The Casino Affiliate Convention (CAC) 2009 took place on the 30th and 31st of March in Amsterdam. Last week reports trickled in but they were more about the partying than the business. Casinomeister provides a more balanced view of the event and has just released his report. This is what Casinomeister had to say.

Not surprisingly the attendance at CAC was about half of that of last year. Because of the recent Casino Affiliate Programs (CAP) fiasco many people stayed away. Bob Rains of CAP was present and Casinomeister had a small chat with him. Casinomeister did not mince words when he told Rains that the CAP should pack up and go home. CAP had cheated the affiliates and did not deserve a second innings. On the 30th there was a panel discussion on “ethics in the casino industry” in which Casinomeister participated. The discussion veered around to whether affiliate programs should be certified. Casinomeister pointed out that CAP had been issuing certificated without verification simply because it received a fee. eCOGRA, which is doing good work, is yet thought to be “a puppet of Microgaming and 888” by a section of the industry. Casinomeister said that the worthiness of the online casino was more important and affiliates who backed reputed casinos would do well in the long run.

On the 31st Casinomeister had a discussion with the affiliate manager of Casino Club about the disputed amount of €157,000 “won” by a German player. The matter is under resolution by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta. Casinomeister acknowledged that Casino Club had been hit by a spate of multiple accounts but also pointed out that all players should not be painted with the same brush. Casinomeister did not find the conferences very productive so he continued the certification discussion with friends over beer. Casinomeister stuck to his guns. He said that there already were enough watch dog bodies like the Association of Players, Casinos, and Webmasters (APCW), the Affiliate Guard Dog, the Gaming Portal Webmasters Association (GPWA) and not to forget Casinomeister. So there was no need for a certifying body.

Though the business may have been down the partying certainly was not. Ladbrokes had sponsored a tour of the Heineken Brewery with plenty of free beer all around. Euro Partners, the affiliates for Playtech powered online casinos like Casino Tropez and Titan Casino, had sponsored a party at the Werck. And in between the official events Casinomeister enjoyed several rounds of eating and drinking with friends.

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