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The eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) organization has been stepping up their efforts to regulate the entire online industry. eCOGRA has started a new campaign to increase the number of certified internet casinos and poker rooms from 76 to 100. Their goal is to reach 100 player-safe certified casinos and poker rooms by the end of 2006. The campaign has an original, catchy title – the "100 Seals Campaign". Ok, so I was being facetious, it's still a good thing for them to be doing. eCOGRA is the leading watchdog organization regulating the online gambling industry today. I will fully attest to a personal bias towards them, I think they are fabulous. I went to their website to find out more about the "100 Seals Campaign". According to the press release online poker rooms and casinos which want to become eCOGRA certified will enjoy the following benefits:
Andrew Beveridge, the Chief Executive Officer of eCOGRA, explains that most of the leading poker rooms and internet casinos are already certified. "‘Play It Safe’ online casinos and poker rooms already handle a substantial percentage of the total global online gaming business,” said Beveridge. “We intend to extend the player protection that is built into our international standards by bringing more top-tier online gaming software providers and licensees on board before the year's end." By the sound of the press release it shouldn't be too hard for eCOGRA to make their goal of 100. "Right now, more than a dozen casino and poker sites are undergoing eCOGRA’s third-party inspection and monitoring process. The “Play It Safe” seal helps to attract and retain players, and tells the world that these sites regard players’ needs-- trust, honesty and fair gaming, as a priority." If they have over a dozen sites being reviewed, and they have over six months till the end of the year then they are halfway to their goal. The question is how long is the process to become an eCOGRA casino? The other question is if eCOGRA will open their doors to a software operator that isn't Casino-On-Net or Microgaming. They will need to eventually to grow and Beveridge recognizes this. He's already made comments inviting other gambling software manufacturers to join eCOGRA. "If you’re ready to meet the 21st century challenges facing the industry, we’d like to invite you to join the 100 Seals Campaign and become one of the most respected 100 online gaming sites in the world." The list of requirements for software providers and online casino and poker room operators is posted on their website. It's a Word document, 38 pages long, and can be downloaded. The list is incredibly detailed. It has everything from how long records should be held on customers to anti-money laundering practices. The list includes the exact amount of time between slots games, "The start time between each slots game play shall be at least 3 seconds." Then there's the obvious, keep enough money to pay your players, "Players’ balances at any time must be covered by liquid funds." You'd think that would be a basic that an internet casino or poker room wouldn't need to be told, but there's been many an online gambling establishment caught with their pants down. I can think of a few casinos which would never make it past this requirement, "The test environment must be isolated physically and logically from the live operational systems." How many times have you read about software error being the reason for the win instead of the win itself? There have been lawsuits regarding this issue. However, if online casinos and poker rooms bothered to do proper QA before going live it shouldn't be an issue at all. Reading deeper into the requirements I found myself enthralled to learn that eCOGRA even sets requirements on payout percentages. "Each game must have a theoretical / estimated statistical return to the player of at least 90% using optimal game play strategy. All games must have a combined average actual statistical return to player of at least 92%. The theoretical statistical return percentage for a particular game type should be no less than that of the equivalent game in free play mode." This bit got my attention. I can't think of a single internet casino that has a payout percentage on any game below 95% per month. Even slots and keno (two of the worst payouts both online and offline) have a typical payout percentage ranging from 96% - 97%. Why would they feel the need to state that each game must have at least 90%? Could it be that some slots machines are fairer than others? My favorite rule was one regarding slots payouts "Wagering activity, including wins, should be distributed amongst an acceptable population of players." It's the grown-up version of everybody must get a chance to play on the playground. The document went on to more boring things, such as system connections and such. I decided to go back to the main site and have a look around. eCOGRA has a poll on their homepage which asks, "Do you feel unsafe playing on a site without the "Play It Safe" seal?" The answers when I took the poll were Yes 62.96% and No 37.04%. This may look like a strong percentage, but let's look at where the poll is. The poll is listed on their own website. Considering the people who are taking the poll are probably related to eCOGRA in some way it's actually a tad scary that the odds aren't more in their favor. Perhaps they won't make the 100 after all. Posted on: May 21, 2006
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