Tuesday marked the three-year anniversary of one of the darkest days in history for U.S. gambling affiliates. Appropriately named “Black Friday,” April 15, 2011 will be a day that will be remembered by many U.S. gambling affiliates, especially poker affiliates, for years to come.

A Walk Down Memory Lane – Black Friday

I can remember it like it was yesterday. On that fateful morning I was sitting in a dentists chair actually thinking about what affiliate payments had come in during the week, as well as which I was still expecting.

All of the sudden, it was either my Blackberry Bold, or iPhone 3 that began blowing up. As soon as I saw the first text roll in saying all of my U.S. facing money makers were being seized by the U.S. DOJ, I figured it was a prank.

But then another, another, and another came in.

Living through losing most of my affiliate income in 2006 when U.S. iGaming affiliates were smacked in the face with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, I couldn’t help but have one thought run through my mind, “Aw Geez, not this again!”

But, indeed it happened; the U.S. successfully seized and shut down the four largest online poker sites in the country. (PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, UltimateBet.com, and AbsolutePoker.com).

What Happened Next For U.S. Poker Affiliates

What transpired in the months and weeks to come can only be described as multiple meltdowns of epic proportions.

Existing U.S. facing online poker sites not caught up in the DOJ seizure all began changing their domain tld’s from .com to .eu’s, .ag’s, or other non-US  extensions. Many of these operators were on high alert, and began changing their payment processing and the way they did business in the U.S. market.

In the poker affiliate market, there was a massive sell-off going on.

Affiliate sites were going for pennies on the dollar. The amount of value many of these sites could be picked up for was obscene. And while I won’t name any names, a few non-U.S. super affiliates took full advantage of this fire sale, and essentially bought out a large percentage of the mid-level affiliate market.

Many larger poker affiliates were forced to downsize, cut back on staff, or trim their spending down to a shear level of survivability.

Sure, U.S. facing affiliates were still making money off of operators like CarbonPoker or BetOnline, but the revenues were paltry compared to what they once were with the Big 4. Many poker affiliates simply moved on into different industries and left their old life of “poker affiliate marketing” behind them.

The good news, this may have been the best decision some ever made, as I personally know several former poker affiliates who are currently using their previous acquired skills to crush it in other industries.

Once The Dust Settled

It’s hard to say that the dust ever officially settled. We could go into the entire story of Full Tilt Poker being caught with their hands in the cookie jar, and PokerStars bailing them out; however I’m pretty sure anyone reading this is well aware of that story.

As painful as it was, perhaps Black Friday had to happen in the U.S. to get us to the point we are today. Give that article by John Mehaffey a read, and you may agree.

With three states currently allowing regulated online gambling in some form (Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware), we’re currently on the cusp of a much larger regulated U.S. online gambling market. And most importantly, we are seeing a market emerge that is trusted and monitored to ensure player safety.

What Lies Ahead For U.S. Poker Affiliates?

It’s impossible to have a crystal ball and predict what the market will look for U.S. poker affiliates in the months and years to come. One thing is certain though, there will be opportunities, and a great deal of wealth will be created.

America’s largest regulated market, New Jersey, has been slow to adapt and offer a clear view of their stance on affiliate marketing. Currently affiliates are working on a strict paid advertising model.

As the online poker market continues to stagnate however, and as the poker sites look to attract more casual players, the emergence of a true performance based affiliate model should become much more prevalent.