CAP Rift Could Devastate Online Gambling Affiliate Stability

Written by:
C Costigan
Published on:
Feb/23/2009

Co-founder of Casino Affiliate Program (CAP), Lou Fabiano, has come out swinging against his business partner in the venture, Warren Jolly.  He accused Jolly on Monday of trying to take over the CAP brand while pushing out other business partners.  It was unclear how this rift might affect their upcoming shows in Cancun and Amsterdam.

CAP had planned to hold an event outside the city center of Amsterdam in an effort to compete with the established Casino Affiliate Convention (CAC), a show this week announced Google as part of its agenda.  Gambling911.com's Jenny Woo will also be reporting from the CAC show. 

"This is a complete mess," said one affiliate who has attended several CAP events in recent years.

Mark Lesnick, organizer of the CAC show, has been capitalizing on the fallout from the Fabiono/Jolly rift.

CAP Euro's London show, while achieving a rather substantial attendance, also turned into a chaotic scene, with at least one fight breaking out and an "episode" involving hired security pushing an individual around for no apparent reason.   Most of the partygoers remained but a few of the affiliate sponsors, including Intertops, left the event abruptly.  Other affiliate sponsors met behind closed doors to discuss the current situation with CAP and a more "feasible" pricing structure.

Meanwhile, Fabiono has issued the following statement and an email was also sent out, both of which were obtained by Gambling911.com:

Dear Certified Partners and CAP Members

It is with my deepest regret that I must send the following information today as a warning to anyone contemplating working with Warren Jolly or who has been a certified partner of CAP. Please read the letter I received below my statement so you understand why I feel forced to act now. Prior to reading that let me state:

1. I am the founder of CAP and majority shareholder in Affiliate Media Inc. I owned CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com long before I ever met Warren Jolly.

2. When House Winnings failed as a master affiliate for Tradal I was approached by Warren Jolly and his partner at House Winnings and asked if I would allow them to help monetize CAP and handle sales. Prior to that we did NOT charge a fee for programs to be listed at CAP so there was little revenue coming in, but that wasnt my focus in creating this community.

3. Once I agreed to help out Warren and his partner, who were only 18 at the time and had no prior experience or degree, we formed Affiliate Programs Inc. which later became Affiliate Media Inc.

4. Warren Jolly was given a minority shareholder position and seat on the new company board. His task was to increase reveneus at CAP and join in the growth of that venture.

5. During the first few years with the new company Warren performed admirably and acted as a real asset to us and our industry. Unfortunately as time went on he become bolder and lesss receptive to any input regarding sales or operation of our retail division.

6. He has repeatedly boosted the certifications fees far beyond any level he was authorized too. I had asked that a maximum increase of 20% per year be honored and he agreed verbally then went on to charge whatever he felt the client would bear. This damaged many relationships we have or had with our certified partners. He stressed that we had every right to charge whatever he could get and to stay out of sales. I bit my lip and went on focusing on the things I enjoyed which were the community and member relations.

7. Last year Warren told me he wanted to open a poker room. I was opposed to the idea but he went ahead and signed a contract with a provider under a false name and informed me after the fact we were now in the poker business. He asked if I would manage the project and also handle a legitmate client that wanted to re-enter the casino business. I was hesitant, but was backed into a corner as we couldnt do these sort of things under the Affiliate Media banner as it would be a conflict of interest with what CAP did. That is why we formed Effective Media Group. I didnt see any workable alternative so I went along with Warren yet again. For this I owe everyone an apology. I should have put my foot down then and I didnt.

8. Moving forward its my intention to regain control of my comapny and to have Warren Jolly removed from any managemnt position within our company or restricted from doing any further damage to CAP or Affiliate Media Inc. When that occurs I will lower all certification fees to a more reasonable level and work towards repairing any damaged relationships we have with our present and former certified partners.

9. The staff at Affiliate Media is top notch and I do intend to retain everyone in their current postions. The only change I am seeking is to remove Warren Jolly from day to day management of our California Offices as I believe he has been mismanaging our affairs and has most likely been syphoning monies off without the knowledge of myslef or the other shareholder.

10. The event team and the publishing arm of CAP are also top notch performers and will be retained and remain unchanged.

10. Please read what I receievd via email today which has promted this action. Over the weekend Warren removed me from his skype contacts and phone mail and last week I was informed he was hiring an Admin named Greg to replace "The Professor" in managing the community and our forums so I have to act now to prevent this rogue from effectively stealing my own company:

From: Gambling Ananymous [mailto:gamblinganomynous@hotmail.com]

Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 2:32 PM

To: editor@casinoaffiliateprograms.com

Subject: Warren Jolly

...And Gambling911.com has obtained this email from an affiliate who does business with CAP:

Hello Lou,

 

I speak on behalf of many here - we as a group of affiliate managers are disatisfied with your business partner's actions over the past number of years and we hope to see you stand your ground and continue managing cap.

You should be aware that he's been taking money from a number of affiliate programs, for 'consutling services' and puting it into several of his personal/company bank accounts. We can provide more information if need be to assist you with your case.

We thought you should also know that your 'so-called' partner is going to announce stepping down from Effective Media this week, and he's going to put the blame on the past months events on to you, including the cardspike fiasco.

The bottom line is that we will not allow warren to take over the cap business affairs.

Gambling News

Say No to Sportsbook Blacklist

Since Gambling911.com revealed that seven sportsbooks had gotten together to share player information, everybody in the industry is talking.

How to Withdraw Funds From Online Casinos?

Navigating the world of online gambling, especially when it comes to withdrawing your winnings, can seem daunting at first. However, with the right knowledge and understanding, the process can be smooth and secure.

Syndicate