So we've recently had our account with Interwetten which has been active for many years shut down by affiliate manager Rene Hartl, who is now up there in the running with Onno van 't Hoff from Royal Panda for the most incompetent affiliate manager of the year award.
A long time ago we received an email from them demanding ID documents to verify our account, like many other programs have been doing. No problem, we send them the usual kit that everyone else asks for... ID documents, shareholdings, company registration etc.
Not good enough for Interwetten. They also require the scan of my drivers license, which is acceptable to every other affiliate program, to be officially certified by someone and the original paper copy mailed all the way to Malta. They also ask for me to go to my local police department and get an official paper document stating that I don't have a criminal record. Rene lies and states that it is a Malta Gaming Authority requirement. Really Rene? It is funny that no other affiliate program has asked for this, and even more curious is that the others I asked about it stated categorically that there is no such requirement. It is a lie I believe in order to give them an excuse to close accounts.
As an aside, knowing how this industry is run, can you imagine the reaction if I asked for the same from half these affiliate programs and casino owners? I'm sure there are more than a few "colourful" police records out there.
Anyway I can see the writing on the wall here and what they are trying to do, but I call their bluff and go and apply for the documents and I am told it can take 4-6 weeks, not to mention it costs me $60. I tell Rene this and that I am waiting until it is sent to me. A few days he closes our account without an apology or any communication at all. I know this because I can't log in to check stats any more.
Weeks later I have the document and the perhaps naive hope they might re-open the account but due to the vague nature of the emails I have received from Interwetten, I still don't know if they want the original police report mailed to them or just a copy. I remind them that IF their lie was true and I have to send an original, I would be required to pay $60 for every single Malta affiliate program we deal with, plus probably have to answer some awkward questions at the police station as to why I need 100 copies of my non-existent criminal history. No response from Rene again, I presume he's too busy chugging Ribena and playing Fortnite or something.
So more weeks pass, I'm extremely frustrated now, our account is still closed, clicks are presumably being lost, and Rene is still off with the fairies. I send another email with a photo of me holding both the police check and the certified license to prove I have the documents and asking once again whether both originals need to be sent to Malta. No response again for a few weeks until I chase it up yet again.
It is now that Rene informs me that as he did not like the position of my finger holding the document in the photo that I sent he is not going to re-open our account. It was not intentional and I think it is quite a funny accident in hindsight but it seems Rene is a touchy soul. Obviously I must have broken the term in their T&Cs that says "if we disagree with the artistic quality or finger placement in photos that you send us we have the right to terminate your account." Yeah that one.
Of course this game they played was designed to ensure they could close our account. I have not broken the agreement. I have done what they asked. I have sent an email asking for some kind of explanation 2 weeks ago but Rene, as per usual, has not responded. I swear this clown must have cushiest affiliate manager job in the world. Send out an email or two once a month and just sit back the rest of the time doing nothing. I looked through my records and the only other contact I have had with this guy is back in 2017 when a payment failed. I sent an email with correct bank details then another one a week later asking if he got the first email. No response to either. Sounds familiar?
Oh well if I ever run into him at a conference or something I guess will have to give him the finger for real.
A long time ago we received an email from them demanding ID documents to verify our account, like many other programs have been doing. No problem, we send them the usual kit that everyone else asks for... ID documents, shareholdings, company registration etc.
Not good enough for Interwetten. They also require the scan of my drivers license, which is acceptable to every other affiliate program, to be officially certified by someone and the original paper copy mailed all the way to Malta. They also ask for me to go to my local police department and get an official paper document stating that I don't have a criminal record. Rene lies and states that it is a Malta Gaming Authority requirement. Really Rene? It is funny that no other affiliate program has asked for this, and even more curious is that the others I asked about it stated categorically that there is no such requirement. It is a lie I believe in order to give them an excuse to close accounts.
As an aside, knowing how this industry is run, can you imagine the reaction if I asked for the same from half these affiliate programs and casino owners? I'm sure there are more than a few "colourful" police records out there.
Anyway I can see the writing on the wall here and what they are trying to do, but I call their bluff and go and apply for the documents and I am told it can take 4-6 weeks, not to mention it costs me $60. I tell Rene this and that I am waiting until it is sent to me. A few days he closes our account without an apology or any communication at all. I know this because I can't log in to check stats any more.
Weeks later I have the document and the perhaps naive hope they might re-open the account but due to the vague nature of the emails I have received from Interwetten, I still don't know if they want the original police report mailed to them or just a copy. I remind them that IF their lie was true and I have to send an original, I would be required to pay $60 for every single Malta affiliate program we deal with, plus probably have to answer some awkward questions at the police station as to why I need 100 copies of my non-existent criminal history. No response from Rene again, I presume he's too busy chugging Ribena and playing Fortnite or something.
So more weeks pass, I'm extremely frustrated now, our account is still closed, clicks are presumably being lost, and Rene is still off with the fairies. I send another email with a photo of me holding both the police check and the certified license to prove I have the documents and asking once again whether both originals need to be sent to Malta. No response again for a few weeks until I chase it up yet again.
It is now that Rene informs me that as he did not like the position of my finger holding the document in the photo that I sent he is not going to re-open our account. It was not intentional and I think it is quite a funny accident in hindsight but it seems Rene is a touchy soul. Obviously I must have broken the term in their T&Cs that says "if we disagree with the artistic quality or finger placement in photos that you send us we have the right to terminate your account." Yeah that one.
Of course this game they played was designed to ensure they could close our account. I have not broken the agreement. I have done what they asked. I have sent an email asking for some kind of explanation 2 weeks ago but Rene, as per usual, has not responded. I swear this clown must have cushiest affiliate manager job in the world. Send out an email or two once a month and just sit back the rest of the time doing nothing. I looked through my records and the only other contact I have had with this guy is back in 2017 when a payment failed. I sent an email with correct bank details then another one a week later asking if he got the first email. No response to either. Sounds familiar?
Oh well if I ever run into him at a conference or something I guess will have to give him the finger for real.
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Either way this is direct theft of the players that you have sent to them over "x" amount of time. Your players (and many other affiliates players) to state the obvious are now on the house account or on some other affiliates account (maybe ones who like Ribena also).
