Thread: Introducing The First Affiliate-Driven Program Certification Process

CAP is excited to announce the introduction of a new affiliate program recognition process called Community Certification. This system allows you, affiliates who are members of CAP, to award reputable programs with a seal of approval.

What is Community Certification?

Community Certification is a way for affiliates to collectively recognize trustworthy and reputable iGaming affiliate programs. The first of its kind, this process allows affiliates to fully control and decide whether or not a specific iGaming affiliate program deserves to be accredited. Once an affiliate program is Community Certified, they will be granted a distinct seal to inform all affiliates that this is a trusted program which has been vetted by their fellow peers. These programs will also be highlighted separately on CAP for their high level of commitment to the affiliate industry.

How Does Community Certification Work?

1. Initially, Community Certification is only open to the CAP community. This means that CAP affiliates can vote on CAP listed programs who have submitted an application for certification. The certification is completely free.

2. Once CAP receives the application, our administration team will review the submission and determine eligibility. To be eligible, a program must meet the following set of requirements:
- Must have a dedicated affiliate manager that works with the CAP community
- Must have been established for at least six months



If a program does not meet the above eligibility requirements, the application will be denied and the program will be allowed to re-apply once the above requirements have been met.

3. Once a program has been reviewed, it will be placed in a queue for voting on a first-come, first-serve basis. In an effort to ensure all applicants receive appropriate attention, only a limited number of programs will go up for vote by the affiliate community each month.

4. Voting will occur on a monthly basis, from the first day to the last day of the given month. All affiliates will be notified of the programs that are up for certification via e-mail and the CAP forums. An affiliate may cast his or her vote at any point during the month but may only vote once and a vote can not be changed once cast. Affiliates may vote for one or all programs and may return to the voting section to vote on any programs which they have not yet cast a vote for. Immediately after voting, an affiliate will be able to view the current voting scores for each program. The voting page will be located here.

5. Affiliates will have the opportunity to vote YES or NO for each program. When voting NO, an affiliate will be asked to provide feedback. This feedback is required and will be used to compile a report which that program can use to improve from. All votes and feedback will remain 100% confidential.

6. At the end of the month, any program which receives 80% of YES votes will be awarded Community Certification. After the completion of the voting period, the system will be checked for authenticity and any new programs receiving Community Certification will be announced.

7. If a program received less than the required percentage of positive votes, they will still be eligible for Community Certification at a later date. Currently the time is set for three months before a program can become eligible to re-apply for certification. The program manager will be given anonymous feedback about areas where they can improve so that they can correct any issues.

8. Once approved, it is also possible for a program to lose Community Certification. This process will be driven by the number of complaints received via the new CAP affiliate program complaint system.

Which Affiliate Programs Will Be Up For Review First?

To help introduce this process, we are initially offering limited eligibility to CAP Listed Programs. These are the programs that support our community and have helped provide feedback to CAP that led to this process. As only a limited number of programs will be up for review each month, those programs will have priority. This process may open up to other programs at a future date. For the initial round of voting, which will begin February 1, 2010, all of the CAP Listed programs have been given an application and they will go up for vote on a first-come, first-serve basis.

In the meanwhile, we invite you to take a closer look at how the system works and cast a vote for one of the “demo” programs until the first round of voting opens up: Online Gambling Affiliate Programs Community Certification

We would like to hear your feedback and want to shape this system around what best serves affiliates. Please post your comments within this thread or come by the CAP VIP Lounge at LAC to talk to a member of the CAP and give us your feedback in person.

Great idea!