Countless online gambling affiliates jobs at risk thanks to group of unethical tipsters.
For the last two decades, the online gambling industry has been a lucrative, multi-tier business. It’s not just a market that consists of internet gaming operators and the customers they serve. Like every other business in the world, there are middle men who make a living from the industry.
The farmer who grows crops isn’t the only man profiting when you buy produce from your local grocer. There are shipping companies who move the products, paying truck drivers to haul them from the farm to the market. The store makes money selling them, and in turns pays its employees. It is an entire ecosystem that supports innumerable lives.
If you look at the online gambling industry as just another mega-corporate industry, helping the rich get richer, you’re missing the bigger picture. It employs hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Computer technicians, webmasters, software designers, game engineers, casino managers, compliance regulators, auditing firms, customer support reps, the list goes on.
One of the most overlooked segments of the online gambling industry is the affiliate business. Online casinos, poker rooms and sportsbooks institute these programs, paying countless individuals to successfully promote their services.
How Good (and Bad) Affiliates Work
A responsible affiliate posts a link on his/her website, illuminating the positive aspects of that service. Then an interested player clicks that link, signs up an account, makes a deposit, and starts wagering. The affiliate makes money. It’s that simple.
Affiliate programs are similar to marketing agencies, except that they involve a limitless network of advertisers. Thousands upon thousands of people work hard at these jobs. They are only paid based on their success – not an hourly rate or salary. And now, online gambling affiliates are at risk of losing everything they’ve spent years building. All thanks to the action of unscrupulous ‘tipsters‘ who publish incredulous information just to drive traffic.
It’s a growing problem that’s gripped the online sports betting industry more than any other, although it’s effecting the entire realm of online gambling as a result. These duplicitous tipsters are giving false information to would-be punters.
A common tactic, as described by former tipsters themselves, is to deliberately convince punters that they should place a bet on a specific game, race or contest, knowing full well that the bet will likely lose. They post sports betting tips on social media, encouraging countless bettors to make bad wagers.
In many cases, punters are required to sign up an account with the bookmaker that’s being advertised in order to gain access to these tips. This ensures that the affiliate will gain a portion – as much as 30% – of each punters losses.
Online Gambling Affiliates Cut by Sky Bet
The UK gambling commission is tightening up its regulations, and that’s got a lot of internet gambling operators worried that their affiliate programs – or rather, the unethical variety of affiliates who join their programs – could get them in hot water with regulators.
The problem has become so circumspect that Sky Bet, one of the UK’s largest iGaming operators, recently shut down its affiliate program altogether. The company based the decision on probable updates to current regulations.
“The regulatory landscape in which the industry operates is developing and maturing and operators are experiencing increased obligations regarding their regulatory responsibilities and level of compliance,” said Sky Bet in a statement.
“In order to operate in a compliant manner, we feel that operating the [affiliate] programme is no longer viable and that managing the output of affiliates presents a significant risk to our business from a regulatory perspective.”
