Since its creation in 2002 in London, England, the organization known as the e-Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance Agency (otherwise known as eCOGRA) has been an independent voice of regulation in the online poker and gaming industry. A non-profit organization, eCOGRA has been at the forefront of the drive to ensure that the games offered by online casinos and card rooms are being fairly operated, that players are protected and have a mediation point for disagreements and that the operators themselves are conducting business fairly. Their certification logo “eCOGRA – Safe and Fair” can be found on many of the top online operations around today.
Poker News Daily recently had the opportunity to sit down with the Chief Executive Officer of the organization, Andrew Beveridge, to learn more about eCOGRA and how it impacts the gaming world today.
PND: In eCOGRA’s history, how many casinos and poker rooms have been able to be certified and what are some of the top poker rooms that have subjected themselves to eCOGRA certification?
AB: 123 casinos and poker rooms have currently been certified by eCOGRA, including leading poker rooms such as Pacific Poker, Party Poker, and PokerRoom. As a result of eCOGRA reviewing approved sites on an annual basis, many of these operations have already been subjected to up 5 intensive reviews for compliance with the eGAP standards. Some of these poker operations, such as the Microgaming Network, subject themselves to even further external testing processes which involves an independent analysis of data that includes every single gaming transaction on a monthly basis to ensure that the cards are being dealt in an random and fair manner.
PND: What are the qualifications for certification through eCOGRA?
AB: When the software provider and operator are comfortable that they comply with our eGAP requirements, our compliance specialists undertake an on-site audit to confirm that every single eGAP requirement is being adhered to. There are over 100 eGAP requirements focused on player protection, fair gaming and responsible operator behavior. In the event that an area of non-compliance is identified by the compliance specialists, management are informed of this and provided with an opportunity to rectify the issue.
A follow-up inspection is then performed to ensure any issues are properly addressed and finally a report is submitted by the compliance specialists to eCOGRA’s independent Seals Compliance Committee, which will make a decision as to whether the seal should be issued. The report typically involves over 100 pages of detailed findings, and the inspection process is repeated at regular intervals, from one month to a year. It should be noted that it normally takes about a year from the time that an operator applies for a seal until it is awarded. This is mainly due to the extensive work required to upgrade systems, policies and procedures to meet eCOGRA’s high standards. Our review processes and resources are independently quality assured by London auditors KPMG on an ongoing basis.
PND: In respect to some of the online “superuser” situations that have occurred in the past year, would eCOGRA have been able to spot these security flaws through its certification process?
AB: It is quite possible that something like this could have been picked up during our review process. However, the approach we have adopted is more about ensuring that the poker rooms have adequate controls, policies and procedures in place to ensure that it is highly unlikely that something like this would be able to happen in the first place.
Our dispute mediation service available to players would likely also raise the alarm if something is seriously amiss, which would prompt an immediate investigation by our Seals Compliance Committee and hopefully stop the situation from getting any worse.
PND: Regarding the mediation services that eCOGRA offers between certified rooms and the players…how often is it found the rooms have violated the trust with players?
AB: More than 50% of the valid disputes received by eCOGRA are resolved in favor of the players.
PND: Does eCOGRA actively pursue rooms for certification or is it a voluntary process by the casinos and poker rooms themselves?
AB: eCOGRA was established to protect all online gamblers, so we certainly do actively encourage online gaming sites to apply for certification. But ultimately it is a voluntary process, which requires a considerable investment of time and effort from the operators to demonstrate that they are fully compliant with our standards before we award the seal.
PND: Can players assist in pushing their favorite poker rooms or casinos to earn eCOGRA certification?
AB: Most certainly. eCOGRA is all about player protection and any site not willing to go the extra mile to demonstrate compliance with a set of standards that ensures fair gaming and responsible operator behavior should be questioned by the players.
PND: Have the strengthened regulations by the United Kingdom hurt or assisted eCOGRA?
AB: As a result of eCOGRA being established to complement, rather than compete with, the various jurisdictions’ regulatory efforts, the establishment of a UK regulatory regime was never likely to have an adverse impact on eCOGRA. On the contrary, the well considered regulations promulgated by the UK authorities have provided eCOGRA with an opportunity to review our own eGAP requirements and, where necessary, amend and enhance these standards.
PND: Is it important that eCOGRA remain an independent arbiter of the online gaming world or could eCOGRA be useful in a governmental setting?
AB: eCOGRA will likely remain an independent trade organization. However, we are working very closely with a number of tier one licensing jurisdictions which recognize areas of our compliance work as confirmation that licensed operators and software suppliers are complying with relevant jurisdiction regulations.
PND: What is the future of eCOGRA? Is there a point when an independent certifier won’t be necessary?
AB: Implementing ongoing self-regulation for the online gaming industry has turned out to be a much more complex job than I ever anticipated. But I’m now proud to say we do have a thorough understanding of the players’ needs and the intricacies of this industry, in addition to the right resources and affiliated organizations, and we are very well positioned to provide even more thorough oversight to a greater number of online gaming organizations.
We’re now involved with almost 20 leading software suppliers in addition to over 100 gaming sites, and we’ve recently introduced standards for bingo and sports betting. I doubt this industry will ever reach a point where self regulation is unnecessary due to the rate at which new technology and products are continually introduced in the marketplace and the players’ trust concerns. Certainly what we’re now experiencing is a far stronger demand for compliance services than ever before.
Poker News Daily would like to thank Mr. Beveridge for his time. For a full list of the certified rooms of eCOGRA and further details on their mission, visit eCOGRA.