Should I avoid negative carry over affiliate programs??

[slotplayer]

Mathematically I see no upside for NCO's for any size affiliate.

[universal4]

I think Adam was spot on in many ways.

Yes there is a mathematical reason to promote properties that have negative carry over.

If the program has that much more popular properties, or converts that much better due to reputation for fairness, has that much better offers, or retains players better due to their customer service or the way that handle a particular niche etc, then the pluses may far outweigh the minuses.

Overall, I like to promote properties and groups that do not carry the negs, but I do have a few that do not and have no plans to drop them.

Rick
Universal4

[gamblingbutler]

I think Adam was spot on in many ways.

Yes there is a mathematical reason to promote properties that have negative carry over.

If the program has that much more popular properties, or converts that much better due to reputation for fairness, has that much better offers, or retains players better due to their customer service or the way that handle a particular niche etc, then the pluses may far outweigh the minuses.

Overall, I like to promote properties and groups that do not carry the negs, but I do have a few that do not and have no plans to drop them.

Rick
Universal4

When it comes to sports betting I really think you should value the brand over the perks of the program. Bet365 has been mentioned to be a constant commission driver but the same can be said about Bwin for example.

The best way to go is probably to have a selection of the finest no negative carry over programs like

• VCAffiliates
• Ladbrokes
• Paddypower
• etc.

but also a few brands who carry the negative over for the sake of completion and to have a well rounded portfolio to suit the punter's needs

so add

• Bet365
• Bwin (I guess they carry over, am not sure)

and you'll do good

[Louis - Income Access]

Gooner mentioned that sportsbooks are generally more likely to offer negative carryover because the margins are a lot tighter. This is dead on. However, there are a lot of other ways to improve the margins on a sportsbook besides implementing negative carryover.

For example, we debated this hotly with Centrebet, who at the beginning of last year were suffering from an unprofitable program. Ultimately, we were able to make the program profitable without implenting NCO, by implementing policies in two areas that were mainly responsible for the lack of profitability: affiliate arbitrage and high rollers.

Affiliate arbitrage is when punters (who are not REALLY affiliates in the sense that they don't work to drive new player sign ups) create affiliate accounts in multiple programs, bet on both outcomes of an event, and collect the commission from the losing bet, thus eliminating the house edge and guaranteeing a loss for the operator. This type of abuse can be weeded out if aff managers work to know their affiliate base well and monitor betting behavior, as well as recognizing the telltale signs. Aff managers who want to know more about this can PM me.

High rollers create problems because they tend to win close to or above 50% of the time, thus with no negative carryover, the house loses money. Centrebet's High Roller policy worked to solve this problem, while simultaneously improving month to month revenues for affiliates.

So while it's true that negative carryover should not necessarily discourage an affiliate from joining a program, affiliates should encourage their affiliate managers to consider the options, because ultimately there IS a WIN-WIN option.