Doing the right thing

[Chips]

Last month or so we had a discussion about how chargebacks should be handled. The main issue was a program that charges the entire amount back to the affiliate. In other words, Player A deposits $100, looses it all and shouts fraud, the deposit is reversed and the affiliate gets hit for $100 when in fact the revenue share was only $35, (assuming 35% commissions and the player lost it all).

Today I got an email from RubyRoyal, as you may or may not know, they are a white label Rival Powered Casino. And over the past month we have been discussing MCard chargebacks, contributions to progressive jackpots, etc.

I felt very good after reading this mail because:

1. They are not charging the progressive contribution (2%) going forward.
2. They are refunding affiliates any progressive deductions from prior periods.
3. This is the biggest one... if they incur a chargeback, they will deduct the amount of revenues earned from the affiliate, NOT the total chargeback amount.

I feel that that is the fair way for us to share in the expense, we were never paid for the deposit 100%, why deduct 100% of it? The way RubyRoyal is going to work the chargebacks is the fair and honest way to go and I applaud them for stepping up to the plate and doing right by us.

Here is the email:

Dear Partners,
As you have no doubt been following the recent developments with regards to credit card processing in the US market together with the discussion regarding the progressive calulations across our jackpot network. Below is our formal statement and resolution regarding these two matters.

We would firstly like to thank our affiliate partners for their patience and understanding during this trying time. We have been in discussions with our software provider, our management team and affiliates to make sure we come to a fair and transparent resolution for all parties concerned. These decisions are not taken lightly and we wanted to make sure we had all angles covered before alerting our partners.

Processor Update - MasterCard/Visa Seizures

Credit card processing in the US market is very volatile and effects all US facing gaming operators across the board. This issue is not limited to Ruby Royal casino only and effects all operators targetting the US market.

The seizure of funds by Mastercard/Visa has effected our business adversely. As a business, we lost a non-negligible amount of money due to various processors withholding funds and/or defaulting on their agreements with us. In addition, i have to add, our software provider also lost a non-negligible amount of monies from these seizures.
As a business, we need to make a decision on how to approach this and the fairest way to deal with this issue from a business perspective. To give you an idea, in the current climate, 3 processor seizures (of 4 weeks of deposits) per year is enough to wipe out an operators entire years worth of profits after affiliate and marketing payments are deducted. The financial viability of our operation comes into question should processor seizures occur and affiliate partners do not share in its costs.

On a side note, not many affiliates are aware that in October 09, one of our credit card processors seized funds and we decided to absorb the full cost of this. A significant amount of money, we decided to take the full knock of this loss. The situation has changed now, the recent MC/Visa seizure is more widespread and as mentioned above a significant amount of money was seized. A pure business decision needs to be made.

The decision was thus made to deduct a portion of the losses from affiliate earnings and affiliate accounts were adjusted accordingly. Please note the following VERY important points:

• We are deducting only the affiliates portion from the revenue figures i.e. the affiliate revenue share and not the entire lost deposit amounts.
• We are working hard with our processing partners and software provider to recover these seized funds and should these funds be recovered, we will credit them back to our affiliate partners. We expect an update on this to be imminent and will alert you as soon as we have more information.
• Our affiliate partners are losing less than they should. Processor reserves which run into the 100's of thousands of dollars were also seized and were NOT passed on as charges against affiliates i.e. we are pulling money out of our own salaries and pockets to cover this part of the losses.
• The affiliate portion being deducted will be staged over a few months as opposed to deducting earnings in one lump sum.

Progressive Jackpot Contributions

As per our affiliate terms and conditions, Ruby Royal definitions of Adjusted Net win (ANW) is as follows, below details will highlight the necessary changes (if any) this will have to your earnings with regards to progressive jackpot contributions:

All affiliates will be refunding all progressive deductions made from March 01, 2009 to February 28th, 2010. The amount will be credited in full by the end of March and will reflect in your March payments.

Moving forward: As of the end of March 2010, progressive contributions will NOT be deducted from any of the affiliate commissions and affiliates will NOT be covering this cost nor any deductions made. We chose this option as after analysing the various models, this option leaves both the affiliate and the casino in a equal and completely transparent position. The terms and conditions will be updated in the coming days.

Ruby Royal management and staff would like to thank those affiliates that stuck by us during this trying time. Those affiliates that like ourselves, have been negatively effected by the recent seizures we hope you understand our position and hope you feel that this was dealt with in a just and fair manner.

Together with our software provider, we are working hard on partnering with new and trusted payment processors so that we can all move onwards and upwards and put the past weeks issues behind us. Please feel free to contact me directly on my details below should you have any questions.

Regards

Derek
Ruby Royal Affiliates

Thanks Derek and team at Ruby Royal. I appreciate it.

[MaRcRaM]

The thing is though, processor confiscations are NOT chargebacks. They are refusing to pay commissions on legitimate players who made legitimate deposits.

Several Rival groups have stepped up to the plate and have agreed to pay commissions on any "lost deposits" due to processor confiscations. It's those groups who are willing to stand behind their processing that should continue to get our traffic.

Why would anyone want to continue to send traffic to a group that won't pay commissions on legitimate players when there are several groups who are prepared to do so?

[arkyt]

RE: Ruby Royal Affiliates

We are deducting only the affiliates portion from the revenue figures i.e. the affiliate revenue share and not the entire lost deposit amounts.

Hopefully thats the way all programs will handle it, course there will no doubt be a few who try to pass 100% of those confiscations/forced charge backs on affiliates. If/when the masses start deducting 100% of those actions from affiliates this sector of the industry is going to get smaller really quick.

Shouldnt be long before we are hearing from all of the programs on this - surely they are all being affected. No?

[Affcorner]

This is just a quick note that Regal Affiliates will not charge affiliates for progressive contributions past or future. All past deductions will be refunded.

Furthermore, we will NOT charge affiliates for ANY MasterCard Processing losses. To see my full statement, please check the link below:
https://www.gpwa.org/forum/vegas-reg...tml#post587121

[Ace Fun]

The thing is though, processor confiscations are NOT chargebacks. They are refusing to pay commissions on legitimate players who made legitimate deposits.

If our earnings are paid on a revenue shared basis, then surely we should not be paid if the casino loses the revenue?

[dhayman]

Ya know, the bottom line is that programs will chargeback what they chargeback. And none of us actually know if it really happened or not, whether the processor is screwing the operator, whether the operator is screwing the affiliate, or if in fact, it is legit. The industry has changed by orders of magnitude over the years, and the best way to guard one self from these chargebacks, is by diversifying among vendors. That way, if excesses are seen with a specific vendor, you can dump them, and significantly hurt your overall revenue portfolio.

[MaRcRaM]

If our earnings are paid on a revenue shared basis, then surely we should not be paid if the casino loses the revenue?

That's not correct. Several groups have stepped up to the plate and are PAYING our commissions on any deposits lost due to processor confiscations.

So my point remains - Why would I want to send traffic to a group that is not willing to pay me when there are several other groups who will?

[NatalieStewart]

SlotsofFortune Affiliate Program updated yesterday all of the partners on our stands regarding Progressives contributions. Please see the full statement below. We will definitely update you next week on the Master Card seizure. Please don't hesitate to contact me, if you need anything!

March 12, 2010: Statement on Progressives Contribution

Dear Partners,

We would like to inform you about our stand on the Progressive Jackpots contribution.

The introduction of the progressive slots in 2009 has not been handled with clarity, and the lack of communication provoked unfair affiliate commission calculations. Therefore, we took the decision that our affiliates will not be held responsible for any progressive jackpot contributions. All the contributions will be covered by the operator, and therefore you may feel secure, when promoting our progressive slots. Banners with the progressive stickers are available in the backend for marketing purposes. All deductions, corresponding to the progressives’ contributions will be refunded back to the affiliates.

Your business is very valuable to us, and we appreciate your continuous efforts at promoting our brand. We are about to take our final decision on the Master Card processors loss, and you’ll be updated shortly. You can be rest assured that we are taking into the consideration the interests of both the parties and our commitment towards the affiliates and the business demands.

Please feel free to contact us for any additional information, or clarification.

Best regards,
Natalie Stewart.
Affiliate Manager

[NatalieStewart]

Dear Partners,

We appreciate your efforts in promoting and supporting SlotsofFortune Casino, as you are a big part of our continuous growth as a business.

Last week we informed you, that the affiliates would not be held responsible for any progressive jackpot contributions. All the contributions will be covered by the operator, and therefore you may feel secure, when promoting our progressive slots.

We are also glad to inform you, that the Master Card seizure will not affect you. SlotsofForture Casino would like to reiterate its commitment to the affiliates, and will not be passing any charges to them for the loss of the processor.

You will be refunded for all deductions, and we will work hard on avoiding any similar situation in the future. We have connected two new and trusted processors, and we’ll be constantly looking for newer processing options.

Please contact us, if you have any questions or require some assistance.
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Best regards,
Natalie Stewart.
Affiliate Manager

[livefree247]

This is Great news! Thank you Natalie, and slotsof fortune for stepping up to the plate. I will be giving you guys more exsposure on my sites!

[Puma]

I think the only rival I think that didn't step up to the plate was slot power and actually I don't even promote them.

[livefree247]

Hi puma,

check over at AGD he's got an updated list of rivals that are charging affiliates for progressive contributions and chargebacks

I think the only rival I think that didn't step up to the plate was slot power and actually I don't even promote them.

[Puma]

oh cool I didnt know that. Thanks Rhonda