility is that their servers have been HACKED by an unscrupulous CWC affiliate as a means to steal traffic.

IF this turns out to be the case, this DOES then fall back into CWC jurisdiction, since this would be a VERY rogue affiliate indeed, worse even than those that insist on spamming. CWC certainly know WHO runs the affiliate account behind these redirects.

The argument about "unrelated brands, so players would instinctively know" no longer applies, since other casinos have ALSO entered into this kind of traffic redirection agreement, and this means some players EXPECT this, and thus assume everything has been agreed when it happens.

Take Jackpot Factory, they have set up an agreement to redirect traffic coming from the US to a "partner" operator, which is ALSO a completely different software to them. This is NOT a "strange" action, nor a "technical failure", it was an agreement between the two operators that JF would forward any US "new player" traffic to them, presumably on a commission earning basis.

Based on the above, players who visit Vanguard, but get redirected to Manhattan slots, will assume this is just the latest JF style tie-up, and that both operators have signed up to some kind of deal.

As long as players are getting paid, they are unlikely to be contacting CWC for redress, but NO NEW PLAYERS can join Vanguard, and they don't see this as "urgent", but are simply "looking into it". Surely, the "urgent" response would be to refresh the website content from the previous backup, and at least stop the redirects, and loss of business from new players - even though the content itself might be a little dated (being from a backup).

IF, on the other hand, these casinos HAVE closed some while ago, yet support are LYING to players when they deposit, this will have SERIOUS consequences for RIVAL, as well as the casinos concerned.
 
This is where we stand right now.

We have been in contact with the affiliate involved and ordered that they cease and desist with this activity in promoting CWC brands. In addition we have closed the affiliate account in question.

I will keep you informed of any further developments

Cheers,

Martyn
 
Whether this is a case of the sites being hacked or not makes no difference to me. I am still pulling their brands for the simple reason that not a single Affiliate Manager or Representative of Slot Power or Vanguard Casino has bothered to notify their affiliates by email or the forums to explain what has happened.
This all happened yesterday. 24 hours later still no word from them and Slot Power is still down.
This tells me this is a Mickey Mouse operation who cannot be bothered to keep their affiliates informed.
 
I have just gone onto their affiliate site and this is the message that appears

Dear First Gaming Partner Affiliate,

Unfortunately the Rival gaming platform hasn't lived up to our expectations over the past few months.
Because of continued and prolonged processing problems you might have seen your conversion ratios
and player values erode. We had no other option, but to drop Rival. We sincerely hope that Rival will
continue honoring their affiliate commitments as they have done in the past. Your players will be able
to continue playing on the sytem and thus you will continue receiving checks from them. However
we ask you not to send further traffic to our front page.

We wish you continued success in your affiliate endeavors.

Best regards,

First Gaming Partners Team
Click to expand...

I guess this answers our questions!!
 
This STILL does not explain this business with the redirects to CWC, and an affiliate account being set up to exploit conversions resulting from this.

PLAYERS have been told NOTHING, and in fact have been LIED to (see chat transcript from all4greed). If the casinos have dropped Rival, how come players are STILL being enticed to deposit & play. Further, what happens now, since presumably a new software will be brought online for these casinos, unless they HAVE indeed decided to fold. It seems they expect RIVAL to honour their commitments, not themselves.

We sincerely hope that Rival will
continue honoring their affiliate commitments as they have done in the past. Your players will be able
to continue playing on the sytem and thus you will continue receiving checks from them.
Click to expand...

WTF is all this about then:confused:

HOW can players continue to play a casino that no longer exists, players want to know what is going to happen with their accounts now, since there is only a "system", no operator to back it and market promotions to them.

The operators CLEARLY knew in advance about this, but tried to fob it all off as a "technical server issue", and even set up a redirect through an affiliate account to handle any traffic going to the sites.

It is also a damning condemnation of Rival itself, that the operators just "threw in the towel" because of the poor standards of service provided by Rival central.

It even looks like they have pulled out of the industry altogether, rather than make a transition to another software provider, which also seems rather odd, since a business does not "fold" unless it has to, and certainly not just because a provider has let it down.

At least CWC have shut off this affiliate account, and I wonder if this "cease & desist" action had anything to do with the Vanguard website coming back online, rather than redirecting to Manhattan slots.

Rival - will it go the way of Hype? Players had better keep their eyes peeled, since it seems Bonne Chance hold all the money, and if Rival goes under, it will surely take Bonne Chance with it (they are, after all, one & the same:rolleyes:).
 
topboss said:
I have just gone onto their affiliate site and this is the message that appears



I guess this answers our questions!!
Click to expand...

Sorry... but I'm not an affiliate and have never understood the strange relationship between affilate programs and the casinos, therefore...

I still don't understand what's going on. I do know I don't like it. :p
 
Sorry Mousey
I should have been more clear.
In a nutshell Slot Power and Vanguard Casino have closed their doors.
They are not accepting any new players, but have said that existing players can continue to play.
If I were you or any other player for that matter and have already got an account with them - DO NOT deposit a single cent there because there is a good chance you won't get paid out if you win.
 
Ok, here is the latest:

Dear Affiliate,

You may have noticed some disruption at www.vanguardcasino.com and www.slotpower.com. Due to a business dispute we have moved the domains to www.vanguardcasino.co.uk and www.slotpower.co.uk and you can reach our affiliate site at www.firstgamingpartners.co.uk. In order to ensure proper tracking, please update your affiliate links to the .co.uk domain for each affiliate link.

We extend our deepest apologies for any inconvenience and possible malicious intent that our previous marketing partners may have caused. The casino operator, Bonne Chance NV, was given no warning or indication that its marketing partners were planning to redirect traffic from its primary operating URLs. As the casino operator, Bonne Chance NV will continue to maintain and manage both casino sites as it has done in the past. All player and affiliate payments will be made as scheduled and going forward it will be business as usual for all existing and new players.

As a sign of our appreciation of your understanding we will extend an additional $25 CPA for every new depositing player (wagers and deposits $50 or more) you bring in between May 12th and June 31st, 2010.

A new management team has been assigned and can be reached at [email protected]

Best Regards,

First Gaming Affiliate Support
Click to expand...

So I guess Bonne Chance is taking over and changing the URLs. Presumably the previous owners own the original URLs?
 
This is too little too late. I never got this email and have already removed all their banners.
I smell a fish here and don't like the sound of it.
I recall there was a similar situation with Absolute Slots when Slot Power took over. There was also a dispute of some sort with the previous owner.

There is more to this story than they are telling us I think.

From my side it is no big loss as I am hardly ever able to convert a Rival Gaming Casino anyway.
 
I'm not sure if this is related or not but I got a weird spam today.

It was from [email protected] (or something like that, I deleted it not thinking it may be part of this) and the body of the email was a flat out manhattan slots promo. Not just text but their actual normal graphics and such.
It struck me as kind of odd as CW casinos don't usually send offers through others (that I know of) and when I googled the sender I got a huge list of spam alerts.
 
topboss said:
From my side it is no big loss as I am hardly ever able to convert a Rival Gaming Casino anyway.
Click to expand...
For me Rival casinos are definitely the most popular with players; I guess that's because my sites are bonus-orientated and Rival casinos have better bonuses than most other brands.
Or at least, some of them do... the 2 casinos this thread is about have been very unpopular - probably due to their un-attractive welcome offers... :(

KK
 
@KK i agree with you 100% ;)

What would i do without any Rival casino, then i really don't know, where i should play and especially "win" because i don't know where i can get also 3 vampires with expanding wilds :D
 
KasinoKing said:
For me Rival casinos are definitely the most popular with players; I guess that's because my sites are bonus-orientated and Rival casinos have better bonuses than most other brands.
Or at least, some of them do... the 2 casinos this thread is about have been very unpopular - probably due to their un-attractive welcome offers... :(

KK
Click to expand...

Initially, I played there a lot. I absolutely loved their Jenny Nevada game, and I liked the fact that they were accredited here. But they didn't pay out promptly. Couple times I had to wait, and wait, and wait - and yep, I reversed, and lost. :mad: Whereas, if I had been given my cash in, say, 48 hours, I would have had the chance to either redeposit something on Slotpower and then play more, or do something more constructive :D . So that's ultimately why I stopped playing there, it was difficult to cash out in under five days. Bonuses, schmonuses - I don't decide where to play on that basis - it's nice to get an easy bonus, but I mostly play without.
 
rjb said:
support told me i would get an email from accounting letting me know why its taking so long.i have never got one email from them for 2 weeks
Click to expand...


i got exactly the same lame excuses from supreme play casino since the last 3 days from every different chat support but nothing happens!

sent them even 3 times an email, but never got any response from them!
 
Well, I've just checked out both the .com and .co.uk urls for these two operations and they look pretty much the same to me - including the software.

And I don't see any notices to players up on either telling them WTF is going on.

I think Topboss is right in urging caution - in the absence of a reasonable public explanation from First Partners there is bound to be speculation and an uneasy feeling that something is up here.
 
KasinoKing said:
For me Rival casinos are definitely the most popular with players; I guess that's because my sites are bonus-orientated and Rival casinos have better bonuses than most other brands.
Or at least, some of them do... the 2 casinos this thread is about have been very unpopular - probably due to their un-attractive welcome offers... :(

KK
Click to expand...

Well that maybe so but no Rivals are credited here and for good reason I think. They might have better bonuses but that in my view is where it ends. I wouldnt put 1 cent into any Rival these days - but hey thats just me. When things like this start to happen it could mean instability for the whole rival set up. 2 casinos from the same software providor seemingly going under at the same time should have alarm bells ringing for all players who visit rivals no matter which rival it is. My 10 cents of rant :thumbsup:
 
Well, looking at the two pieces of communication, there was a falling out between the operators and Bonne Chance.

The processing difficulties are a huge issue for all US facing places, but Rival seems to have been hit hard as of late.

Some of the Rivals have their own processing in place, slotocash and box24 come to mind.
 
dominique said:
Well, looking at the two pieces of communication, there was a falling out between the operators and Bonne Chance.

The processing difficulties are a huge issue for all US facing places, but Rival seems to have been hit hard as of late.

Some of the Rivals have their own processing in place, slotocash and box24 come to mind.
Click to expand...

There is also a great deal of confusion:confused: How can MARKETING PARTNERS simply take over the actual casino domains, and then start forwarding traffic to a different operator WITHOUT even the agreement of said operator.

THEN, they first tell affiliates that they have closed because of the dispute, but the next day, they are OPEN again, and to new players.

WHO is "open again", and WHO closed in the first place. WHAT do Bonne Chance do, are they merely the provider of the software, and some back office services as they have always claimed, or is this PROOF of what I suggested earlier, which was that Bonne Chance have always really been the OPERATOR, and that all the various Rival casinos were nothing more than glorified affiliate portals (suggested very much by the use of the term "marketing patner" when explaining how the dispute resulted in the .com sites being brought down and redirected to Manhattan slots).

Players need to know just WHO is holding their money, and WHO is responsible for paying them.

I find it VERY odd that the "operator" simply closed because of these processing delays, rather than simply ditch the crappy Rival central suport services, and engage their own.

Other Rival casinos have NOT closed when faced with poor quality service from Rival, they have brought the operations concerned "in house".
 
vinylweatherman said:
There is also a great deal of confusion:confused: How can MARKETING PARTNERS simply take over the actual casino domains, and then start forwarding traffic to a different operator WITHOUT even the agreement of said operator.
Click to expand...

Here's the deal Vinyl, The so called "marketing partners" were the actual owners of said domain names, hence they can do what they please with them. Apparently they had some sort of falling out with Rival Central and thus shut down their owned domain names and re-directed them to Manhattan Slots where they were also affiliates for.

When this happened and since they were a "White Label" operation, then Rival Central steps up to the plate and takes over the casino skins and they set up new domain names in the UK to run the two casinos from.

Apparently Rival saw this move by the said "marketing partners/domain owners/white-label owners" as a breach of contract, thus Rival's response by taking over the casino skins.
____
____
 
The amazing thing about this continues to be that none of the companies involved has seen fit to communicate with their players or the public at large to clarify the situation, leaving it wide open to speculation.

None of this confusion can be good commercially.

It's been said before in this industry, but it bears repeating - this is one helluva way to run a business....not!

It's also an unacceptable situation from a licensing perspective, and it's perhaps time that the Netherlands Antilles jurisdiction stepped in and took some names.....OK, that's a little optimistic on my part LOL!
 

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