eCOGRA and their change in ownership

[DiamondGeezer]

Yes it was the SAFE AND FAIR.

I am not trying to be argumentative but what is the point of eCOGRA? Have they ever really helped more than a small handful of players? What is their track record compared to Max and Bryan? Not to mention other people that will try to resolve disputes.

To me eCOGRA is just an unneccessary tier of beurocracy. I am in favour of proper jurisdictions like Gibralter and Aldernay. I would also like to see the law changed so that you can take legal action in your country of residence against companies based in these locations. Plus there should be a levy on operators to fund an Ombudsman.

What is the point of all their auditing? If you base yourself in a strong jurisdiction you have to go through all the software testing there.

If eCOGRA are so concerned about players why don't they have a rep on here?

I looked at their dispute notes to players yesterday and frankly they sound insulting. They read like they are doing you a huge favour just reading your complaint.

eCOGRA seem to have a very high cost management structure in relation to the work they do. I bet it's an endless round of board meetings, conferences, huge company cars, pensions etc. They look absurdly over qualified for the task they have to do.

I know a guy who could do all their 'auditing' work in just a few days. It's not a case of time with this work but ability. If you are brilliant at maths and computers like this guy is then it can all be done very quickly.

Question - why do affiliates buy the eCOGRA seal?

[vinylweatherman]

Yes it was the SAFE AND FAIR.

I am not trying to be argumentative but what is the point of eCOGRA? Have they ever really helped more than a small handful of players? What is their track record compared to Max and Bryan? Not to mention other people that will try to resolve disputes.

To me eCOGRA is just an unneccessary tier of beurocracy. I am in favour of proper jurisdictions like Gibralter and Aldernay. I would also like to see the law changed so that you can take legal action in your country of residence against companies based in these locations. Plus there should be a levy on operators to fund an Ombudsman.

What is the point of all their auditing? If you base yourself in a strong jurisdiction you have to go through all the software testing there.

If eCOGRA are so concerned about players why don't they have a rep on here?

I looked at their dispute notes to players yesterday and frankly they sound insulting. They read like they are doing you a huge favour just reading your complaint.

eCOGRA seem to have a very high cost management structure in relation to the work they do. I bet it's an endless round of board meetings, conferences, huge company cars, pensions etc. They look absurdly over qualified for the task they have to do.

I know a guy who could do all their 'auditing' work in just a few days. It's not a case of time with this work but ability. If you are brilliant at maths and computers like this guy is then it can all be done very quickly.

Question - why do affiliates buy the eCOGRA seal?

I was helped by eCogra once to get to the bottom of a long standing, but intermittent, problem that had gone on for 9 months with a CM accredited casino. Only eCogra managed to find the root cause of the problem, the casino management didn't have a clue, and never managed to implement a permanent fix until eCogra gave them a kick up the ass.

The formal change of ownership structure removes the "conflict of interest" that arose from the former arrangement. This did not mean that the founders abused their positions, just that they were in a position to do so, and it is standard practice to remove such conflicts of interest, rather than relying on those involved not to abuse their position.

Affiliates "buy" eCogra seals in the same way that casinos "buy" CM accreditation. Whilst payments may well be involved, the product is not on sale to EVERYONE who wants it. Both CM and eCogra have a vetting procedure, and only those operations that pass this procedure may "buy" the product, be that an eCogra seal, or CM accreditation.

eCogra has to charge for services, otherwise it would RELY on funding from these conflicts of interest, which would put them in an even WORSE position.

CM also has to derive an income for this site, and some of this DOES come from affiliate arrangements, as well as the selling of advertising space. However, he will ONLY open affiliate accounts with operators that have passed the standards for accreditation and been entered onto the accredited list, and will ONLY accept orders for advertising space from operators who have become accredited. This has allowed Bryan to employ Max, which in turn has made the PAB service more accessible, and Bryan has also taken on other members of staff, and recently bought GoneGambling, and employed staff to run it. The alternative for GG members would have been the closure of GG, the benefit for players is that GG offers something that the CM site doesn't.