IGB Affiliate Awards - LOLwhat?

[Vladi]

First I have never voted nor nominated anyone or any site in this thing so I have no skin in this game. And I know its an annual industry circle jerk of little importance that often results in total head-scratching picks as a winners. But this year they have outdone themselves.

Best Poker Affiliate Program: Unibet Affiliates
Best Casino Affiliate Program: Affiliates United
Best Sports Affiliate Program: Paddy Power
Best Bingo Affiliate Program: Market-Ace
Best Financial Affiliate Program: Etoro
Best Overall Affiliate Program: bet365
Best Poker Affiliate Manager: Kriton Kounelakis- Bwin.Party
Best Casino Affiliate Manager: Martyn Beacon- Affiliate Edge
Best Sports Affiliate Manager: Craig Van Flute- Sportingbet
Best Bingo Affiliate Manager: Simon Dunne- Butlers Bingo
Best Financial Affiliate Manager: Jennifer Ming- Neteller
Best Overall Affiliate Manager: James Woods- Bet365
Best Poker Affiliate: pokernews.com
Best Casino Affiliate: latestcasinobonuses.com
Best Sports Affiliate: oddschecker.co.uk
Best Bingo Affiliate: bingoport.co.uk
Best Financial Affiliate: dailyforex.com
Best Overall Affiliate: olbg.co.uk
Best Newcomer Affiliate Program: Affiliate REPUBLIK
Best Newcomer Affiliate: gambling.com
Most Improved Affiliate Program: Sky Affiliate Hub
Best iGaming Affiliate Network: Income Access
The Lou Fabiano Award for the Best iGaming Community: GPWA
Best Payment System: Skrill (Moneybookers)


Have I woken up in a world where the words "worst" and "best" have swapped their meaning? Affiliates United are not in the top 200 best casino affiliate programs. All you have to do it take a quick look at the complaints on here where the program is rated Predatory, the GPWA, and wherever else poor affiliate webmasters have been unpaid, shafted, or ripped off by them. They were so bad that even the dopes running William Hill eventually worked it out a couple of years after they outsourced everything to CPays and tried to bring it all in house without much success to date.

Rewarding a program like Affiliates United that is a stain on an already poorly regarded affiliate industry is a joke. The organisers, voters, judges, or whoever else is responsible for that award in particular should be embarrassed and ashamed.

 

[inspiration]

Rewarding a program like Affiliates United that is a stain on an already poorly regarded affiliate industry is a joke. The organisers, voters, judges, or whoever else is responsible for that award in particular should be embarrassed and ashamed.

"This industry is a joke".

Funny to see the "once so popular" rewards affiliates programs could not score one award -again-, how can that be ? ;D

 

[PaaskeUK]

It is like football!!! ALL FIXED ;D don't trust anyone not even you cat

 

[Guard Dog]

I wonder where these names come from in there? I wasn't part of the voting team this year, but have been in the past. I think one of the biggest flaws in this voting system is that the nominees go around *trying* to get votes. That, in itself, makes it pretty much a void contest - IMO.

AGD has won a couple of times, but never have I asked for votes.

 

[societyofslots]

I dont know what your complaining about.. Did you not get the memo ?

FREEDOM is SLAVERY
WAR is PEACE
ALL CASINO PROGRAMS ARE GOOD

I think you need a visit to the re-education centre.. you sound like one of those "thought terrorists"

 

[MaritVS]

I wonder where these names come from in there? I wasn't part of the voting team this year, but have been in the past. I think one of the biggest flaws in this voting system is that the nominees go around *trying* to get votes. That, in itself, makes it pretty much a void contest - IMO.

I thought the vote only counted to get nominated? To win, isn't the decision down to a selection of 'silent' industry judges? ie. Affiliates who work with the programs?

Obviously I am going to be lenient as we won best affiliate program (newcomer), but I didn't know who the judges were and so couldn't have asked for votes even if I had wanted to?

 

[CygX1]

My favorite part:

The Lou Fabiano Award for the Best iGaming Community: GPWA

Those who have been around the forums for long enough would certainly confirm that Lou has always been the greatest supporter of GPWA. Right, not?

These awards are very entertaining. They make me smile. :emoticon-0140-rofl:

 

[Guard Dog]

I thought the vote only counted to get nominated? To win, isn't the decision down to a selection of 'silent' industry judges? ie. Affiliates who work with the programs?

Obviously I am going to be lenient as we won best affiliate program (newcomer), but I didn't know who the judges were and so couldn't have asked for votes even if I had wanted to?

Could be... I was on the panel of 'silent' judges, I guess. I'm not sure how they came up with the inital group to vote on.

 

[Guard Dog]

My favorite part:

Those who have been around the forums for long enough would certainly confirm that Lou has always been the greatest supporter of GPWA. Right, not?

These awards are very entertaining. They make me smile. :emoticon-0140-rofl:

He would be rolling... and not with laughter...

 

[bonustreak]

I think it is time for a change up on how the awards are ran myself...

 

[Vladi]

I wonder where these names come from in there? I wasn't part of the voting team this year, but have been in the past. I think one of the biggest flaws in this voting system is that the nominees go around *trying* to get votes. That, in itself, makes it pretty much a void contest - IMO.

AGD has won a couple of times, but never have I asked for votes.

May I ask why you didn't get a vote this year? Not interested, or not asked?

My favorite part:



Those who have been around the forums for long enough would certainly confirm that Lou has always been the greatest supporter of GPWA. Right, not?

These awards are very entertaining. They make me smile. :emoticon-0140-rofl:

I am surprised that there is an award named in his honour after the crap he pulled against affiliates he was supposedly working to protect the interests of. I guess its kind of fitting that the GPWA won it though.

AGD for life! Don't sell out like the rest Guard Dog!

 

[bonustreak]

AGD has never been for the glory we are here to help our fellow affiliates and nothing more
So when voting came we never asked others to vote for us nor bragged that we shortlisted etc..

The final votes are cast by a panel of private people is my understanding...

Personally I was totally shocked that Streak Gaming was not at least nominated to be short listed under the Lou Fab award since we do have one of the top
gaming forums around but hey it is what it is I guess... I am sure my forum members did nominate us, well in fact several of them told us they did so that came as a shock to not see us listed... Well hey at least 'bonustreak' was nominated for best casino affiliate

I did see several well deserved wins but as stated there are way too many rogue and blacklisted sites getting an award that makes me not very happy...

I think more time and effort needs to be put into this award, it needs to be revamped including the comedians they pick this last fellow was appalling as well as insulting!!

 

[Vladi]

I thought the vote only counted to get nominated? To win, isn't the decision down to a selection of 'silent' industry judges? ie. Affiliates who work with the programs?

Obviously I am going to be lenient as we won best affiliate program (newcomer), but I didn't know who the judges were and so couldn't have asked for votes even if I had wanted to?

I looked it up and it seems there is a list of judges openly published on the website so the people up for an award know exactly who is judging it.
Judges | iGB Affiliate Awards

That more or less explains things to me.

 

[bonustreak]

I think they wanted to to be totally transparent. I know that I am asked to judge on a few category's that do not conflict with my role as an affiliate such as any categories that I have competitors or my sites listed in for voting. Hope that makes sense?

 

[Vladi]

Thanks. I still think that leaves things open to manipulation. And I can't think of any other explanation for this Affiliates United thing because surely a so-called expert affiliate would never have voted for them. I did notice that in that list there are a considerable number of operators, affiliate managers etc who probably see things differently to affiliates.

Surely being classed as predatory at AGD is enough to disqualify a program? How were they even nominated in the first place? (I assume you nominate yourself in this thing right?) How about the GPWA's page for them - of 5 recent threads, 4 are people complaining about non payment or getting shafted and the other is a thread summing up the issues in the other. They have a tiered commission plan where commission is dropped to 12.5% in any month that any affiliate doesn't send a new depositor. In other words there is no possible objective basis under which this program could be classed as anywhere near the best at anything, except for maybe disappointing and annoying affiliates.



Someone's having a laugh. I feel sorry for the unwary affiliates who are going to sign up with them after they inevitably start advertising how they are the best affiliate program.