Then don’t promote the room that allows it— it really is that simple!
That is really the bottom line. If you are making decent money not offering rakeback with a rakeback room now – just keep a close eye. If your income falls off or goes stagnant, get out before you waste your space and resources on a hopeless situation. If you are new, decide if you want to offer rakeback or get paid the full amount. Sign up with the appropriate program.
I have looked around a bit and saw rakebacks from 15% to 40%.
Poker players would be fools not to go for a 40% rakeback!
Where ethics enter the story:
The program offers you a certain percentage of the rake, knowing darn well that you will not be able to collect that because it makes you not competative. You are induced to spin your wheels for nothing. The carrot is fake, it cannot be obtained in the long run. You will be forced to take a paycut against your will or leave and leave the program with all that free branding you provided. It is unethical to advertise a level of pay that is not sustainable.
As far as new players, I never subscribed to the notion that we are saturating the market already. You are definitely correct – there are lots and lots of new players out there and there will be more and more for a long time to come.
I am starting to think the solution to this is to create two lists of poker rooms – those who condone rakeback and those who do not.
Then affiliates can pick which they like.
My prediction is that soon enough the rakeback affiliates will push each other out of business. It’s just not a sustainable business model in the affiliate industry.