Ladbrokes Online Casino Affiliate Program to Withhold Funds
Casino Affiliate Programs April Fools WTF Awards: Ladbrokes "Income Access"
Following the recent 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly' report into affiliate programs, Media Man and Gambling911 continue their "probe" (to use the Australian government terminology) into the affiliate sector, with a focus on the casino affiliate sub sector.
Being on the cusp of April Fools Day, we couldn't ignore the following that the cat brought in, by way of our considerable size mousetrap...
The form letter re Ladbrokes...
Hope that you're doing well!
We wanted to inform you that Ladbrokes Sportsbook will not be offering any free bet offer for the Grand National weekend (between Friday, April 9 and Monday, April 12). Ladbrokes has made this decision so that they can continue to provide top customer service during a high volume weekend.
We will be replacing all banners that feature the free bet with generic banner images. We kindly request that you remove any mention of the Ladbrokes free bet from your sites or promotional content during this time period as failure to comply with removing this content may result in your commissions for the month of April being withheld. If you would like to have replacement content for these days or if there's anything that we can do to facilitate the continuation of your Ladbrokes campaign, please let us know, and we'll be happy to help with whatever we can.
Many thanks for your cooperation.
Kind Regards,
Ladbrokes Affiliate Team
As reported on in the last Gambling911 probe into casino affiliate programs, participation in such schemes can be a real case of testing one's luck.
Adding some more needed positive balance and spin to the situation, Media Man can however champion the following brands that we believe are impressive, and note the mix of both casino and non casino brands, thus minimizing the risk to the affiliate!
PartyGaming's PartyPartners, Virgin Games Virgin Affiliates, Rewards Affiliates (Captain Cooks Casino), BetUS Partners, PokerStars.com Partners, PKR, DGM (Betfair, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Broadband, Bigpond, Apple and others), UFC Shop (via Commission Junction), WWE Shop (via Commission Junction), Ring Divas, Penthouse Partners and Playboy.
We also recently discovered a real gem in BlueHost (ISP), who offer generous commissions for web hosting sign ups, in the region of $60US a pop. In addition, the world famous SecondLife.com is offering an an affiliate program via LinkShare Corporation, and thus far it looks good.
Affiliates and potential affiliates, strong brand names can be an important part of a successful affiliate strategy, however that is not the be all and end all of the situation. Other elements such as customer service, legal, ethical, reputation, trust, geographic region, marketing and media support, and more also factor into the scenario. Do your research in Google, Yahoo!, Bing and the like, and a good rule of thumb is that if you see a program or brand in a "rouge pit", its likely a good idea to give them a miss. On the other hand, if you see a balanced or positive based report here, it could be worth taking a closer look, with the view to a green light.
Media Man remains generally very impressed with PokerStars and their affiliate program. PokerStars generally accepts players from most parts of the world, including the United States! PokerStars sent the following update to affiliates only hours ago, thus keeping them in the loop....
Dear Partner,
We have some important news regarding changes to our affiliate program from
April 1st 2010.
French Licence
We are in the process of obtaining a licence from the French government to allow players in France to play for real money on PokerStars.fr.
Unfortunately, we are not as yet able to give a time frame for when this will take place, but rest assured that we are putting a lot of effort into making sure that the transition is as seamless for you as possible.
This change means that all French players from April 1 will be paid out on a revenue share basis. Net revenue share will be paid out at the following rates:
Net Revenue Share
20% for $0-$10,000
25% for $10,001 -$30,000
30% for $30,001+
As we are changing all affiliate deals on a mass scale, please be aware that it may take several days for the statistics in your reports to update to reflect these changes, and show players you referred from France and their revenue share details.
We would like to thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Please feel free to email us with any concerns or questions regarding this change.
Kind Regards,
The PokerStarsPartners Team
Media Man and Gambling911 wish that your affiliate experiences be all good ones (even if the odds are against it), with or without the April Fool's factor, and punters, good punting and keep it fun.
The late news... keep an eye out for upcoming affiliate programs offered from bricks and mortar casinos in the Las Vegas and Atlantic City region. Upcoming law changes in interactive gambling licences should provide more competition and offerings for the affiliate sector. That may mean even more Moolah!
Quote For The Day
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man" (Elbert Hubbard)
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. The company covers over a dozen business sectors, gaming and igaming included
Greg Tingle, Gambling911.com
