Nevada’s approaching online poker market will make use of affiliate marketing, an online poker tradition, though stringent background checks for applicants will likely mean that many of today’s existing affiliates will fail the approval process.
Among the basic requirements for those seeking to do business as affiliates will be the submission of fingerprints, personal history and personal and corporate financial records, and an affidavit of full disclosure.
The detailed requirements are receiving media attention in recent days after having been available for the past month, with would-be affiliates designated as a Class 3 “Marketing Affiliate”.
Nevada will categorize affiliates in the same general category as “Interactive Gaming Service Providers” and “Service Providers,” Classes 1 and 2, respectively, which carry even more stringent licensing requirements.
Affiliate applicants will have to pony up a $3k application fee for each affiliate agreement they seek, with service provider agreements also among the documents to be submitted as part of the application process. The $3k covers the actual application processing cost of $500, plus $2.5k for investigative costs.
The financial-records requirement also applies to more than just one individual, when corporate affiliate entities are involved. Each corporate office and equity holder of more than 10% of the affiliate’s business entity will be required to file.
A complete list of stockholders, members and business partners will also be required, even if minor stockholders are exempted from the financial history requirement.
Affiliates are the only Class 3 license defined within the Nevada gaming regulations, which also define a few supporting business roles for the state’s online poker program where licensure will not be required.
Among those services, generally described as secondary support, are advertising, graphic design, generalized marketing and consulting, risk assessment, and ATM-to-cash and check-cashing services.
