Before any affiliate partners with a new operator, it’s going to be crucial to evaluate how the future relationship is going to be. Follow these questions to determine whether a new partnership is right for you, and how you can ensure it’s going to be smooth sailing ahead.
Question 1: What Products Does The Operator Use?
- What platform are they using? Is it Microgaming, Playtech or NetEnt?
- What affiliate software do they carry? Income Access, eGass, Netrefer or MyAffiliates? Brand names are important to ensure safety and quality.
Question 2: Where Are They Licensed?
- Find out where the operator is located, and double check to verify the location is correct. Finding out sooner than later can avoid landing you in hot water.
Question 3: How Is The Operator Funded?
- Is the company public or private? If a company is publicly traded, it may be safer, but check its stock exchange balance sheets. Private companies can also be safe, but read the fine print to make sure your players’ funds and your commissions are safe.
Question 4: Are Current Marketing Efforts Giving You Maximum ROI?
- If the operator’s marketing efforts are currently aligned with your goals, it’s a major benefit. Find out what markets they’re looking to expand into to make sure they are of interest to you and your own objectives.
- Discover if the operator is doing anything unique in its marketing efforts, whether it’s in television, land-based media or social media. Is it relevant to your market?
Question 5: What Are Others Saying?
- Read industry forums to see what your peers have to say. The CAP forums are another great source to see what other affiliates have experienced.
- Again, see what others have experienced when dealing with an operator. What’s better than reviews from those who have actually been there and done that? Know the good, the bad and the ugly!
Question 7: What Are the Operator’s Terms & Conditions?
- There are some key things to look at in Terms and Conditions.
- Predatory Terms: These are terms that allow programs to adversely affect affiliate earnings through different business practices. Stay away from these. Affiliate Guard Dog can steer you in the right direction here.
- Avoid operators that use negative carry over, which could burn you.
- Bundling: Some casinos have an umbrella of other brands underneath them. If you do well with one brand but not another, you could lose out.
- Minimum Player Requirements: Some operators might require minimums, which could cause penalties if you don’t meet them.
- Cross Marketing: In cross marketing situations, a player could leave one room in a casino and go to another room. If you sent them to the first room and they leave, you may not be recognized for sending them to the second one. See the chart below on how this works.
This article is an excerpt from “How to Minimize Your Financial Exposure,” an affiliate learning session conducted by Affiliate Media’s Business Development Manager, Brooke Cole. Brooke conducted the session at the Barcelona Affiliate Conference in September.
