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I’d like to hear more about this as well. I’d like to see a summary of the chat from a few weeks ago, and I would also like to know if there is anything CAP can do to dissuade other programs from making retroactive changes in the future.
Count me in too
Guys I had hoped that offline discussions with the programs in question would produce some positive results or a softening in position, unfortunately that has not been the case.
In Miami I had lengthy conversations with Fortune Affiliates Management. Their position remains that “the program changes they introduced are a necessary change for their affiliate program to remain a viable business option.” They insist that they have examined all the pros and cons of the decision and feel that they have no alternative moving forward in order to remain/become profitable within the affiliate division.
Whether you or I agree with that position and how we each choose to “respond” to these changes is a matter of personal choice.
The programs are well aware that they will lose a percentage of affiliates over the T&C changes and have weighed that in when making their decision.
At the end of the day this is a business, we will all have to make a very basic decision, “Do I earn enough money with this program to continue partnering with them?” If the answer is yes, you will most likely soldier on, if the answer is no you will likely minimize their exposure on your sites and replace them with sponsors who offer more agreeable terms.
Personally, I find retroactive changes to a prior business agreement to be totally unacceptable.
I also believe that bundling a number of casinos together is a poor business move that will negatively impact the casino group over the long run. Short term savings will be more then offset by lost positioning on affiliate networks.
I have made my recommendations known in no uncertain terms. We are now pretty much in a “wait and see” position. Since this is business, I suspect the programs will re-evaluate these changes if they have a negative impact on their bottom line. If they dont have a negative impact then they will almost surely stay in place.
Remember, this is a free market, you are welcome to work with homever you choose and whomever will generate the most success for you. Sometimes it becomes necessary for us as affiliates and business owners to re-evaluate our choices in partners. If this seems like the right time to make changes in your business then I suggest you do so without hesitation.
I have two concerns regarding this. One is that breach of contract is actually illegal and under normal circumstances should be prosecuted. The fact that this is impossible points out our vulnerable situation and is unsettling to me.
Secondly, if Fortune continues on without serious repercussions, we open the doors wide to all sorts of abuse. Obviously eCOGRA, the only organization who claims to try to keep their group of approved casinos in line, is not interested in their criminal behavior.
There is no union for affiliates, and there is no way that we can exert pressure properly since there are always going to be affiliates who swim against the stream and support the offending program for short term monetary goals.
The new international games campaign from Fortune is supposed to reel affiliates in and allow Fortune to continue on without missing a beat. The current inquiries in their forum already appear to point to a full success of their campaign.
I personally like the people from Fortune and always enjoy meeting them. They have made HUGE progress with their statistics – unrivaled success I believe. I have been coming to their defense when problems occured for years. This turn of events saddens me considerably.
Dominique wrote:The new international games campaign from Fortune is supposed to reel affiliates in and allow Fortune to continue on without missing a beat. The current inquiries in their forum already appear to point to a full success of their campaign.Yes but lets face it, the affiliates with a good reputation and solid business heads will realise that its’ just a hook and they may be sending loads of players over for this promo then find their percentages cut retroactively in 3 or 6 months.
The sensible affiliates will be sending their players to casinos with affiliate programs they can fully trust. After all, surely a business that admits it is struggling to remain a “viable business option” will be forced to continue to cut corners and those “corners” have now clearly been defined, by both VPL and FA, and but for a last minute change of heart, one or two others also.
Those who support this promo will have no course to complain when they are told at a later date that those players they sent to the promo are being de-valued. After all, we know now that corners are cut retroactively and sod the consequences.
Cheers
Simmo!
I’ve already made my feelings known, and it’s readily apparent that most, if not all, affiliates share these feelings.
eCOGRA is aware of the matter. However, as I have stated in the other thread, their main concern is to protect the players, not regulate the actions of the operators. As such, they cannot really take a position on this issue unless their scope of operations is to widen. I am pretty sure, however, that they will raise this point with the operators and require some sort of clarification, although they cannot do much about it.
Anyhow, come July 1, I suspect many of you will vote with your feet and choose other programs. As I do not actively promote either program on Got2Bet anyhow, nothing is really going to change there – but on Awesome Jackpots, this WILL be a different story and changes WILL be made there.
