It’s been almost five months since Expekt rocked the affiliate world by closing affiliate accounts and taking players for their own. Company officials said that move was because of a software update, but affiliate partners quickly realized that wasn’t the case at all.
Here’s a breakdown of how it all came down, and the role CAP readers played.
How It Began
This story came to light back in late March when a CAP forum poster named DiverF1 said that after four years, Expekt had closed down his account while they switched to new affiliate software. DiverF1 was more than surprised to find that he’d be losing his existing customers in the process.
That thread grew quickly as other affiliate partners posted up nearly identical stories of closed accounts and lost customers. Some were also told that their accounts were close because of excessive player winnings.
Word spread quickly but no one from Expekt ever showed up to clarify the company’s stance.
Tangled Web of Partners
A couple days later the conversation moved to a thread titled, Expekt Closing Program/Steal Players. That discussion centered on what kind of action affiliates should be taking to deal the problem.
The issue was complicated when CAP readers suggested a boycott of all the members of the Betclic-Everest Group, including the Everest Group and Bet-at-Home. Affiliate managers from these, independently operated businesses stepped in and helped calm the situation.
It was interesting to see these affiliate managers stepping up and doing what Expekt managers should have done; keep their partners informed.
What should you do if you run into this situation? Take a look at Dealing With Closed Affiliate Programs.
Expekt Makes an Offer
Company officials from Expekt were suspiciously silent in public forums, but were more forthcoming in private. Almost a month after the brouhaha started DiverF1 said he was contacted by an Expekt representative who offered to reinstate his players, if he would stop posting in forums.
He wasn’t taking the bait:
So they offer me to transfer players to new account (this is possible – who doubted!),
to stop forum posting and continue to work like nothing happens.
I told (them) that they try to steal from my pocket and now must give some compensation. In reply get old story: my players winning a lot but we can begin to work again.
One More Blow
Like many of the rogue programs that came before it, Expekt carried on as if nothing had happened at all. In June, they pulled another classic rogue move by quietly changing their terms and conditions to allow for negative carryovers. Just another day at the office for an affiliate operator that’s playing by its own rules.
The upshot of the Expekt story is that the CAP community quickly pulled together and exposed the whole story. Rogue operators happily work in the shadows and this kind of community effort is about the only thing that can bring them to light.
What were your experiences with fall of Expekt? Let us know in the comments section below.