AffEurope theft of webmaster commissions discussion

[Integrity]

Dear friends...

The APCW has just released a video about the AffEurope theft of affiliate commissions. You can find it on YouTube or in a thread here on GPWA.

After discussing the issue with those at GPWA a series of questions was posed to stimulate discussion about how, as professionals, we can prepare and handle these situations better in the future because... in all honestly... it looks as if there will always be piece-of-crap people running businesses in this industry.

Listed below are the questions developed by the GPWA so that creative dialogue could take place here. Hopefully, we will come out of this situation better prepared:

• How do affiliates balance maximizing revenue with sites/programs that perform well vs diversifying so that if a program shuts down, the impact on revenue is mitigated.
• What is "the right way" for an affiliate program to shut down?
• What can affiliates do to make sure affiliate programs shut down "the right way"?

_____________________________

I wanted to add this edit after re-reading what I posted above: Having worked in this industry for over 13 years now, I can honestly say there are far more good and decent people in this business than "pieces-of-crap". However, with so much money floating around, bad elements will always be attracted.

[mojo]

Thanks JTodd. If I may make a suggestion? I didn't recognize this thread for what it was. Perhaps change the title? I think it's an important discussion that needs our attention. I would have missed it.

[Integrity]

Hey Mojo...

If you and/or anyone else wants to suggest a title to better draw attention to thus thread I will ask Anthony to make the change. I am on my phone and home sick.... plus I don't have admin ability, which I think I need to change the title.

[universal4]

Just drop me or Anthony a note tomorrow and we can change it if still needed, although it appears like it may have already been done.

Rick
Universal4

[Integrity]

Anthony did change it, but thank you Rick

[DaftDog]

I removed the AffEurope scum-bags associated casinos (CityClub Casino / CityTower Casino / Crown Europe Casino) from my sites a few months ago when they refused to stop partnering with hackers. There is nothing much we can do now but to post negative remarks about these online casinos and to call on other affiliates to do the same.

Does the GPWA and APCW have a dedicated Rouge / Scum-bag forum?

[-Shay-]

I removed the AffEurope scum-bags associated casinos (CityClub Casino / CityTower Casino / Crown Europe Casino) from my sites a few months ago when they refused to stop partnering with hackers. There is nothing much we can do now but to post negative remarks about these online casinos and to call on other affiliates to do the same.

Does the GPWA and APCW have a dedicated Rouge / Scum-bag forum?

Having such a section is surely "bad for business". The "Affiliate Program Warnings" section is seemingly the closest thing to that and it is listed all the way at the bottom of the site.

[Integrity]

I think that more negative information about the casinos the better. In my opionion they are culpable in the theft. Especially considering they continue to profit from the hijacked player accounts. Last week's video has the top Google video return for "affeurope", and the regular returns are already showing negative comments being posted here and elsewhere.

There have to be consequences to actions like this or obviously there is nothing to stop it. Since the program shuts down it doesn't do much long term to destroy their reputation... we should focus on the casinos who are profiting from your players, the people who operate those casinos and the people who ran AffEurope. They should be done in this industry, IMO.

Any affiliate program who is honest and legit will never have to worry about APCW producing negative information about them. But any program that contemplates crap like this should understand the APCW's commitment.... and my personal dedication.... to whatever is needed to expose them and destroy their ability to work in this business.

[TheGooner]

How do affiliates avoid this situation ?
It starts by choosing the best programs - not those with the highest pay rates or the pushiest AMs. We would not touch 80% of the programs online today - but I see them willingly promoted by a lot of places.

We start by looking for operations and programs with a couple of years experience, and a sizable staff to show that this is a long term venture and not a scheme run by "two guys in a rented office" and contracted cold-caller salemen.

Grand Prive And AffEurope failures were not unexpected. But by the same token FullTilt was a major operation and we got caught by their sudden closure. It's not easy to ascertain the longevity and depth of a group - so we ask directly BEFORE affiliating.

Do affiliates balance ?
Well - yes you should - that's a good point.

No matter how strong your main partner program is - there can be many points of failure - legislation, increased taxes, business failure, or maybe a whale or two that simply take out your earnings. A good approach is probably to always have 3 options to promote in any main market.

Regarding blacklists :
We don't have a blacklist on our site. We only rate the best (or try to).
I perceive a blacklist to be a negative thing and something that would put off a player who was considering opening their first online account.

[Integrity]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply Gooner, and there is some solid advice in there for sure... ESPECIALLY:

... looking for operations and programs with a couple of years experience, and a sizable staff to show that this is a long term venture...

====================

Grand Prive And AffEurope failures were not unexpected. But by the same token FullTilt was a major operation and we got caught by their sudden closure.

This is true, although FTP's closure was not a deliberate robbery of affiliate commission... at least not on their part.