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eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance, aka, eCOGRA, is a
non-profit online gaming authority whose primary objective is to foster and
ensure the protection of players. Headquartered in London, eCOGRA was formed in
early 2003, and has since blossomed into one of the foremost independent
authorities in the online gambling sector. Comprised by a highly experienced
staff charged with certifying online casinos for fairness, investigating player
complaints and mediating disputes between approved online casinos and players,
eCOGRA is a busy organization. Their Board of Independent and Non-Executive
Directors includes such esteemed persons as retired Chief Inspector of the
Gaming Board of Britain, Bill Galston, and former Director of the New Jersey
Division of Gaming Enforcement, Frank Catania. The Board operates in a manner so
that non-executive, independent directors have the final say over Board
decisions, thus ensuring autonomy from affiliated software developers and site
operators.
In order for an online casino or software developer to display eCOGRA's "Safe
and Fair" Seal on their website, the operator must meet eCOGRA's Generally
Accepted Practices, or eGAP, which ensures that games are fair and the operator
is meeting strict responsible gaming standards. Ongoing compliance is monitored
by a team of fully qualified professionals, whose work is, in turn, reviewed by
eCOGRA's Board of Independent Director's. eCOGRA requires all approved sites to
display links to monthly payout percentage reports (which includes individual
stats on poker games) and randomness reviews (ensuring all hands are
unpredictably dealt by the software platform's RNG).
Exercising a superb example of check's and balances, eCOGRA appoints auditors
from KPMG in London to regularly review the people who are performing
certification reports, the testing processes used to certify software platforms
for fairness, RNG methodology, and the processes used to determine payout
percentages.
Besides offering protection for players and raising the trust factor amongst
the online gambling community, another tremendous contribution by eCOGRA has
been their ongoing work in developing a more universal system of online gambling
regulation. Recognized by leading gaming authorities, such as The Lotteries and
Gaming Authority of Malta, UK Gambling Commission, Gibraltar and the Kahnawake
Gaming Commission, eCOGRA continues to pave the way in developing complementary,
yet more comprehensive gaming regulation standards.
Visit eCOGRA.org for more information and to see a list of approved online
casinos and poker rooms. |
