Affiliate agitation over Unibet cuts

31.01.2008

A row which has been gaining momentum on French affiliate marketing blogs has started to spill over to English language commentaries following what appears to be a unilateral decision by the Unibet gambling group to temporarily chop affiliate commissions due to spikes in business that it had brought about in a media initiative.

There are allegations that Unibet's affiliate management imposed the cut because the betting company anticipated dramatically increased traffic following its appearance on a French current affairs TV show. The measure was imposed for four days but left a lasting impression that was less than desirable, according to reports.

Outraged French affiliates complained that Unibet had told them it expected large numbers of new accounts to be opened and a strong boost in traffic following the company's appearance on the high profile television show.

Because this was a company initiative, Unibet would increase the capacity of its servers for the following four days and reduce its “payouts on sports betting deposits over the same period by 50 percent,” affiliates claim they were told without prior consultation.

Unibet has remained unmoved by the growing row, arguing that its decision was not so much a penalty as a fair adjustment in view of the significant additional volumes of business and awareness it had created through the media initiative.