Affiliate marketing is a business that’s built almost entirely on trust. Site operators and webmasters rely on the gaming companies they work with to operate in an honest manner when reporting revenues generated by affiliates. That’s just how the industry works. Sadly, not every gaming company can be trusted to operate in a trustworthy manner.
The Internet makes it very easy for dishonest casinos to rip off their partners and deny them the revenues they’ve rightfully earned.
Rogue affiliate programs and casinos, as they’re known in the industry, employ a number of methods to avoid paying webmasters their monthly earnings. These tricks range from shaving off a small portion of affiliate earning every month to completely shutting down their operation—leaving affiliates unpaid and very upset.
Keeping track of rogues in a business where companies disappear overnight or get bought up by bigger companies can be a real challenge. To help affiliates sort out the honest companies from the scammers, we’ve put together a list of some worst rogue casinos and what affiliates are saying about them. Here’s a few of the operators that the high-caliber affiliates from the CAP community should avoid altogether.
1. Cpays/Affiliates United
Cpays/Affiliates United has a tangled history that dates back to 2001 when they were still known as Cpays. But they’ve also operated under the name WebRoute and, after being acquired by William Hill Online (WHO), they’ve been known as Affiliates United (AFFUTD). No matter what name they’re operating under, the Cpays/Affiliates United crew generates a lot of negative buzz from affiliates. In fact, the AFFUTD brand and their less-than-stellar reputation may be dragging down the entire William Hill Online operation. Still, their promotions offering 70% commissions have lured affiliates time and time again.
The list of affiliates complaints against Cpays/AFFUTD include slow payment times; aggressive business practices including threats against webmasters who don’t run enough banner ads; changing terms and conditions without proper notice; ignoring customer complaints; and encouraging Spamdexing.
It’s hoped that AFFUTD’s association with WHO will help improve their business practices and reputation, but that remains to be seen.
Check out what affiliates had to say in the most recent Cpays/AFFUTD debacle.