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Yes, they definitely want it regulated because most of the US players would probably play in a US-regulated casino. It would kill affiliates, though.
The whole thing was on 60 minutes with Lanny from MGM Grand hoping the regulation would come as soon as possible, but not holding his breath due to current administration (President & Attourney General).
I thought it would put the hurt on us as well, I was speaking to someone in the UK about that and he say’s with online gaming being legal there the affiliates still do good. I am not too sure about how they would do here in the US, but it seems to me it would be a saturated market and we affiliates would die out.
Die out? I would think they (existing casinos) would need us even more or it would be them dying out. I also think the Vegas casinos would look to some of the top affiliates for guidence; or it might lend itself to going the other way around; top affiliates could present themselves to the casinos for positions. Some have the know all and IMO that would be very valuable to the casinos.
Why would they need affiliates when if it is legal they can advertise in magazines, newspapers, tv etc.. They already have a marketing team in place so I don’t see them looking to the big affiliates too much, yes it would be nice but I just don’t see that happening.
The affiliate model is sound. They only pay if they make money. Unlike with other advertising mediums, where they pay whatever the result.
The middleman will always be there. The sole casino that uses the affiliate medium will make a packet and the others will soon follow suit. That casino will still use the other marketing ploys too.
We promote a number of leading brands right now in other markets that have very big affiliate programs. Why would the traditional casinos with online models be any different. Traditional retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot, Staples along with credit card companies like Citi, Chase, etc. all have affiliate programs even with their huge marketing budgets and brand recognition…why would the online gaming market with large traditional players be any different.
The affiliate scheme is a no-brainer for them – only pay the affiliates on the sales they generate (unlike the casino hosts and VIP crews they pay large salaries & bonuses to right now for their bricks & mortar casinos).
Keep in mind that the land-based casino are in an ultra competitive situation right now…trying to draw players (VIP’s & whales) into their land-based casinos why would they not take advantage of people who already know the Internet game and get traffic – the affiliates. Those casinos that DO NOT adopt an affiliate model will completely miss out on the existing action and have to spend way more to attact players.
I think it would excellent to promote brands such as Caesars, Venetion, Bellagio, etc. Make brand recognition that much easier and increase conversions as players will believe that the “bricks & mortar” casino in behind the online experience and less likely that there will be any issues with support, scams, etc. They could also collect and use their comp points online and when in the land-based casino…sounds like a win-win.
North Dakota state representative Jim Kasper is again trying to introduce legislation to allow online poker in his state. The link to the story is here
http://www.launchpoker.com/news/09162006/3642_nd-representative-wants-to-legalize-online-poker.html
Actually I believe that we will still be in business because if this becomes reality, competition will heat up and when that happens any organization looks for any edge it can get. If large corporations could establish complete dominance on their own they would not subscribe to affiliate programs. And besides they don’t have to pay out anything until they make money on the clients that we bring them. Beats paying millions on advertising!
thowze wrote:…if this becomes reality, competition will heat up and when that happens any organization looks for any edge it can get….My sentiments exactly. The more casinos online the harder it is to get a share. If anything, the affiliate model becomes more important…a commission-only marketing force is an attractive and cost-effective proposition.
Sites that advertise everywhere now (Bodog, FullTilt, PartyPoker) all have affiliate programs, and convert pretty well. As others have said here, the affiliate environment could very well be better if legalization were to occur. I can see the counter argument that they need us less, that doesn’t hold much water, but the argument that they might be paying less has some legs. In the end, our industry would still be here, our strategies and tactics however may need to be updated for the new environment.
“It would kill affiliates, though.”
That just doesn’t make sense to me. If that line of thinking was correct, then why do most big businesses that seek to advertise online have a huge affiliate program? (Amazon.com?)
Online ad spend is on the rise, as people are spending more time online and less time parked in front of the TV or reading newspapers and magazines. To only advertise “online” gambling in “offline” media would be incredibly foolish.
Finally, from what I understand, affiliate advertising is a top preference among businesses looking to have an online ad presence, because affiliate advertising is slanted in favor of the merchant. They don’t have to pay for traffic to their site… they just have to pay when they make a “sell.” It’s like the exact opposite of cost per impression which is slanted in favor of the publisher (the gambling site/portal owner) where the merchant is paying for just eyeballs. The most fair online advertising model is cost per click IMO… but I digress.
Bottom line is, if B&M brands go online, you can bet they’ll be paying high traffic, gambling related sites to publish their ads, one way or another.
Frankly, I’d be happy to run ads for Harrah’s on my sites, as long as I felt I was getting compensated fairly, be that CPM, CPC, CPA or revenue share….
