PR: EGBA commitment towards higher responsible gaming standards

[Casinomeister]

EGBA commitment towards higher responsible gaming standards

Brussels, 15 July 2008 - The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) today launches a comprehensive set of standards that covers all aspects of player protection, fair gaming and responsible operator behaviour in the online gaming and betting environment. These standards complement stringent legal requirements already imposed by EU licensing jurisdictions.

Over 170 technical requirements have been adopted on a voluntary basis to take into account all aspects of online gaming and betting associated services. As part of their membership criteria, EGBA members are required to comply with all standards. Compliance is verified by a compulsory annual audit carried out by eCOGRA, a leading standards and player protection body, which itself is annually subjected to a comprehensive quality assurance review by one of the world’s leading firms of auditors.

This initiative builds upon EGBA’s (then EBA) code of conduct, which was already adopted in 2003 and follows other industry initiatives. Self-regulation is vital in the online gaming and betting industry in order to continuously take stock of this fast developing eCommerce sector and stay ahead of slower legal developments. It also ensures, given the cross border nature of the sector, consistency of standards across Europe to guarantee consumers can play in a safe, secure and reliable environment.

EGBA Chairman, Norbert Teufelberger said: “These standards are a sign of our commitment to an exemplary level of corporate and social responsibility. They could serve as a basis for reflection at a time when governments and regulators across Europe are trying to find ways to best protect consumers in the online gaming and betting environment.”

These responsible gaming and betting standards include measures such as:

• Promoting responsible gaming, preventing underage gaming and problem gaming;
  
• A zero tolerance approach to fraud or criminal behaviour;
• Protecting customers’ privacy and safeguarding their information;
• Ensuring prompt and accurate customer payments;
• Assessing rigorously and independently the fairness of games;
• Committing to responsible and ethical marketing practice.

eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge added: "Our goal is to ensure that EGBA has a meaningful professional review process for determining each member's compliance with agreed and consistently applied standards, which consumers and regulators have come to expect in the online gaming and betting industry.”


About EGBA:

For further information or comment please contact:
Sigrid Ligné: +32 (0) 2 256 7527

sigrid.ligne@egba.eu

The EGBA is an association of the leading European gaming and betting operators Bet-at-home.com, bwin, Digibet, Carmen Media Group, Expekt, Interwetten, PartyGaming and Unibet. EGBA is a Brussels-based non-profit making association. It promotes the right of private gaming and betting operators that are regulated and licensed in one Member State to a fair market access throughout the European Union. Online gaming and betting is a fast growing market, but will remain for the next decades a negligible part of the overall European gaming market in which the traditional land based offer is expected to grow from € 80 Billion GGR in 2007 to € 95 Billion GGR in 2012, thus keeping the lion’s share with 90,6% of the market. Source: Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, May 2008

http://www.egba.eu/

http://www.responsiblegamingday.eu/




About eCOGRA:

eCOGRA sets online standards for gaming and betting and provides an international framework for best operational and player protection practice requirements. These are enforced through inspections and reviews, and continuous monitoring.

Companies that have achieved accreditation with eCOGRA are entitled to bear the organisation's "Safe and Fair" seal, indicating to players everywhere that all operational systems and games are continuously monitored to consistently high standards. For more information, go to www.eCOGRA.org

You are receiving this information based on your past business association with the executive of eCOGRA Limited, or because you have subscribed to receive eCOGRA news. To have your name removed from this list, please email pr@ecogra.org .

[MJackson]

I think this is possibly the industry's most important project. Having a serious compliance body that rigorously enforces it's rules will help to squash some of the (seemingly) most damning arguments coming from online gambling's opponents.

This also will help player confidence as well as serve as a model for how to effectively develop these types of businesses within a solid regulatory framework. Plus it is a market solution, not a government one, which means it has a good chance of actually achieving it's goals.

Having serious self regulation among respectable gaming operators can only help the industry. This is a very smart move.