LAC - Who should I avoid?

footballaffiliate

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Anyone going to LAC this year? I'll be going, don't know exactly who I should and shouldn't be talking to. I've read a lot of forums, a lot of good press, bad press, but when you're there it's so difficult to sort out the robbers from the good guys. Any tips? What does everyone else do?

Thinking I should start my own little black list of people I think are rogues and the reasons why - a sort of overall list of rogue programs and links to all the various forums where they have been bad mouthed by affiliates.

It's hard though, sometimes it's difficult to know whether an advertiser is really that bad as one affiliate will tell you good things about them, others will have strong evidence they've been completely ripped off by the same outfit. I guess some affiliates are happy working with the rogues if they're earning money anyway.

On my list of who not to talk to at the moment - Ladbrokes, William Hill, 888, Unibet, Betfred and as for casinos I now have no idea at all who is good and who is bad. The only company I can see vaguely good things about is Deck Media - all the others seem to have been rogue for a long time - Affiliate Lounge, AffActive, Star Partners, Bwinners, or are now turning bad.

Perhaps when you get stopped at LAC by someone shoving some marketing material in your face, your first question should be - what sort of reputation do you have on Affiliate Guard Dog?
 

pinkytoe

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Pretty decent list.

Go for a drink with the Deckmedia head AM. He's a seasoned pro when it comes to conferences and drinking.

I'll also be around if anyone wants to meet up for a bit.
 

KasinoKing

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Meet me there and I will tell you the complete list of "dodgy" affys!
If someone has the full list of who has a stand there, I could pick them out - it seems a bit odd, but I can't seem to find a list of exhibitors on the official LAC site... :confused:
You seems to have listed most of the main ones except iAffiliates - and I currently do OK with Affy Lounge and Unibet, who aren't THAT bad IMHO.
And you have missed Euro Partners and Winner - who are definitely "not nice".
Oh, and ANY program who has NCO or any sort of quotas should be avoided too.

BTW, general rule of thumb: if someone is "shoving something in your face" they are almost certainly in the "to avoid" category!

KK
 

footballaffiliate

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Thank KK, would love to meet up with any affiliates for a beer at LAC. I do try to keep anonymous here though!, so I can speak my real opinion :)
 

MacCOR

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KasinoKing

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In fact, I might just print that page off (http://www.igbaffiliate.com/events/londonaffiliateconference/sponsors) and cross out those I'm not speaking to and the reasons why, so that I don't get held up wasting time having some joker from company x trying to do their used car salesman tricks on me.
Yeah, I saw that page, but being a lazy bugger I really wanted just a text list of names so I could just quickly edit it into a "rogues gallery" :rolleyes:

OK, I'll give you 10 minutes of my time & list the ones I would advise you to avoid:
(Note: I don't know ALL of the ones on that page, and I do still work with with some I've listed below due to being naive at the time I signed-up (or they changed their terms), But I wouldn't sign-up with them today knowing what I do about them).

The 4 at the top of the page.

Because they have NCO:
Bet365
EGO
Ladbrokes
Affiliate Edge

Because they have ridiculous quotas:
Bet Victor
BetWay
Buffalo

Because they are (or were) rogued at CasinoMeister:
Winner
Betfair
Euro Partners
BWin
RevenueJet
BestPay
Ace Revenue
Gambling Wages

You owe me a beer!
(Mind you - they're free at LAC! :cool:)

KK
 

AussieDave

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Guard Dog

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Removed the spammer and cleaned up any quoted links :)
 

footballaffiliate

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Yeah, I saw that page, but being a lazy bugger I really wanted just a text list of names so I could just quickly edit it into a "rogues gallery" :rolleyes:

OK, I'll give you 10 minutes of my time & list the ones I would advise you to avoid:
(Note: I don't know ALL of the ones on that page, and I do still work with with some I've listed below due to being naive at the time I signed-up (or they changed their terms), But I wouldn't sign-up with them today knowing what I do about them).

The 4 at the top of the page.

Because they have NCO:
Bet365
EGO
Ladbrokes
Affiliate Edge

Because they have ridiculous quotas:
Bet Victor
BetWay
Buffalo

Because they are (or were) rogued at CasinoMeister:
Winner
Betfair
Euro Partners
BWin
RevenueJet
BestPay
Ace Revenue
Gambling Wages

You owe me a beer!
(Mind you - they're free at LAC! :cool:)

KK

Thanks KK, reaffirmed a lot of my thinking. I missed some biggies like Euro Parters - interestingly enough one of the founding employees now runs ActiveWins (Betfred). Revenuejet - don't get me started! It says something when you meet an advertiser for the first time at a conference and the start of their conversation with you is some sort of legal defence about how they don't skim affiliates!

Didn't know BetVictor had quotas?

Betfair - ridiculous - lifetime rev share on their crappy sportsbook, but tiered diminishing rev share on the exchange which obviously all of your referrals will migrate to over time.

We missed a big one though - PaddyPower - no cross product rev share and only session cookies.

It's amazing though, the biggest advertisers at the conferences are the ones you see the least on people's sites. I hardly ever see Will Hill, Ladbrokes or Paddy Power on affiliate sites anymore.

Will happily buy you a beer or two :)
 

AussieDave

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some sort of legal defence about how they don'tskim affiliates!

Not taking away the seriousness of the statement but that comment cracked me up :D

I've met a few AM's over my time. While most have been nice (both male and female), there are those who just stand out like a sore thumb. Not because they were exceptional BUT because they were so damn dodgy. They reminded me of a 'Sleezy Used Car Salesperson'.

By the time the conversation was over, I felt like I needed to go take a shower!
 

KasinoKing

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Didn't know BetVictor had quotas?
Oh yes they do! (or at least, they did in 2011)
This is the only program EVER in my 9 years as an affiliate who actually dumped ME because I didn't bring in enough new players.
But I did bring them a player or two who were earning the casino up to £1,000 per month.
And it took me a long time and a lot of chasing to get them to pay my commission prior to that. :(

They have to go down as one of the worst programs I ever worked with.

KK
 

footballaffiliate

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Not taking away the seriousness of the statement but that comment cracked me up :D

I've met a few AM's over my time. While most have been nice (both male and female), there are those who just stand out like a sore thumb. Not because they were exceptional BUT because they were so damn dodgy. They reminded me of a 'Sleezy Used Car Salesperson'.

By the time the conversation was over, I felt like I needed to go take a shower!

I can echo that. Sometimes you feel like you're being sold a timeshare at LAC! :) and when you walk away without doing a deal they get all aggressive on you. I remember speaking to some sort of Eastern European guy from 32Red and he gave me the standard 50% massive rev share deal that you always get at conferences, then he was in my face telling me how lucky I was and that we had better be giving him some exposure because it was a big deal. Funnily enough I returned home and never gave them a single ad impression.
 

AE-Martyn

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Yeah, I saw that page, but being a lazy bugger I really wanted just a text list of names so I could just quickly edit it into a "rogues gallery" :rolleyes:

OK, I'll give you 10 minutes of my time & list the ones I would advise you to avoid:

Because they have NCO:
Affiliate Edge

Whaaaaaaat. KK you big meanie.

We have a booth at LAC this year, stop by, I have a special cupboard to put you in.
 

footballaffiliate

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Don't mind NCO that much to be honest if that's the only thing bad about a program. If they play fair, don't skim or steal, then I can live with NCO. If they go heavily negative then all ads are just dropped from our sites.

Affiliate Edge - anyone have any bad experiences with these guys? I can't find much bad press. Are they based in Israel?

Anyone make any money from these guys? Are they worth a visit at LAC?
 

AE-Martyn

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Affiliate Edge - anyone have any bad experiences with these guys? I can't find much bad press.

Are they based in Israel?

Anyone make any money from these guys? Are they worth a visit at LAC?

Hi footballaffiliate, I run the program for AffiliateEdge and it would be great to have a chat while at LAC.

Just to answer a couple of your questions though, we're not based in Israel - we're in the UK (Manchester).

Lots of people make money with us, I'll let them comment on that, should they wish to.

And it's definitely worth a visit to our booth, if only just to say 'Hi'.

Regards bad press about AffiliateEdge, I am sure there is some somewhere and it will likely be about NCO. However, we run a fair, honest and transparent business here and we treat both players and affiliates well. Which is why we've been in business for 10 years now. I totally understand why some affiliates do not like to promote programs with NCO and they have an opinion on this, I get it but there is still plenty of money to be earned. We always look to help affiliates where we can if they hit a big winner, so don't let that one aspect of the business put you off. I fully believe that we are one of the most trusted programs in operation today. But I'm pretty biased.

Come on over and have a chat while in London, you'll find us on booth H19/H21 - AffiliateEdge.com. No pressure sales, no aggressive tactics, just a nice relaxed chat and then it's up to you. I've met up with KasinoKing a bunch of times, he'll vouch for me - I'm not that bad....am I? :)

Just a note though, I'm arriving late on the Sunday as it's my sons 1st birthday that day. So doing birthday breakfast before heading down. Should be on the booth by 2, but in the meantime, Stephen Croft will be there holding the fort. If you wish to book in a time to meet, please drop us a message on managers@affiliateedge.com.

Look forward to meeting you.
 

Roulette Zeitung

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Hello footballaffiliate,

there is for sure no problem with meeting AGD staff. After your visit you don't feel thirsty anymore, and perhaps you will get one of the remaining pin up calenders.

What you also should know, if you go to other stands ...

Some program representatives are smiling to you, talking with you and 5 minutes, after you left the stand, they exchange or sell your data to the next.

In my desk I have a proof black on white, that privacy data of affiliates can be purchased or exchanged.
If the right day is coming, I will ...

Leopold
 
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