At the beginning of May we began informing publishers that Merge Gaming had decided to end rakeback for new sign-ups after June 1st. With the end of the month quickly approaching, we again wanted to remind publishers that you have a limited time to inform players that Merge Gaming rakeback will be ending for new sign-ups. Players are only required to sign-up at a Merge Gaming room before this date to receive rakeback (assuming your site is a rakeback site). A deposit is NOT necessary to “grandfather” players into 35%. What this means is that ANY player that could conceivably see themself EVER wanting rakeback on the Merge Gaming Network -- despite whether they want to play now or not -- should absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt sign-up before this date. We’ve all heard the accounts of players regretting that they didn’t originally sign-up for a rakeback account at Full Tilt Poker, and we realize that we likely will encounter similar disappointed Merge players signing up after June 1st -- especially if they continue their rapid growth. Minimize this affect as much as possible by promoting 35% rakeback through the month and making it abundantly clear the consequences of not signing up for rakeback before this date. The Merge Gaming Network has been the biggest benefactor from the events of April 15th. Although traffic has leveled off slightly over the last week or so, overall traffic is up 70%+ over the last month and change, according to PokerScout. The room was already a hidden gem for many US and non-US players alike -- especially those seeking rakeback -- and interest has only increased at the network since April 15th, as the network became the most popular to accept US players. Merge Gaming Stops Accepting Players from Certain States At this point, all indications point to Merge Gaming continuing to accept most players from the US for the foreseeable future. I believe one of the best clues of their intermediate-long term stance is the halting of new accounts from certain states where they feel the legal situation is not as strong. Last week, reports surfaced that the Merge Gaming Network was no longer accepting new players from the state of New York. Yesterday, we received notification that Louisiana, Missouri, Maryland and Washington DC were also added to this list. This is unfortunate for prospective players in these states, but this seems to be a good sign for those that hope Merge Gaming will continue servicing US players. In addition to the moves in the US, the Merge Gaming Network also decided to stop accepting real money play in France, due to the requirement that operators there must hold a French license. Final Thoughts With Merge Gaming apparently being proactive about accepting new players in areas of the country with a cloudy legal situation, players in other states may want to look at this as another reason to create an account now. Nobody can see the future, but one can see a scenario where more states are added to the list (Microgaming, for instance, chose not to accept players from 11-12 states when still accepting American players). The possibility even exists for Merge at some point to decide not to accept any new US players, while allowing existing players to play. While this doesn’t appear to be on the table at this point, the possibility could be more likely than an outright ban of new AND existing players. So with the impending rakeback change and uncertain future policy on other US-states, we strongly recommend promoting Merge Gaming to players who still wish to play online poker. Make sure it is made crystal clear that players wishing to receive rakeback on the Merge Gaming Network must at least sign-up for a Merge Gaming room through your rakeback site before this date. PAS publishers have the option of promoting four US-facing rooms that offer rakeback: flagship site Carbon Poker, Black Chip Poker, Overbet and Poker Nordica. GR88 also currently allows rakeback but does not accept US players. See our review pages for more information:
PAS received confirmation on Wednesday that the Merge Gaming Network, currently the largest US-facing site, will be ending rakeback for all NEW sign-ups starting on June 1st. Existing players who register before June 1st will be grandfathered into the rakeback deal they have. Needless to say, if you are promoting Merge Gaming sites, using the news as a marketing opportunity is strongly advised over the next three-four weeks. Merge Gaming has had an eventful 12 months. The network first saw their traffic triple when in April of 2010 Players Only and Sportsbook joined the network. The network has seen steady growth ever since. After the events of Black Friday, Merge Gaming suddenly became the most popular site to accept play from the United States. Since April 15th, the network has seen its traffic dramatically increase over 70%. On Wednesday, the network broke another record when 3,170 real money players were recorded playing. Once Merge Gaming stops accepting new rakeback sign-ups, new players will be a part of the standard VIP program at Merge Gaming sites. At Carbon Poker, players can receive daily cash rebates of up to 35% when raking $2,500 or more during a month. VIP Point exchanges, which rakeback players also currently get, could presumably add additional return. It is expected that VIP program details will be tweaked over the next month for all sites to account for the new rakeback policy. PokerAffiliateSolutions will make sure to stay on top of any new developments. For now, use the the rest of the month as a marketing opportunity to lock players in to 35% rakeback. PAS publishers have the option of promoting four US-facing rooms that offer rakeback: flagship site Carbon Poker, Black Chip Poker, Overbet and Poker Nordica. GR88 also currently allows rakeback but does not accept US players. See our review pages for more information:
We are happy to announce a new affiliate promotion for PAS publishers. Poker Nordica will be awarding $500 in cash each month to the top Poker Nordica affiliate, determined by MGR. Poker Nordica has informed us that prizes could be higher in future months if the promotion is successful. For the purpose of the promotion, Poker Affiliate Solutions counts as one affiliate. If PAS finishes first on the leaderboard, we will award our top generating publisher with the entire $500 prize. In case you are wondering, we don’t have any massive generating publishers at Nordica, so we consider the prize attainable for many, if not most of you. Why Should You Promote Poker Nordica? -35% rakeback -US-facing -Mac-compatible -Huge Race and Chase promotions At PAS we give publishers the choice to promote up to seven Merge Gaming rooms, all of whom we feel are worthy of consideration from publishers, especially given the fact the network has experienced such large growth. While many of online poker rooms stabilized in 2010, Merge Gaming tripled in size. They now represent the 4th largest network that caters to US players and the third largest US-facing site to offer rakeback – behind only Full Tilt and the Cereus Network. Rakeback players at Poker Nordica can take advantage of a 100% up to $600 sign-up bonus and 35% rakeback. Poker Nordica, through PAS, also runs a $25,000 Rake Chase, consisting of eight tiers paying cash prizes up to $1,500, yielding returns of 8%-15% in extra rakeback to players. Players can qualify by generating as little as $250 in MGR. Like all PAS promotions, these payments are not deducted from your commission! Poker Nordica also offers over $46,000 in VIP Races each month, including many additional standard Merge Gaming promotions. How Can I participate? Publishers do not have to do anything to participate in this promotion. Simply bring in the players and help PAS climb to #1 and we will handle the rest. Standings will be updated periodically. Good luck!
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