Affiliate Marketing
The Good and Bad About Gaming Affiliates.
By Ollie Wagner

The Good and Bad About Gaming Affiliate Programs

It is possible to make some extra income running affiliate banners, although it is hard to find a reputable affiliate program. As with everything in the internet market, there is good and bad. It has been known for people to have the same gaming banners on different sites and have totally different results. It can range from 0 to 4 percent actual players (usually an affiliate will make 15% of the net), which is about $75.00 per sign up. This is if you can get the casino to pay you!

You Need to be Careful and Choose a Good Program for Yourself

If you own your own website, it’s possible to earn money promoting online casinos and sports betting. Unfortunately, this is a very cut-throat business and it is often hard to get paid. I have been taken myself. If you are interested in this industry you must be careful not to get caught up with the wrong programs and know when to pull out if you are.

My Past Experience with Bad Affiliates is:

· Statistics Never Update
This is very common. No matter how many people you refer to the site, the counter always shows 0 visitors. We have experienced this even with some of the very large casinos. To check this, simply click on your banners and ensure the clicks are being counted. Check on your statistics often and if the stats aren’t changing this may be a sign of trouble.

· False Player Conversion
This is one of the most common scams. You must remember, not everyone who clicks on a banner is going to sign up as a real player. The average conversion ratio is about 1% - 3%. However, some casinos won’t truly give you all the players who sign up through you. If you feel the conversion ratio is abnormally low for the affiliate you’ve chosen, dump them, there are plenty of affiliates to choose from. Don’t fall for this scam.

· The Check is in the Mail
It appears the statistics are accurate and you see the clicks being credited. The balance owed to you starts to climb so, like anyone who thinks they are making money, you promote it to the gill. The only problem is they never send you your check. Usually, they don’t respond to your emails either or only in the beginning as if to say the “check is in the mail”. If your check is overdue, write to the operator and ask what’s up. If they don’t reply or pay in an appropriate time frame – Pull them ASAP!

For those of you that have Enough Money to Really get involved

We advise everyone thinking of starting an Internet casino to begin with enough capital to cover start-up costs and operating costs for two months, as well as a substantial safety net to cover and excessive player winnings during the first month. Keep in mind charge backs may also be an important factor. The precise cost of starting and operating an Internet gaming business can vary widely depending on many factors. To name a few:

1. What country and jurisdiction will the license be held?
All countries and the way fees are accessed can be different. Fees in some countries can range between free to $150,000 for your initial license. While other countries may work on a percentage basis.

2. Do you want a complete casino with sports book and bingo?
You will find that on-line casinos have three different software options and yes you have to pay for each one you choose. To give you a ballpark price for each, the casino software (Blackjack, craps, slots, etc.) can run about $150,000; the bingo software can run about $80,000; and the sports book software can run about $50,000. Sports book, however, is the most work intense and has the most upkeep of all the casino ventures. Along with the cost of the software you have to also expect to pay a 10% to 20% royalty fee to the software manufacturer for each type of software you decide to buy.

3. Do you want a Turn Key casino?
This type of casino includes everything – the licensing, customer support, payout services, offshore web hosting, merchant account, general accounting, etc. This is the easiest way to go if you have the cash. However this takes research to make sure you pick a good provider and my advice is to pick someone that has been in business a few years. Ballpark ranges for this type of service can be $250,000 to $350,000++. And this just covers a basic casino, which as previously talked about doesn’t include Bingo or Sports Book. Oh, and yes! You still get to pay the 10% to 20% royalty fee to the software man each month. For this to work, you will need a proper structure and a lot of traffic!

4. How about your merchant account?
This is one more hurdle to jump. A merchant account is very hard to get and expect to pay around 6.9 to 9.9 percent on each transaction.

5. Finally, We advise you to have your venture operated by a corporate entity.
This is just our opinion, but we advise you to have your casino, bingo, and/or sports book operation be ran by a corporate entity. This can be any kind of company you wish. In practice most Internet casinos and sports books are operated by companies established in tax-favorable jurisdictions. Costs for the incorporation of such a company can vary from $2,000 to $10,000 US dollars; this is dependant on the country in which the company will be incorporated and on the structure in which you choose to incorporate your company. Setting up a company in a satisfactory manner is the sole responsibility of the client.
We recomend John Schroder of firstantilles.com

Below is a list of most the gaming software providers.

Access
Bet and Chat
Boss Media
Chartwell Technology
CryptoLogic
Diamond Games
Dot Com Entertainment Group
First Multimedia Group
Gambling Software
Gambling Logix
Global Entertainment
Gold Play
Grand Virtual
iCrystal Inc
iGlobalMedia
IQ-Ludorum
Innoco
Kismet Studios
Microgaming
Multi-Effective
Net Entertainment
Odds On Inc
Online Gambling System
Playtech
Radiate Software
Random Logic
RealTime Gaming
Unified Gaming
Windows casino
World Net Gaming

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