Affiliate Industry
Handling Player Disputes with Non-Licensed Operators: Online Poker Case Study
At brick and mortar casinos, poker players can get into all kinds of disputes ranging from the wrong amount of rake taken from a poker pot to someone breaking the rules at the table. The procedure for solving the dispute goes as follows: The floor is called to evaluate the situation and then a final decision.
It’s easy to notice most cases of a player breaking the rules when you have security cameras all over the place. At online poker tables, the situation is different though. You can’t see what the players are doing at their computer while playing cards. Recently, cases like using various tournament hand charts or real-time assistance software during gameplay have been discussed widely in the poker community. While it’s almost impossible to completely prevent those, handling player disputes should be relatively straightforward in case someone is found cheating. You ban the cheater and reimburse lost money to players who have played at the same tables with them.
What if you’re playing on a non-licensed poker room instead? The case gets much more complicated right away. While every operator has interest in protecting their players from cheating at the tables, having any kind of guarantee of that is nearly impossible. Worse yet, if affiliates are working with non-licensed operators as well, they might get into a tough spot if their players lose their money in against colluders or users of RTA software.
In this article, team members of Beastsofpoker.com discuss various aspects of solving player disputes as an affiliate and what kind of safety measures you should have with non-licensed poker operators. Let’s start with monitoring the games:
Monitoring the games for potential risks
The most common cases of fraudulent activity at the online poker felts are collusion and use of prohibited software. The third significant risk is the counter-party risk on unlicensed poker clubs. Depending the rules of the poker room, players might be able to use software like trackers during gameplay but any software that directly assists you in the decision-making is strictly out of question.
Collusion
Detecting collusion is much easier than detecting real-time assistance software usage, especially if the colluders do not use sophisticated strategies to hide what they’re doing. By monitoring a cash game or tournament table for 10-20 minutes, you can usually notice if something doesn’t add up with players’ actions.
Forbidden software
There’s not much you can do as an affiliate for detecting forbidden software unless you happen to play the games regularly and notice weird patterns by yourself. RTA users might try to play on licensed poker sites as well, so this risk is present no matter where you choose to play online poker. The only practical way to prevent your players from getting abused is to make sure the gambling operator has a security team to monitor the games for these cases.
Before you choose to promote a certain brand or an online poker club, it’s recommended to do a bit of research. Browsing through a few internet forums is not enough in this case. You should reach out to players and other affiliates on how it’s like to work with this brand, and if possible, meet the people behind the brand in person. Even after everything seems to click on paper, you might have to give your players a guarantee on their deposits, which can obviously be a big risk. Still, you don’t want to end up in a situation where a player has a dispute and nobody is able to reimburse them or handle the complaint properly.
Leveraging industry relationships to solve disputes
We’ve countered several cases where players have been unable to claim their winnings from a poker room. On licensed poker sites, the cases are usually about the player breaking some of the site’s T&Cs, which results in their winnings being frozen or the operator being shut down due to running out of cash.
While there’s counter-party risk in every business, with non-licensed operators the players will have a hard time to get reimbursed in case the operator runs out of money or refuses to pay a player if they conclude some T&C s have been broken, since there’s no regulatory body to handle the disputes. This leaves affiliates with just one option with player disputes: Negotiating with the operator.
From player’s point of view, having their account opened under an affiliate brings added safety. If something goes wrong with the gambling operator and the player feels like he is out of luck, the affiliate can try negotiating with the operator to get things sorted out. Again, there are no guarantees that the negotiations end up with a satisfying result for all parties involved. Yet, it’s definitely worth a try.
Final words
In general, preventive measures are easier to set in place than and preferrable to handling player disputes & trying to fix damage that has already occurred. As an affiliate, you should be prepared to help your players with any disputes, whether they were abused by other players breaking the rules or an operator confiscating their winnings. Lastly, it’s never a bad idea to keep up-to-date with the latest dispute resolutions procedures by following industry news.
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SOFTSWISS, a leading tech provider with over 15 years of experience, announces that its innovative affiliate marketing management platform, Affilka by SOFTSWISS, will participate in the upcoming iGB Affiliate presenting new features.
iGB Affiliate 2025 will take place in Spain on 21-22 January at Fira Grant Via Barcelona. The event will host over 200 companies and more than 8,000 attendees from around the world.
Participating with the stand for the second year in a row, Affilka by SOFTSWISS is going to present new features and share 2024 year’s results. The platform currently powers over 410 brands, with more than 40 new additions in Q3 2024 alone. Since the beginning of the year, the platform has welcomed over a hundred new brands.
The number of new affiliate accounts registered on the platform increased by 39.6% during the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year. Additionally, new player registrations grew by 62.7%, and the number of unique clicks on referral links increased by 8.9% during the same timeframe.
The growing metrics show the popularity of affiliate marketing in elevating iGaming projects. According to the recent iGaming Trends 2025 Report, affiliate marketing, along with SEO enhancement, paid advertising, and collaborations with influencers, remains one of the key tools for marketing promotion.
Constantly working on improving user experience, Affilka by SOFTSWISS recently introduced a new Geo-Distributed Redirect feature that reduces redirect times by 2.5 to 5 times. With tests showing a time drop from 1.5 seconds to 300–500 milliseconds, this improvement boosts site traffic by 3.5% to 7%, increasing registrations and deposits. It also enhances reliability and fault tolerance and ensures seamless traffic rerouting during disruptions, offering a faster and more dependable user experience.
Anastasia Borovaya, Head of Affilka by SOFTSWISS, summarises: “We acknowledge the essential role of affiliate marketing for promoting iGaming projects in a rapidly evolving landscape. The new feature is a game changer, addressing the common issue of players leaving sites due to lag. By drastically reducing latency, the Geo-Distributed Redirect feature ensures seamless navigation and maximises user engagement. Come to our stand at iGB Affiliate to learn more and share your ideas”.
Current and potential clients can book a meeting with the Affilka by SOFTSWISS team at stand C10 via the link.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 23,500 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team, based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia, counts over 2,000 employees.
The post Affilka by SOFTSWISS to Present Updates at iGB Affiliate 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Affiliate
AGS Announces Expiration of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Waiting Period for Acquisition by Affiliates of Brightstar Capital Partners
PlayAGS, Incorporated (NYSE: AGS) (“AGS” or the “Company”), a global gaming supplier of high-performing slot, table, and interactive products, today announced the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”), in connection with the previously announced agreement for the Company to be acquired by affiliates of Brightstar Capital Partners (“Brightstar”) for $12.50 per share in cash (the “Proposed Transaction”).
The HSR Act waiting period expired at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on December 9, 2024, satisfying an important condition necessary for the completion of the Proposed Transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to other conditions and regulatory approvals.
MightyTips is proud to announce its new partnership with Golden Star Sportsbook. This collaboration will enrich the iGaming experience for customers of both MightyTips and Golden Star.
Thanks to its well-developed SEO structure and diverse content, including bookmaker listings, bonus comparisons, and free daily expert football predictions, MightyTips will serve as a valuable gateway for potential Golden Star customers looking for a reputable sportsbook with features like instant withdrawals, weekly cashback, and more.
Golden Star is an online iGaming platform offering customers extensive sports betting options and over 4,000 casino games from leading software providers such as NetEnt, Evolution, and Microgaming. The site launched in 2012 and is licensed by Curacao.
Golden Star is owned by Dama N.V., a company that operates over 20 iGaming sites. Golden Star is part of the StarCrown Partners affiliate program, which recently introduced a loyalty rewards initiative to enhance the customer experience.
Golden Star has earned its reputation by offering a vast array of iGaming content on a secure, licensed platform that puts customers first. This aligns perfectly with MightyTips’ mission to connect iGaming enthusiasts with reliable and trustworthy operators.
Eugene Ravdin, MightyTips Head of Communications and Marketing, said: “At MightyTips, our goal is to provide iGaming enthusiasts with the best tools and insights to enhance their betting experience. This partnership expands our reach to a larger audience, particularly those passionate about sports predictions. With this collaboration, our readers can explore everything Golden Star has to offer.”
Sergei Trushkov, Golden Star Affiliate Team Lead, said: “We are delighted to partner with MightyTips, a respected leader in the betting affiliate industry. This collaboration is an exciting step forward in bringing Golden Star’s premium sportsbook experience to audiences across Central and Southern Europe, Australia, and Canada. Together, we are dedicated to enhancing the betting journey by providing expert insights and tailored offers for these markets.”
The post MightyTips announces partnership with Golden Star sportsbook appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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