Advertising & Affiliate Policy

How we make money

Our revenue comes from three sources:

1. Affiliate commissions. When you sign up with a poker operator through a link on PokerRift and go on to play, the operator pays us a commission. You pay nothing extra - the commission comes out of the operator's acquisition budget, not your bankroll.
2. Display advertising. Some pages show display ads. We don't take gambling ads on our strategy or responsible-gaming pages.
3. Sponsored content, when we run it, is labelled clearly as "Sponsored" in the byline and at the top of the article. Sponsored pieces don't count toward editorial coverage of the sponsor; they don't get linked from news articles the way editorial pieces do; and the sponsor doesn't get to approve editorial articles about them in exchange for the sponsored spot.

Where affiliate links appear

Operator review pages (categories "poker-room" and "training") typically include affiliate links to the operator, flagged with an affiliate disclosure above the fold. News articles mentioning an operator may include an affiliate link on first reference, still inside standard editorial content - we don't change what a news piece says because of the link.

Roundup and comparison pages (when we build them) will include affiliate links to each operator covered, with the same above-the-fold disclosure. Strategy guides occasionally link to training sites we've reviewed; those links are affiliate when a commercial partnership exists and plain when it doesn't.

Our editorial firewall

Affiliate revenue does not change which operators we cover, which we rate highly, or the order they appear in. A non-affiliate operator is reviewed on the same criteria as an affiliate one. A worse-performing affiliate doesn't get moved up; a better-performing non-affiliate doesn't get held back.

We don't run "best poker sites" lists that are ranked purely by commission rate. Our roundup pages make their ranking methodology explicit, usually a mix of software quality, game selection, payout reliability, and bonus value - in that order.

If we find a material problem with an affiliate partner (slow payouts, unresolved complaints, a regulatory action, a security incident), we cover it. We've pulled affiliate links from operators after their reviews went sour. Editorial reality trumps commercial relationships.

Operators we won't work with

We decline affiliate relationships with operators that:

• Operate in markets where they're not licensed, when a licensed alternative exists
• Have unresolved problem-gambling complaints or inadequate responsible-gaming tools
• Are subject to active enforcement action by a major regulator
• Won't honour their own terms on bonus clearance or withdrawal speed

We'll still cover those operators editorially - readers have a right to know what's going on - but we won't profit from sending readers to them.

Responsible gambling

No content on PokerRift is written for problem gamblers. We promote responsible play on every operator page and our full responsible gaming resources are linked from the footer of every page. If gambling is causing you harm, stop using the site and contact a problem-gambling helpline - several are listed on that page.

Contact

Questions about a specific affiliate relationship, advertising inquiries, or complaints: get in touch.