Why so many CPA dispute threads?

[FictionNet]

The majority of complaints I see at AGD are regarding non-payment of CPA deals.

I've done a few CPA deals over the years and for the most part, they've been fine. On occasion, the casino has asked to adjust the CPA fee due to traffic quality. I've always been able to work out a mutually beneficial deal in those cases.

I guess my question to affiliates is, if you are confident in the qualify of your traffic, why are you not opting to work on pure rev-share? I always choose this method when working with a new partner as it causes a lot less stress and encourages honesty on both sides.

I'm not judging affiliates who prefer to work on CPA. Just curious.

 

[Alkis]

I agree with the above, if you have good traffic, you make more on RS. Way more. Plus there is no risk involved.

 

[MissExposé]

Hi @FictionNet, thank you for starting this thread and raising such an important subject. I completely agree with you, and it’s concerning to see so many CPA dispute threads popping up. Hopefully, this discussion leads to more transparency and better solutions for everyone involved.

 

[plockix]

It feels pretty obvious that most parts of all the posts here nowadays is from ones abusing cpa and doing everything they can to get free money, right?

 

[FictionNet]

I think I was a bit tipsy when I wrote my post. Thread title should be 'WHY so many'

 

[CasinoDotReview]

Usually those who request CPA only are in for the quick buck and dont care about the quality traffic, and it raises a lot of red flags if you request only a CPA deal ( can be good affiliates working on pure CPA only aswell)

 

[metropot]

Thanks for raising this, @FictionNet – it's an important discussion, and I think both sides (affiliates and casinos) have valid concerns.

The main reason so many affiliates prefer CPA is because they're doing media buying. They’re paying for traffic upfront and usually aiming to get back 130%–200% of what they spend. To keep the campaigns running, they need fast returns so they can reinvest and scale again. With that model, rev-share just isn’t realistic — it takes too long to see any money back.

From the casino’s side, it’s also understandable. It’s not that hard for someone to fake a reg, drop a small deposit ($20–$50), and try to claim a $200 CPA. Some even throw in a second deposit just to make it look “natural” and avoid being flagged by the fraud team.

But in the end, casinos offer high CPA because they know they’ll make 2x–3x+ back in the long run if the traffic is good. So when that long-term value doesn’t show up or looks shady, of course they’re going to hold the payment and check things first.

It’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. Without trust and clear data, both sides get cautious.

 

[Kadabra]

My guess is that most of the complaints you see here are 50/50 between CPA fraud to low lever CPA traffic that casinos realize they do not wish to pay (like roulette system and such).

However, i think the fact that you hear of those that didnt go well doesnt meat there are not 100s that work on CPA and it all goes ok.

Eventually, many would prefer CPA, Metropot gave good example above and there are many other reason. Each one and his on choise.

I agree with the above, if you have good traffic, you make more on RS. Way more. Plus there is no risk involved.

@Alkis, i highly highly suggest that you figure out and inquire the risk involved in revshare. You are going to pay for that risk, but unless you understand what it is, its going to be much much higher.

 

[Alkis]

@Kadabra what kind of an answer is this? Sounds personal. Anyway i do not quite understand what you mean.

RS is RS, if a player lose 100 then you get a chunk that depends on the deal you have with the casino.

It has 0% risk since it can't be fraud. You can't outsmart the casino on RS deals.

But please expand, tell me what is this very high risk involved in revshare?

 

[xisotme]

the risk is to get shaved, when you bring big players, it's very simple for the AM and, you will never be aware of it, but it will come with the exp that RS is a healthy model for the casino, but for you, not

 

[Alkis]

Well when you are in the industry for some years, you know when you are shaved. Despite that, shaving can also happen on CPA model. It's too often when the casino won't pay the full amount, ending up paying like 30%-50% of the CPA's.

In general, RS is a safer option if you compare these 2 models. Regardless of the model, if the traffic is bad it will cause problems. CPA won't be paid or RS will get lower.

On the other hand, if the traffic is good, it does not matter what you choose since both would be profitable for the casino and the affiliate.

The proof about RS being safer is in this thread. The question "Why so many CPA dispute threads?" that @FictionNet did says everything. Around 9 out of 10 disputes are about CPA and not RS..

 

[Kadabra]

Hi Alkis,

Not sure what you meant by personal but it was just personal reply to you.

For an affiliate, and i mean a legitimate one, not someone who sends $25 incentivized traffic, RS is much, much riskier deal than CPA.

If you are sending good traffic, with CPA you are getting paid 30 days after or less with most programs. And by good I really dont mean something special, just normal casino traffic. The main risk here is that you will loose on CPA as you wont get suddenly thousands for highroller. But still, bottom line is that you are most likely to get paid what you agreed on.

Revshare, in general, should get you paid more, but when it is life time. Your rev-share wont pay more if the program closes, changes hands (in most cases), or simply lowers your rev to 10% because you dont send enough players.

The fact that there are few CPA disputes here, some of them actually duplicate, will never override the endless number of programs that close, change terms, lower rev, do not pay and so on and so on. just check the Rogue section on this forum. You can also check the fees audits here on AGD and see how safe is our rev-share.

So considering you are a good affiliate, your risk with CPA you agreed on is almost nothing. Your risk with rev-share is tremendous.
And that is before the shaving part. You can get shaved on both, but even here on rev-share the price is much higher.

 

[Alkis]

Hey Kadabra!

I see what you mean now. Your points are good but what i was trying to say is that there is no risk of traffic being flagged as low quality on RS.

But yes this can happen on any deal, closure, not paying, shaving etc etc

The risk in this industry is superbly high in all terms, the reward is also high tho!