Sign of the times!

[AussieDave]

Most days I do the rounds checking out affiliate and player forums. Over the past year or so, there's been an every increasing number of threads about payment issues. Affiliates asking why their commissions are late or haven't been paid. Players complaining about casinos voiding winnings on "FU" clauses and other various shenanigans.

While there has always been brands who are dubious and questionable, now Brands who once were held in high esteem by affiliates and players alike, have also commence bending their rules, break long term promises, delaying commissions or worse not paying and pulling iffy stunts to void paying winnings.

Chargebacks at some places have grown to an all time record. Even 32Red Plc casinos have taken drastic measures by ceasing withdrawals on weekends and public holidays. Watching this play out every day, is becoming increasingly troublesome and worrying, least to me it is. I'm at the point now, where I don't trust any program. These places can effectively do what they like, imo that places both affiliates and players between a rock and a hard place.

 

[Vladi]

It is what it is.

While you get a lot of affiliates and affiliate managers that talk about trust and being best mates after sharing a few drinks at a conference, I really think that where you're at is actually a good place. You should not naively trust any affiliate program as the reality is that there is almost nothing that can stop any one of them from shaving you or changing the rules when they feel like it. No affiliate manager should be your friend or at least in a position to affect you when making a difficult business decision. You should be ready, willing, and able to drop them at a moment's notice.

This industry is highly unregulated, it attracts a lot of people, and many of them are some of the least trustworthy people you will ever meet or deal with in your life - affiliate managers, affiliates, operators, and players all included. Others are great people but are regularly overruled by the boss or owner that you never get a chance to meet or talk to and cares only for their own bottom line.

It may sound brutal but it is reality. You can protect yourself by spreading your eggs around and don't put too many in the one basket. Like a shopkeeper that factors in the cost of shoplifting, assume that you will be shaved, accept it, and look at who performs best for you regardless of that. There will inevitably be programs that go out of business without paying you, and others that will slow pay. Recognise this and adapt accordingly.

Is it worse now than it was 5 years ago? I can't say that it is really. There are always affiliate programs looking to win affiliate business by offering good terms and filling the void that the others leave. There are always some either going out of business or looking to short change affiliates to boost their own profits. You can't always predict who is going to do what so that is why I stress you should spread your risk around.

On the positive side you get to work for yourself, hopefully make a decent living, and have some fun along the way! Put it this way: despite all the crap, I wouldn't swap it back for my old relatively highly paid office job "career".

 

[KasinoKing]

@ Vladi:
That is the BEST summary of what it is like to be an affiliate that I have EVER read!
Thanks for that superb post.

KK