Deductions

[dendrite]

Hi,

When I look at my stats and click on 'player report' there is a column entitled 'Deductions' - I have looked but could not find a good explanation of exactly what these deductions are. Would you be able to point me towards a page on the site where I can find out exactly what the deductions consisted of, for any given player?

Cheers


ps
I posted here, rather than contacting you directly, just because I think the information would be useful for other affiliates that see the deductions column and are searching here for an answer

 

[craigperrott]

hi Dendrite.
Apologies for not getting back to you sooner. Indeed this is an important point and I hope that the answer below is of use to all.

The deductions can include the following: Any credits, bonus or promotional amounts given, operation fees, processing charges and charge backs.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need further assistance.
Kindest regards
Craig

 

[dendrite]

Thanks Craig,

I find that definition quite vague and confusing. Maybe it would be better if the actual 'deductions' being made were subdivided and reported clearly in the 'player report' so we could see where the money is going.

I don't know about other affiliates here, but for me, the deductions result in my commission coming out as around 10 cents for every dollar that players lose at the casino. To put that into perspective, when I send players to Microgaming casinos, I see my commission coming out as 32 cents for every dollar lost by the players

Both Virgin and the MG casinos are set at 35% commission rates. So, with MG, 3% of my 35% commission rate is taken as deductions, leaving 32% going through to the bottom line, but at Virgin, 25% of that 35% commission rate is being taken as deductions leaving a mere 10% going through to the bottom line

Maybe I'm getting something wrong here, but when it comes to what matters, I see deductions taking a huge slice of the pie, whereas I don't see that at other casinos I promote.

The reason I bring this up, is that this has been preventing me from promoting Virgin Casino with any conviction, yet I would like to promote more, given how good the brand is and how nice the casino is to play at

Any help or advice you could offer on the subject would be greatly appreciated

 

[dendrite]

Just thinking, maybe it is just my figures where big deductions are being taken? It could be that the fact I don't send much traffic to Virgin has resulted in skewed data...

Do any other affiliates here promote Virgin that could comment?

If so, what is the total 'Commission' you see as a percentage of 'Total Gross Revenue' and how does this compare to other casinos? (you can see the stats in 'player report')

I'm presuming here that "Total Gross Revenue' is basically deposits minus cash-outs, for comparing to other casinos...

 

[Engineer]

When I calculated this about 6 months ago, I found that the deductions lowered the commission percentage by about 2-3%. Meaning a 35% rate would actually be 32-33%. I hope I did the calculation right -- I'll be pretty annoyed if I find out I'm actually earning only 10%!

 

[prk]

Hi Dendrite, Engineer,

Gross revenue is indeed deposits - withdrawals. You can use this as a benchmark for gross player losses.

The important thing to note as far as our affiliate system is concerned is that bonuses and manual adjustments offered to each individual player for the date range selected are deducted from their gross revenue (as “deductions”).

Those bonuses and adjustments vary from player to player. Bonuses are awarded as part of wagering promotions setup by our retention team to entice your players to play more, adding to our and your revenue. Adjustments can be birthday/anniversary credits, prize draws; any free cash we give to the player that is not part of a wagering promotion.

Because deductions vary depending on how much we give each player, it’s virtually impossible to setup a straight comparison between your stats and the next affiliates’ unless you have accumulated a comparable critical mass of players. Only at that stage can statistical rules be applied. Engineer worked it out at 2-3% over his sample of players when he did the calculation. Dendrite, if your sample size is smaller it’s more likely to be affected by individual player variances. In a nutshell the deductions percentage will vary month on month depending on bonuses given and how much losses were incurred. The less players you have, the more it can vary.

It’s also worth noting that we identified a minor and rarely occurring bug in our affiliate bonuses calculation polarity handling last month. In fact I sent you both an email a few weeks back to let you know we did underpay you by a few £ in 2010, and added this back to your balance. Some affiliates were slightly overpaid, others slightly underpaid during the period as a result of the issue we spotted. While not likely to have a significant effect on your current figures since we already adjusted all stats up until July 31st, the fix to the calculation will go live in the next few days, in time for the August commission payment run.

In any case, I usually suggest affiliates to contact us if they have any questions on stats or individual players. The affiliate team has access to player information, so we can very quickly let you know where the deductions are coming from. This is something we're doing on request on a regular basis.

I believe Engineer can vouch for our professionalism and responsiveness, so Dendrite I’d be happy to look into your players’ deductions if you email me: affiliates[at]virgingames[dot]com.

Cheers,

Pierrick Leveque
Head of Acquisition | Virgin Games
affiliates[at]virgingames[dot]com

 

[Engineer]

Thanks for the detailed info, Pierrick.

I believe Engineer can vouch for our professionalism and responsiveness, so Dendrite I’d be happy to look into your players’ deductions if you email me: affiliates[at]virgingames[dot]com.

Yep, Virgin Affiliates is one of the best programs around, IMO. They pay early, they respond quickly and coherently, and they know what they are doing (unlike some programs).

 

[dendrite]

Thanks for that reply Pierrick, I appreciate it

Yes, like I mentioned, it may well be that the small number of players skewed the stats and that I've just had a run of bad luck over the last couple of years with my players. Shame nobody else chimed in with their experience and stats, but hopefully that's a clue that it's just my experience and nobody else's

Anyway, cool, thanks, will be in contact later next week... just taking a few days off for the bank holiday weekend first....

Cheers

Bill