You should be able to play the games you want without worrying about being taken advantage of. Unfortunately the internet has no real jurisdiction, there is no police, no justice system to protect you. Enter eCOGRA to your rescue. They're here to fill the gaps and see there is a standard of fairness and safety observed by online gaming software suppliers and operators.
eCOGRA
eCOGRA is dedicated to your protection and ensuring there is an international standard in online gaming. Their goal is to make sure you have access to fair and responsible gambling sites. They enforce these standards with inspections and reviews, and continuous monitoring.
Based in London, eCOGRA is a non-profit, independent authority on the highest industry levels of fair and responsible gaming, professional conduct and superior operating standards. Their Mission is to protect you. They ensure that you are informed of your rights and responsibilities. They will mediate and resolve any disputes that might arise between you and a member site that holds their seal of approval. You can trust the poker and casino sites online with the eCOGRA Fair and Safe' seal. Seeing their seal should influence you as to where to play.
A Year in Review
I found operators quick to respond and fully cooperative in addressing the mediated disputes. Said Tex Rees, the Fair Gaming Advocate at the player protection and standards non-profit eCOGRA, about the great customer service representatives from 141 `Safe and Fair` seal online casions approved by eCOGRA.
Last year, almost 50 percent of the disputes mediated by Rees were resolved in favour of you, the player. On January 14th of this year, Rees released consolidated player dispute statistics highlighting the benefits of playing at eCOGRA's approved sites. She also publishes quarterly reports on her activities covering the 141 online gambling websites accredited and monitored.
There were 826 disputes handled through eCOGRA`s online player facility, 628 of which were mediated by Rees. 303 of these were resolved in favour of the player. A whopping 48 percent. About 12 valid disputes were handled each week It sounds like a lot, but when you consider that we are talking about 141 `Safe and Fair` seal websites that's an average of 0.37 issues per site per month.
The majority of disputes were about Cash Ins: 46 percent. 22 percent were about Bonuses. 19 percent were about locked accounts and the last 13 percent were an assortment of miscellaneous causes like issues regarding responsible gambling; queries on sports betting; software enquiries and spam.
Good news for online gamers, eCOGRA is keeping their promise to protect players and to make sure you have a safe and trustworthy place to play.