Gambling Affiliates Union's first aff programme boycotts
The Gambling Affiliates Union (GAU) is to boycott the Grand Prive and Vegas affiliate programmes following an overwhelming vote in favour of the move among members.
THE GAMBLING AFFILIATES UNION (GAU) IS TO BOYCOTT the Grand Prive and Vegas affiliate programmes following an overwhelming vote in favour of the move among members.
The Gambling Affiliates Union was established as an arbitration service between affiliates and affiliate programmes at the start of this month. It already has more than 200 affiliate members, and aims to have 1000 members within six months.
The boycotts on the two programmes follows two GAU polls in which 89% and 87% of vote voted in favour of boycotts respectively, against 11% and 13% abstaining and not a single member voting against.
Grand Prive promotes the Grand Bay, Bella Vegas, Lake Palace, Jupiter Club and Road House casinos; and Vegas Affiliates, while Vegas Affiliates promotes the Grand Hotel, Vegas Joker, Vegas Slot, Colosseum, Vegas Country and Vegas 7 casinos.
GAU chairman Paul White said that the boycotts of the two programmes will be continued indefinitely, but that the Union would consider re-polling members in future if approached by either of the programmes seeking GAU-arbitrated resolution of member complaints. “Our door is always open,” White said.
Reiterating earlier comments when White was forced to defend an apparent GAU turnaround on its initial promises not to boycott affiliate programmes, White added that “we are not looking to close programmes down, we are just looking for them to be fair with affiliates,” continuing that GAU members are not obligated to adhere to GAU boycotts.
A vote was also held on a third programme, Affiliate Lounge, which promotes Betsson, Casino Euro and Cherry Casino. However Affiliate Lounge has so far escaped a GAU boycott after a narrow poll result in which 45% members voted only for a boycott if arbitration fails, 14% voted against a boycott, and just 41% of members in favour of an immediate boycott without GAU arbitration.
The GAU has approached Affiliate Lounge to initiate negotiations.
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