Alliance formed between Affiliate Guard Dog, Poker Affiliate Listings, APCW and GPWA

[MichaelCorfman]

I am very pleased to announce the creation of the Affiliate Forum Alliance of which the GPWA is one of four founding forums. The other founding forums are AffiliateGuardDog.com, APCW.org, and PokerAffiliateListings.com (PAL).

The alliance was formed so we can work together to create an environment where the reasonable concerns of affiliates come first in forums whose purpose is to support iGaming affiliates. We are also committed to transparency and believe that by working together we can significantly increase the level of transparency in the industry.

We have joined together in response to recent industry events that we feel are inconsistent with the tenants upon which the alliance is founded. Many affiliates have expressed the view that a fellow affiliate was recently treated in a way that seemed to indicate that business came before the fair treatment of the affiliate. And we believe banning members from affiliate forums without due process is inconsistent both with the reasonable concerns of affiliates and with the principles of transparency to which we are committed.

Personally, as Executive Director of the GPWA I am very excited about our decision to form an alliance and am extremely pleased to be working together even more closely with the other members. I strongly believe that by working together we will be able to accomplish substantially more than we would be able to accomplish independently. And I look forward to other forums joining the alliance in the future to make it even stronger.

I’m particularly excited to be working together again with Jeremy Enke and PAL (PokerAffiliateListings.com) as members of the alliance. Jeremy and I worked together before when he was involved in the PAW forums in a variety of ways. I know first hand that Jeremy puts affiliates first, and it shows – PAL was launched just one week ago, and in that first week it was more popular that any other poker affiliate site on the web in terms of number of posts. If you are a poker affiliate, then PAL is the poker community you should call your home. Look for PAL to work together with us as part of the alliance in a way that will transform the industry.

I believe every member of the GPWA knows what a great service Andy of Affiliate Guard Dog provides. I have been proud to feature his work on the GPWA website and to participate in the AffiliateGuardDog.com forum myself. And I’m very pleased that we will be working with him even more closely now as a member of the alliance.

Finally, I don’t think I need to tell anyone that the GPWA will be working together more closely than ever with the APCW and J.Todd and Anthony. I think that was pretty clear to everyone when I announced a couple weeks ago that the GPWA and APCW are now sister organizations with shared ownership. But with the creation of the alliance the APCW now has an additional mission, and the APCW motto “Join the Fight” now has an additional meaning.

“Join the Fight” for affiliates to come first in affiliate forums and also for transparency in the operation of affiliate forums.

Michael

[kwblue]

Thank you, Michael.

We at AffiliateGuardDog.com are very excited to work with each forum to ensure fair treatment of members. The introduction of the alliance is an excellent fit for AGD where we always put our members first.

Working closely with GPWA, APCW, and PAL will not only be our honor, but our privilege as well. Creating a member-friendly alliance where affiliates can speak their mind, voice concerns, and challenge the status quo without fear is an environment where all affiliates can coexist and is what the AFA was created to achieve.

AGD AFA Announcement

[Enke]

Thank-you Michael for creating this, I am pleased to be a part of the alliance. I would hope that every affiliate in our industry would see this as beneficial. As leaders, it is our responsibility to work cohesively in the industry and be respectful of each other.

PAL Announcement

[mojo]

This is excellent news! Congrats to all of you who are showing unity and concern for the affiliate. I see a huge change for the better for all afflilates whether big or small.

I look forward to watching this develop and grow and being a part of it.

Kudos!

[aksana]

Very good news! Together we are much stronger than we are alone!

[Paolino]

That's a great and exciting news, congratulations guys!

[thepokerkeep]

Awesome news!! The four folks (Michael, J Todd, Jeremy Enke and Andy) in this industry I respect and trust most working together on our behalf... amazing!! 2009 promises to be an interesting year.

[Randy72560]

This is a great move and I'm very excited for all these forums. Our industry needs to bond together now more than ever! This sends a clear and defined message to other organizations that do not have the best interests of the industry at heart.

Great work!

[Webzcas]

This is fantastic news. You have my full support! Michael have you a Press Release which we could use to publicise this great news for the gambling affiliate community on our portals?

“Join the Fight” for affiliates to come first in affiliate forums and also for transparency in the operation of affiliate forums.

Amen! No doubt many programs as well as affiliates are very pleased at this great news.

[aksana]

Somebody from PAL, please, invite me to become a member of PAL.
Only PAL members can invite new members.

[Fergie]

This is the best news I've heard in a long time.
Of course you'll have my complete support.
What a wonderful day it is when affiliates can come together in a very real and tangible way!
VERY well done, Michael!

[Nandakishore]

This is an excellent piece of news. Congrats to all who have worked together to create this union.

[LiveCasinoPartners]

Way to go guys!..
Sounds like a great alliance. I'm glad to hear it.

[bonustreak]

I am just wondering how this will work, will there be a new forum made with this title? Will there be all new seals made for the forum? Congrats to all those involved in this new venture.

[MrKay]

This is great news.... nice work everyone

[pokerprop]

Great idea guys. Congrats to everyone involved

[MichaelCorfman]

I am just wondering how this will work, will there be a new forum made with this title? Will there be all new seals made for the forum? Congrats to all those involved in this new venture.

This is an alliance of forums, not a merger of forums, so we will continue to operate independently, but will also work together in very significant ways. At this point in time it is premature to try to predict all of the various ways we will work together.

Certainly we will have an alliance website, and it will contain information about the principles to which we have agreed to adhere and about the member forums in the near future.

Michael

[LiveCasinoPartners]

I was wondering the same thing.. I imagine that you have all discussed your rolls each one will play in the over all scheme. All functional partners do. I'd like to see how this works out.

[matted]

This is good news!

I'm sure details are yet to be fully flushed out - a code of conduct, way for other forums to join, and what exactly the alliance will accomplish!

This industry is size driven, so hopefully we can get more affiliate manager attention which was cited previously as a drawback versus other larger forums.

[arkyt]

Sounds like a very familiar concept

This should have happened years ago - its sad that it didnt happen until all the dollar signs were worked out.