As an iGaming affiliate, you’ve got plenty of things to learn once you first start your business. Part of this includes various terms that you might never have heard of before, such as “negative carryover”.
If you joined affiliate programs with little experience, it’s possible that you won’t have much of an idea about what the term means. But negative carryover is something that all affiliates must understand as it impacts the revenues you earn from the players you send to partner sportsbook and casino brands.
Knowing how to negotiate negative carryover is challenging, but we’ll do our best to help you out in this article. You’ll learn about what the term means, and whether you should take a deal with it included. On top of that, you’ll also find out what you can do if you have negative carryover in your account.
What Is Negative Carryover?
Negative carryover is a pretty simple term to understand. In effect, it means that any negative balance in your account continues on to the next month. While it often balances itself out in the long run, you can also have the opposite effect where you end up building up your negative balance over an extended period of time.
When signing up for an affiliate program, you will typically see negative carryover feature somewhere in the terms and conditions. Although many affiliate programs have a negative carryover, the best iGaming affiliate programs often do not.
Generally speaking, negative carryover occurs because a player you referred to the operator won which resulted in the bookmaker losing money. So, if you have players that tend to win big, it might have a knock-on effect on your earnings.
Should You Take a Deal With Negative Carryover?
We recommend that you do not sign a contract if the affiliate program has negative carryover. And if you’re in the negotiation phase of signing a new deal, it’s one of the first questions you should ask.
You should try avoiding a deal with negative carryover for several reasons. First and foremost, it can massively impact your ability to earn a profit; many regular bettors will likely strike lucky at some point. If your negative carryover continues for several months, you’ve got little point in staying part of that affiliate program.
Negative carryover also puts you at a disadvantage because you have even more uncertainty about how much you’ll earn each month. Because of this, it’s trickier to budget accordingly for other areas of your business – and you might need to take on more programs than you can manage.
What Should You Do If You Have a Negative Carryover?
Having read this far, you should have a good understanding of what negative carryover is – and why you should try to avoid it wherever possible. But let’s say that you’re reading this, and you’ve already got negative carryover as part of your commercial agreement with an operator… What should you do?
Below are two pointers that will help you get out of your current situation.
Try Renegotiating Your Deal
The first port of call should be to try and renegotiate the deal you signed with your partner. Explain that the terms and conditions are no longer working for you, and that you want to make changes in accordance with your new requirements.
Offer a viable alternative that you and the operator can agree with, explaining what the main benefits are for them. In most cases, partners should be open to listening at the very least – especially if you’ve already built up a strong relationship.
If the operator doesn’t want to renegotiate, you should take that as a strong sign to consider moving on. Even if you previously had a good relationship, it’s unlikely that they will fit in with your future business plans.
Look for Opportunities Elsewhere
If the operator is unwilling to renegotiate your deal, you should think about looking elsewhere. Don’t ever feel like you have to stick with a situation you don’t want; there are more than enough opportunities to partner with operators that are willing to not apply negative carryover.
Negative Carryover Is Something You Should Consider Avoiding
Negative carryover is something that catches many affiliates off-guard, especially in their first couple of partnerships. But even if you have already experienced this, it’s something you can get yourself out of.
The best way forward is to renegotiate the deal with the sportsbook or casino. If that doesn’t work, it’s time to start looking elsewhere.
If you’re looking for high-quality affiliate programs to join, sign up for Casino Affiliate Programs today.