No, an affiliate could not be considered aiding and abetting illegal gambling in the US if the affiliate promotes gaming at sites that do not accept players domociled in the US. In the case of Casino City, we only accept payment on a CPA basis, which further diminishes the risk that we could be found to be aiding and abetting. Such a charge requires that you be actively engaged in the business in a way that our attorneys advise us is not the case for Casino City.
Michael
So, if the affiliate promotes sites that do take US customers, they could be considered aiding and abetting?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelCorfman
Such a charge requires that you be actively engaged in the business in a way that our attorneys advise us is not the case for Casino City.
Michael
What does actively engaged in the business entail? What if you provided programming or graphic design services for the casino that accepted US players? Would this be considered aiding and abetting?
In your estimation, why does receiving money on a CPA basis diminish risk at all ?? Aren't you still receiving money which is, in the government's words, "aiding and abetting gambling" ????
Thanks in advance for your input.
My understanding is that to be guilty of the criminal conduct considered aiding and abetting a level of participation that goes beyond simple advertising must exist. There is a range of involvement and direct benefit that is lowest for a fixed advertising or CPM arrangement, a little greater for PPC, a little greater for CPA, and by far the greatest for revenue share arrangements. In the latter case ones financial benefit is directly correlated with the financial benefit of the gambling site. This makes it easier to claim that you are involved with the gambling enterprise as a equal partner in its success. So the question is when is the shade of grey you are dealing with dark enough to be convincingly painted as black when a court needs to make the black and white decision about whether an activity is aiding and abetting. The darker the shade, the greater the risk.
So, if the affiliate promotes sites that do take US customers, they could be considered aiding and abetting?
You will get different answers from different attorneys about the risks here. The department of justice has said advertising could be aiding and abetting and has advised consultation with attorneys. However, there is no case law consistent with that viewpoint. In the response to our First Amendment case, the DOJ stated that mere advertising did not meet the criteria for aiding and abetting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank
What does actively engaged in the business entail? What if you provided programming or graphic design services for the casino that accepted US players? Would this be considered aiding and abetting?
Thank you Michael
Well, if you were a subcontractor to a drug cartel who was hired to guard a truck going across the border when you knew the truck was bringing heroin into the country, that would be aiding and abetting the commission of a felony. If you didn't know the truck was carrying drugs for a cartel, and were just guarding the contents, that would not be criminal.
In the example you give, I think it depends on the nature of the involvement, and it depends on the nature of the site. If it is a poker site operating under the jurisdiction of another government, then there is actually no federal law right now (even after passage of the new statute) that says operating such a site is illegal unless the site offers sports betting services.
As far as aiding and abetting, I don't think there is much difference between CPA and revenue share. How can the government find out which one you are on? The casinos sure are not going to tell them.
not sure if anybody has raised this,but what happens when this situation is resolved( i can't believe the American people will be dictated to how and where they can spend their money for too long.)
when those players return to the same casinos and poker rooms will they still be the affiliates players ?
i am getting emails every day saying American players accounts are being closed.However rest assured they will still have their contact details,and will be offering them no hassle reopening of accounts when the time comes.
will they still be affiliate accounts or brand new accounts with no payments to affiliates ?
have asked a few affiliate managers,but got no replies
As far as aiding and abetting, I don't think there is much difference between CPA and revenue share. How can the government find out which one you are on? The casinos sure are not going to tell them.
You have to understand that in the case of Casino City, we filed a suit against the DOJ to establish its right to advertise online gambling sites. We had to assume that all of our contracts would be required to be produced during the course of our case against the DOJ. Our attorneys believed that a CPA versus a revenue share arrangement was different enough in nature that we were relatively protected in the CPA case, and vulnerable in the revenue share case. In fact, they would not have agreed to represent us if we operated on a revenue share basis because they felt there was too great a risk the case could backfire on us if that was our basis of operation.
Similarly, if a case was brought against an affiliate, the first thing that would happen would be a demand to produce documents showing the details of all relevant business relationships.
not sure if anybody has raised this,but what happens when this situation is resolved( i can't believe the American people will be dictated to how and where they can spend their money for too long.)
when those players return to the same casinos and poker rooms will they still be the affiliates players ?
i am getting emails every day saying American players accounts are being closed.However rest assured they will still have their contact details,and will be offering them no hassle reopening of accounts when the time comes.
will they still be affiliate accounts or brand new accounts with no payments to affiliates ?
have asked a few affiliate managers,but got no replies
anybody know ?
pendil
I think the affiliate managers are all completely overwhelmed at the moment, and in order to answer your question, they would need to get an answer from their management, which is probably also completely overwhelmed. Their entire focus has to be on dealing with what is necessary to keep their business alive over the near term. In my opinion, if they focused on things that were not related to operations over the next month or two, they would be unlikely to even be around to worry about the answer to the question you pose should it become relevant.
Personally, I do think the question you pose matters a great deal for any site that resumes taking US players. However, I strongly suspect that companies that cease accepting US players today will not change their mind tomorrow, so I expect the question will be moot in nearly every case. If they were unsure, I would expect them to defer a decision rather than to announce they were not going to continue to allow US players.
And similarly, from a business perspective, I think you need to assume that all of your revenue share income associated with US players at sites that will discontinue accepting them is history. Sorry to be so blunt, but that is the situation as I see it.
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