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Ladbrokes affiliate site Entain Affiliates were warned Wednesday night that any attempt to stifle free press releated to their brands would result in severe consequences.
Gambling911.com issued the warning following an attempt by that company's affiliate arm to prevent links and mention of their website.
Entain operates a "revenue-share payment scheme", not our words, THEIRS (see below).
"Such a model should be abolished," commented Chris Costigan, head of the Gambling911.com website. "It's disgusting. It preys on the vulnerable."
Gambling911.com works off a media buy advertising model and has never tied its business to gamblers losses.
"In regard to reporting on Ladbrokes and its related companies, Gambling911.com has every right to do so. We don't operate in Russia. We operate in a free press environment," Costigan added.
Gambling911.com has sued the US Justice Department to ensure that online media sites have the same access rights as those that report offline such as newspapers and television news outlets.
"We won that case and welcome Entain Affiliates to challenge it," Costigan remarked. "We fought to have sites like Breitbart, Huffington Post, Politico and other online media platforms provided the same access rights as their mainstream contemporaries. We're sure as hell not going to sit around and have some idiots pushing a revenue-share payment scheme dictate what we can and cannot publish."
That case was Costigan Media vs. US Justice Department, which sought to unveil details of an investigation into PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker two years prior to the indictments against both firms. Costigan Media, the parent company of Gambling911, had learned of an investigation commenced against the two businesses, which ultimately resulted in the dreaded "Black Friday" indictments. Gambling911 readers were provided with ample warning to pull their funds out of Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars as a result of the positive ruling.
Entain also encompasses BetMGM. The MGM brand has for many years provided press releases to the Gambling911.com website.
Costigan Media has demanded that Entain Affiliates submit its threats via the proper channels so that it can inform all state regulators and its stakeholders of their efforts to quash free press in order to further promote their "revenue-share payment scheme". Entain is publicly traded.
The NCAA last week already began cracking down on gambling advertisements during tournament game broadcasts out of an abundance of fear over game integrity and gambling addiction and the continued pollution of the airwaves.
Affiliates paid based on a percentage of losses of referred players are likely to come under intense scrutiny as a result of Entain's brash behaviour in attempting to undermine the free press.
- Payton O'Brien, Gambling911.com
