eCOGRA Speaks out on Unified Online Casino Gambling Regulation

For anyone who hasn't heard about eCOGRA, let's just say they offer security and confidence in one's online casino gambling activities. They are the Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance, and they've been around for over four years. Honestly, they are the most trustworthy and respectable online casino watchdog/regulator/player advocate on the Web, if you ask me. Although they have close ties with Microgaming (causing some old-timer players to question their motivations), eCOGRA made an announcement not too long ago that they are accepting certification applications from gaming sites using non-accredited Microgaming software.

What this basically means, is that eCOGRA is going another step beyond software and operator integrity in verifying online casinos and poker rooms to be "Certified Safe" places to gamble. Verifying software source code and Random Number Generators has always been part of eCOGRA's certification process. Couple this with licensing and payment processor checks and you've got a full and comprehensive review - even better than some regulatory bodies out there (Did somebody say Kahnawake?)

Anyways, I bring eCOGRA up because their CEO, Andrew Beveridge, recently spoke at the European iGaming Congress and Expo in Barcelona. And I solemnly agree with what he had to say. Beveridge was basically saying that the U.S. is a lost cause at the moment, and online casino gambling operators have taken note and poured all of their resources in the next largest gaming industry - Europe. And now that Europe, or at least UK, has liberalized the online gambling industry, competition amongst operators and casinos has never been so high.

Beveridge referred to the increase in eCOGRA certified online casinos as an indication of this trend. Although there still remains political barriers in Europe for unified gaming regulations, Beveridge said he is confident eCOGRA will make it possible for online casino and gaming operators to exceed the highest demands of licensing jurisdictions. You can bet that players, who have become more selective in where they wager their hard-earned money (as they should be), will be looking for gaming sites who submit themselves to the highest regulatory standards. I know it sounds cheesy, but I've got to say it for the love of the cheese: It's not just about whose got the biggest bonus anymore folks. It's how you use it that counts.

Online Casino News Archive

October '07 | November '07