eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance

eCOGRA is a an independent standards organisation which seeks to promote and establish fair gaming, consumer protection and mediation and arbitration of disputes within the online gaming industry. eCOGRA is a not-for-profit body and seeks to act as a Fair Gaming Advocate for consumers who can use their services where operators have subscribed to their code of ethics and best business practice.

About eCOGRA

eCOGRA recognises that online gaming is becoming more mature and is reaching all levels of the world's population due to the braking down of barriers and significantly improved access to online gaming operations. Regulation at the national level is essential but cannot handle the international dimension that online gaming now has with operators and players from all parts of the world regularly doing business with each other in their millions each day.

eCOGRA seeks to deliver a layer of player and consumer protection which complements the rights and obligations imposed upon members of the gaming community by their national regulatory bodies. eCOGRA exists to establish minimum standards for compliance by online gaming operators through a comprehensive charter which has been developed to underpin the integrity and professionalism of the online gaming community worldwide.

The Seal

eCOGRA approves online gaming operators and the software that is used in order to ensure that players are being treated honestly and fairly by the operators. Operators must comply with the requirements for being issued with The Seal and meet conditions for continued approval.

The general principles for gaining The Seal include adherence to eCOGRA's charter, meeting the needs for player protection and fair gambling backed by responsible conduct of the gaming operators themselves. Ultimately, operators must make prompt payments, ensure customer information is secure and handled appropriately with marketing and advertising that is fair and honest. There are then specific conditions which apply to operators depending upon their individual commercial circumstances; for instance, online bingo halls will need to comply with a set of conditions established for them and poker sites with another set specifically designed with them in mind.

eCOGRA also provides The Seal for software providers which helps operators to choose Seal compliant gaming platforms for their web sites which will then automatically result in gaming compliance as far as random and honest online gaming is concerned.

The Seal can then be demonstrated by the operator which provides a degree of confidence for online gamers who can be sure the web site and its games will have met certain minimum standards of fairness and integrity.

eCOGRA Dispute Resolution

eCOGRA provides a dispute resolution service which all operators are bound by upon a complaint being registered by a consumer. It is important to appreciate that eCOGRA can only deal with complaints and disputes which involve its own member and not those who are unregulated by eCOGRA. Nevertheless, the latest dispute resolution figures demonstrate that there has been a 100% increase on complaints disposed of by eCOGRA in 2007 compared to the prior year and this trend is set to continue as operators become registered and comply by The Seal requirements and consumers become more educated on their rights.

Other eCOGRA Activities

eCOGRA is not simply involved in approving online gaming sites and resolving customer disputes; the aim of eCOGRA is to promote fair and honest online gaming throughout the sector and from the customer/online operator business front right the way through to the back channels which deliver services in turn to the online gaming community and operators.

eCOGRA also provides an approval process for gaming affiliates who are looking to direct business and game players to specific gaming sites as well as providing similar services in approving gaming portals where players can gain access and receive recommendations to a variety of gaming sites through one umbrella site as well as developing research initiatives and global reporting services.

Website: eCOGRA.org