One of the most critical factors to ensure success is agreeing to fair terms and conditions when entering a new partnership with any operator. However, many sports betting and iGaming affiliates – especially the newer ones – don’t necessarily know what to look out for.
As a result, they end up in partnerships that aren’t well-suited to their needs.
As an affiliate, you must stay on top of the T&Cs of the agreements you enter with operators. But what’s the historical problem with them, and what in particular must you consider? How can affiliates better protect themselves? Read on as we cover all of this below…
The problem with terms and conditions
In many operator-affiliate partnerships, the operator holds the upper hand as they set the terms and conditions that the partnership is built on. Over the years, affiliates have complained about a total lack of transparency when it comes to revenue share percentages, fees, and other dubious tactics.
There have been other reports of operators changing their terms and conditions without notice, and refusing to pay affiliates the commissions earned because they have not continued to send a set number of new players each month.
Key factors that affiliates should consider
When signing a partnership agreement, you need to consider the fees and deductions the operator will take off your commission. While fees are unavoidable, it shouldn’t be the affiliate that bears the full burden. Ask for a full breakdown of fees and how they are applied.
If you don’t, you will end up with significantly less commission than expected. In some instances, operators offering a 45% revenue share have been found to be offering just 8% after all deductions have been made.
Many partnerships will also require a minimum number of players to be sent each month. Even if you have accrued earnings, the operator will not pay you out if you do not hit your new player target month in month out for the duration of the partnership.
Over time, the original conditions of your agreement might no longer serve both parties. When this happens, it’s time to update them. But again, you want to ensure that you’re in the loop as operators can make changes without letting you know.
How affiliates can better protect themselves
It’s daunting to sign an agreement with an operator, especially if you’ve got little or no experience in these kinds of partnerships. However, there are various ways in which you can protect yourself.
The first is to not be afraid to speak up. You might feel like you’re putting the partnership at risk by doing so, but what you’re actually doing is protecting yourself and ensuring the terms of the agreement are fair for both parties.
You can also protect yourself by joining a network like Casino Affiliate Programs. We have a full directory of approved operators to browse through and then select based on those likely to perform the best for your sports betting or online casino affiliate site.
We also have a dedicated deals section where you can find the best deals negotiated by our team of experts.