What Went Wrong?

Bonus whoring has come under fire lately. Last month or so Ultimate Bet canceled some bonuses for players that the deemed were taking advantage. Now Empire, if some of the reports are correct, are canceling the accounts of what they deem are players that only play for their bonus.

So what went wrong with this marketing scheme? Here’s what I think:

Company A

Head of Company: “We need more players!”
Marketer 1: “How about we offer a bonus to people who sign up with us!”
Accountant: “Well, it is possible that we could lose money but if they stay and play with us forever, we could make millions”
Head of Company: “Millions!”
Marketer 2: “What happens when they go broke?”
Marketer 1: “We can offer periodic re-loads to ensure they keep playing”
Marketer 3: “Brilliant!” (Boss’s son)
Accountant: “Maybe 10’s of millions”
Head of Company: “Make it so!”


Company B

Head of Company: “We need more players!”
Marketer 1: “See what they are doing over at Company A?”
Head of Company: “Copy that!”


Company C

Head of Company: “We need more players!”
Marketer 1: “See what they are doing over at Company A and B?”
Head of Company: “Copy that!”

This cycle continues until they only thing left is bigger and bigger bonuses. Then one day they all remember what the accountant said:

“Well, it is possible that we could lose money but if they stay and play with us forever, we could make millions.”

Wait, as a player, no need to stay and play. There are so many more bonuses out there, lets just go to the next one.

So now a dilemma: Can’t stop giving bonuses because everyone is doing it. Can’t just give them out to whom we want (that’s what they are trying to do) because players might go elsewhere to play (which is what you should do). So what should they do?

First off dear reader you must understand that this is not about loyalty to the site. If they could come up with a bonus that made them money, they would care less if you came and went. This is about profit. So I offer everyone my simple solution.

X% bonus up to $X to everyone. (20% up to $100)
X% bonus up to $X to players with X amount raked hands in prior month. (50% up to $200 for 1000 raked hands played the prior month)

Now the bonus whores can do their thing and it can't be that bad a lost to the sites for this to happen and the sites feign like they are rewarding loyalty and actually give something worthwhile to those that do stay and play.

Now that all is right with the world again, I’m going to play some poker.

Till Next Time!