Corfman Says Evidence Exists Regarding CardSpike Ownership

Michael Corfman, head of the Gambling Portal Webmasters Association, continues to insist that online poker room CardSpike.com is owned - at least in part - by organizers of the Poker Affiliates Programs (a sister group to the Casino Affiliates Programs or CAP).  GPWA members have asked for substantiating evidence. 

"Some examples of materials that substantiate this include that Greg (Powell) has confirmed he was an employee of effective media group, paid by effective media group, and working out of an office owned by effective media group at the time he was the affiliate manager for Cardspike,"  Corfman said, alluding to the one time Affiliate Manager of CardSpike.com.  "And while he was affiliate manager he had working e-mail addresses at both effective media group and CardSpike. And the CardSpike website was developed by the same web development firm that developed the PAP website."

Powell, for his part, has remained quiet on the subject.  He has not released a statement publicly.

Corfman (pictured below) claims that Mr. Powell "is not in a position to make many statements beyond what I stated above because he is bound by a confidentiality agreement, and so he has a very limited ability to comment on the matter without getting himself into a situation where he could be sued."

Already, organizers of CAP have reportedly threatened a lawsuit against the GPWA and Corfman after that group released a video tape displaying CAP co-founder, Lou Fabioni's, home address.  Fabiono referred to the action as "criminal" though the GPWA claimed the address in question was readily available via public corporate documents.  Corfman's organization later edited the home address from their video.

Fabiono has gone on record denying any ownership in CardSpike.com.

"Cardspike is not controlled or managed by CAP, PAP, Affiliate Media, Warren Jolly (organizer) or Lou "The Professor" Fabiano," Fabiano said. 

"CAP, PAP, Affiliate Media, Warren Jolly, Lou "The Professor" Fabiano and all other personnel of CAP have absolutely no ownership interest, no profits interest and no beneficial interest whatsoever in Cardspike.

"Any statements or malicious rumors to the contrary are untrue and unfair."

The issue has lead to mostly one-sided public outcry on behalf of the online gambling affiliate community at the Gambling911.com website.

"Before last week the CardSpike controversy entailed nonpayment complaints," points out Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of the Gambling911.com website.  "Today, the poker network that hosts CardSpike, Cake Poker, has promised payouts to everyone so now this becomes an issue of ‘conflict of interest' exclusively.

"Ask anyone who's been around this industry for the last 10 years and they'll tell you how "incestual" it can be.  But for whatever the reason, maybe the fact that CardSpike has been slow paying affiliates, the allegations involved with this situation seem to have struck an angry chord."

CAP is not without its supporters, some of whom have posted on both their own forum and on the GPWA site.

Because allegations of CardSpike ownership are tainted to some degree as coming from a competing organization, there remains skepticism, and this has been echoed by members of the popular Casino Meister Forum.

"In this sort of situation, and personalities aside, I don't know who to believe, and I suspect a growing number of other folks feel the same way."

But Bryan Bailey, who oversees Casino Meister, explained why CAP having an ownership interest in CardSpike could present serious concerns.

"I would be rather perturbed since it seems CAP is denying any connection, but others are saying there is a connection," he said.

CardSpike is a white label of the Cake Poker network.  In other words, online poker room operators such as CardSpike create their own unique poker room utilizing Cake Poker's software while tapping into all of its individual poker rooms player base.

"Some people (like myself) consider white labels and skins to be affiliate programs on steroids, and there is nothing wrong with them if the ownership is transparent," Bailey points out.  "If an organization like CAP were to have a poker room, calling it CAPpoker.com and inviting all affiliates to join and promote would be a pretty understandable and cool thing to do. To be running a skin and pretending it to be not associated would be an uncool thing to do."

For the time being, the subject has become one of hot debate within the online gambling affiliate community just as CAP plans its annual London bash for members.

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher