GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 41 - July 2018

GPWA AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES Dave Sawyer - webzcas We last checked in with you in 2005, over a dozen years ago. How has your business changed over that time? At one stage I had over 30 sites, but over the past few years I have reduced this down to just concentrating on my oldest portal and the site I started out in the industry with, in Online Casino Reviewer. A case of less is more. I still own in excess of 100 domains, though. What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the industry over the past decade, overall? Regulation in the U.K. At last, we have a licensing jurisdiction that is actually doing something positive.Which is a benefit for everyone concerned, whether you are a player, an affiliate or an operator. Certainly, over the past 12 months, the changes have been quite huge. We have seen several operators being on the receiv- ing end of large fines from the UKGC, and in turn, affiliates have been affected, with many changes being forced upon them. But this in the long run is for the greater good. For too long the iGaming industry has been allowed to pretty much do whatever we have wanted. Now player safety and responsible gambling, in the U.K. anyway, are at the forefront of what we do. This is a really good thing. Hopefully other territories will follow the UKGC’s lead, instead of just banning iGaming, for ex- ample, like what happened in Australia. What changes in the industry since we last spoke to you have had the biggest impact on your business specifically? Definitely the influx of ven- ture capitalists and large companies such as Catena Media entering the space. With their M&A policy, many portals have been taken over, and subsequently they have had massive resources thrown at them. Small companies such as my own have had to compete with them, and sometimes it feels like swimming against the tide. But this is the nature of the industry: New challenges arise, and we have to adapt to face them. Last fall, you sued Affiliate Edge over retroactive changes to con- tracts, something many affiliates likely wish they could do. What made you decide to go ahead with the suit? The owners of Affiliate Edge, Interactive Technology Corporation Limited, in February 2017 introduced, unannounced, a player quota minimum activity clause, something I did not agree to. Which saw my commission earnings reduce by near £5,000 over a three-month period during the months of June, July and August 2017. Due to the well-documented hostile take- over of the company, which came to a conclusion in the High Court in London in November 2016, I did not feel happy at all sending the program and their casinos any more traffic. Indeed, this course of action I took – stopping promoting them – was and still is the case with the majority of my peers. The minimum quota clause was a typical carrot and stick scenario. However, due to rumors of Affiliate Edge detagging players from their affiliates – which, incidental- ly, I do have cast-iron proof that this has actually occurred – there was no way I was going to send them a further click- through, let alone any FTDs. I felt that the small claims court would allow me to test whether this player quo- ta clause pushed onto affiliates without agreement was fair. Hence, I issued a claim against them for the shortfall in commission, frommy agreed deal of 35% and the new 10% forced on me by the player quota clause. What was the most difficult part of bringing that case, and where do things stand today? (Editor’s note: This magazine went to press in mid-June.) Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I should have at least employed the ser- vices of a lawyer to check the contract. Unfortunately, I missed the clause relat- ing to arbitration. In the U.K., claims for under £10,000 are usually tracked in the small claims process, meaning litigants bringing a claim are protected from the defendant’s costs, should they lose their claim or have it stayed. 13 years after his last interview, this affiliate is still going strong W W W . G P W A T I M E S . O R G 54