bookmaker.com - you won't belive that!

[matted]

As soon as I can get the time I'm taking bookmaker off my site. It was my understanding the terms changed 2 or 3 years ago moving to 10 depositing players total before you could withdraw - not 10 active in the past week. Even if I can get back to referring a good number of players I'd rather send them to a program that cares about the smaller affiliate.

Unless there is clear evidence of an affiliate using the aff commission to trim losses on their own play the commission should be paid. Period.

I'll tell you - it is really difficult to find sportsbook programs without crazy player clauses.

[johns1124]

These terms was retroactive. I remember Scott telling me the same thing 3-4 years ago when I stopped promoting Bookmaker. After a few emails they simply closed my account and I lost the players. Personally, bookmaker will Never see the light of day on my site.

[thepokerkeep]

I've marked Bookmaker.com as a predatory program. I urge others to do the same. The only way to force companies like this to change their ways is by hurting their bottom line. If we generate enough negative publicity about them, they may get rid of these awful terms.

I'll be posting a warning about them on the GAU site as well.

[nico84]

I can´t believe how predatory do they are!
Thank you all for sharing this information about that program. Actually I didn´t know they exist, but I´ll never work with them

[balagan9]

can someone please find out the email of the person that is incharge of Keith? i'd like to talk to someone above him, i'm sure they will understand.

This Keith has climbed too high, he knows he's wrong but now he doesn't know how to go down.

so sad...

[eaton2003]

I have a call scheduled with Keith later this week so if I can outline the main concerns (ie. being the 10 actives per month clause) as well as other concerns listed here we may be able to come to a compromise.

However their top earners all rake over $100,000 a month plus in commissions and my belief is they are shifting their main focus into handling these affiliates and do not wish to deal with what they consider the smaller fish. This is a shame as those 'smaller fish' were the ones who helped them build their business.

I am sure Bookmaker.com will come to a reasonable agreement but this could take a couple of weeks to reach which will be a great shame (esp. since the start of football season is around the corner).

Remember there are many other including the affiliate program I manage http://affiliates.betonline.com, as well as others listed here who have the solutions in place, less players and will be happy to deal with your business and give you higher conversions.

I will keep you posted as well as post an update on http://www.sportsbookcommission.com/...es.html#post79 once I have come to some final resolution with them.

[Amateur]

...10 actives per month clause) as well as other concerns listed here we may be able to come to a compromise...

There is a misunderstanding of the Terms with these guys:

3.2. Affiliate is required to refer a minimum of 10 active customers during the previous week to withdraw/transfer their earnings. If the affiliates chooses to close the affiliate account before reaching the required 10 active players, any and all commissions shall be forfeited.

Even someone who earns $100K in a month may not have 10 actives in a given week, especially at the end of the month!! Totally unreasonable.

Their message is clear: Don't ever hook up with Bookmaker.com at all!! You're begging to get stomped at some point!!

[athena]

Woah, that definitely sucks! I guess they were just leading you on, didn't they. Bookmaker really doesn't deserve to be believed in and be promoted, IMO.

[eaton2003]

Rick posted this at SBComm

Actually Bookmaker has had a 10 active player ruler for quite a long time.

What I was told by Scott, who up until recently was the affiliate manager, is that this is, as you said in your post, to prevent abuse and be sure they were dealing with real affiliates and not people trying to game the system. They apply the 10 active players across ALL affiliate accounts, so if you have an affiliate account at DSI, Bookmaker, and BetCRIS, the stats of all of them together are counted.

Furthermore, I don't think they apply the 10 ACTIVE players per WEEK rule strictly. If you have a bunch of players under your combined accounts that have at least deposited, they will probably pay you. Our meetings personally with Bookmaker staff have indicated that these guys are of excellent ethics as it relates to taking care of both players and affiliates, so I think it is unlikely that they are out to screw any real affiliate out of payments. That said, I know Scott has been promoted and is no longer working in the affiliate department, so it remains to be seen how the new affiliate managers (which will be separate for each brand) will construe and apply these rules.

Time will tell.

If this is the case then this was not a retro change in terms.

Can be read and found at;

http://www.sportsbookcommission.com/...es.html#post81

[Amateur]

...Furthermore, I don't think they apply the 10 ACTIVE players per WEEK rule strictly. If you have a bunch of players under your combined accounts that have at least deposited, they will probably pay you...

Being a business enterprise, one should not have to "rely on the kindness of strangers" to collect on a debt.

So, they may combine the players, but they don't have to. They don't have to apply the 10 Active Players per Week Rule, but they will if they want...That's no way to conduct business. It's not an arrangement that inspires trust.

[jarvi]

Spot in Liz. The program happily pays out then all of a sudden has a bit of a cash flow problem and decides to apply the term. Where's that leave the affiliate?

There has to be a better way to weed out the true affiliates from the others, just not sure what it is at the moment.

DSI will be in Budapest (whenever that is) so perhaps some-one can discuss it with them face to face.

[thepokerkeep]

Sorry Simon but balagan9 and others who are chasing their commissions may not agree with this....

Our meetings personally with Bookmaker staff have indicated that these guys are of excellent ethics as it relates to taking care of both players and affiliates, so I think it is unlikely that they are out to screw any real affiliate out of payments.

[Sol@Incomate]

I'm feeling your pain. that truly stinks!!

[Betpartners]

Bookmaker are doing themselves no favours with this, one has to question the judgement of those that make these decisions.

From a PR point of view they will have Google full of two things, the first being that they have an excellent relationship and are highly rated, second, they treat affiliates poorly.

One will effect the other in the long term, if they don't see that then they have a problem that will bite them at some later date.

I think it has clearly been established that their terms were retroactive and that the terms as they stand now are far from affiliate friendly.

Any suggestion that they may or may not apply their current terms is wishful thinking and for affiliates they now join the players when it comes to sweating on a payout from some of these offshore entities.

I would rather sit comfortably knowing that what is owed to me will be paid as opposed to relying on hope.

[patmcluk]

Strangely enough, I just found out yesterday that Betcris is Bookmaker's European sister site!

[Anthony]

There are clearly far more affiliate friendly sites to deal with other than bookmaker.com.

It is a bad term and saying we may or may not enforce it is unacceptable. Affiliates shouldn't have to be at the mercy of their affiliate program's mood.

[Prenut]

I just received an email from JR at 2betdsi (Diamond Sportsbook). I've always assumed that they were part of the BetCris/Bookmaker group as I can login to their backend with my Cris info. Anyways here is the first part of the email.

Hey Affiliates,
This is JR again. I just wanted to let you know about a few new developments to the DSI affiliate program. We have 2 bits of news, good news and GREAT news!

The good news first:
I have gone through the T’s and C’s and made a modification. DSI affiliates will no longer be required to have 10 active players for the previous week in order to collect their commissions. Instead, we are amending this to require that affiliates have at least $200 in their affiliate balance before they are eligible to withdraw.
It has been brought to my attention that affiliates are still promoting old banners with old bonuses and old promos on them. Please ensure that you are updating your banners to maximize your conversion rate. There is nothing worse than a player signing up for a specific bonus only to find that it is no longer valid. We are working to build a dynamic banner program that will keep your banners fresh and up to date without any maintenance from you, but until then please ensure that you maximize your conversion and it all starts with providing accurate information.

[jarvi]

Received the same email from JR and that is good news. I too assumed they were part of the same group and fingers crossed the other brands see the light.

Can anyone confirm DSI, BetCRIS and Bookmaker are all the same group? Casino City has Bookmaker.com and DSI with the same ownership although not BetCRIS. This is a bit weird because I thought Bookmaker.com and BetCRIS had common ownership.

[Potsie]

I have been a BookMaker affiliate since they opened shop, and I have experienced nothing but good service. I do consider these terms to be anti-affiliate, and I hope they are changed soon.

One point I would like to put forward is that BookMaker is much more player friendly than some "endorsed" sportsbooks..namely BetUS or Sportsbook.com. Both of these books are routinely the subject of multiple and continuous player complaints. BookMaker is not.

On the bright side, I am also an affiliate for their sister book, 2betdsi.com aka Diamond. The sites are independent of each other, but they use the same platforms. I received an email from "JR", the new affiliate manager, and I think it is a good sign.

"DSI affiliates will no longer be required to have 10 active players for the previous week in order to collect their commissions. Instead, we are amending this to require that affiliates have at least $200 in their affiliate balance before they are eligible to withdraw."

<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">I don't have a problem with the $200, and it is certainly much more reasonable than the 10 player per week minimum! Perhaps BookMaker will choose to follow in their footsteps.

[Potsie]

Looks like I got scooped

Concerning DSI and BookMaker. They are NOT the same. BookMaker is the US facing site for betCRIS. BookMaker and DSI use the same platforms and software to manage their brands, but they are independent of one another. I am guessing that DSI pays CRIS to manage or use their platforms, both for players and affiliates.