eCOGRA and their change in ownership

[rainmaker]

This "news" is some days old, so many of you might have read it already. I'm wondering if you have any thoughts about this. E.g. how will they be funded now that Micr...I mean software providers and others won't fund them anymore as owners .




LONDON, England -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The London-based player protection and standards body eCOGRA has undergone a change in ownership following a successful management buy-out (MBO) initiative led by chief executive Andrew Beveridge.

The organisation announced this week that the original Founding Members of eCOGRA, three major and competing online gambling groups, had agreed to the change. In future the new ownership structure of eCOGRA would not include software or other service providers or operators enabling it to be truly independent in the discharge of its audit, advisory, compliance and seal awarding activities.

The Founding Members note that the company had established itself as a credible and respected industry player with major business connections since its launch in 2003, and that it is now appropriate that the founding ties be severed, allowing eCOGRA to make its own way in the world of online gambling.

Staffed by IT, responsible gambling and audit specialists, eCOGRA offers a wide range of professional business services to internet gambling companies, and enjoys business relationships with major trade associations and several international licensing jurisdictions.

The company's Safe and Fair seal of accreditation has become a reliable indicator of operators committed to high standards of commercial conduct, customer respect and fair gaming, and is held by 150 websites, belonging to some of the most successful tier one companies in the industry.

"The industry is maturing, and eCOGRA must be part of that evolving process," Beveridge said this week. "The trend toward national or state regulatory regimes around the world is just one of the areas in which our professional services are increasingly in demand by companies and jurisdictions committed to ensuring that they are well prepared in all respects to meet the highest international standards."

Beveridge revealed that eCOGRA's services and operational structure would remain largely unchanged.

"We will continue to offer unbiased player dispute mediation through our Fair Gaming Advocate, and our TGTR outcomes-based software monitoring system is proving increasingly popular with non-accredited entities and will if anything be expanded," he said.

"Our policy of independently assessing operators for the award of the Safe and Fair seal, and subsequent review and monitoring activity, will remain in place, and the provision of professional business services and advisory consulting remains a key element in our commercial offering and will become an increasing important part of the services offered.

"Importantly, our strong commitment to responsible gambling will continue, specifically in our operator training initiatives and the requirements enshrined in our standards."

“Going forward eCOGRA intends to become a major force in helping shape new gaming regulations, offering specialised advice and assistance to existing and emerging jurisdictions and be at the forefront of establishing industry standards”.

The MBO has scored an important coup in bringing eCOGRA's former Independent Directors onto the new Board.

"Our chairman will be Michael Hirst OBE, supported by a directorate that includes Bill Henbrey, Bill Galston OBE, Frank Catania and myself," said Beveridge, adding that biographies were available on the eCOGRA website at http://www.ecogra.org/

"We are very fortunate that these highly experienced and respected figures in the industry will continue to make their considerable knowledge and business expertise available to us," he said.

Michael Hirst said that the original mandate of the eCOGRA Independent Directors had been to continually improve the credibility of the industry, ensure players were properly protected and develop appropriate standards and regulations.

"Those basic principles will remain our goal in addition to increased competitive commercial activity," he said

[jetset]

This organisation has been self-funding for awhile now (a fact alluded to it the press release announcing this management buy-out) and the three founding companies are apparently confident that the company can stand on its own talents and merits.

The company employs audit, IT and finance specialists and offers a range of professional business services beyond those for which they are more usually known in the industry (ie regulatory standards research and implementation, operational and software consulting, monitoring and inspection and player protection through the FGA and responsible gambling training).

It hires these professional services out to a wide range of companies over and above those listed on its 'Safe and Fair' list, and charges professional fees in the normal manner.

With the regulatory trends emerging at present, those services will be in increasing demand as companies prepare themselves for different national markets.

The announcement on the MBO stresses that from a player protection perspective there will be little in the way of change - if anything that may be expanded, so I think this is a timely move that increases the organisation's independence from its founders and is therefore a good thing.

eCOGRA has been interacting with licensing jurisdictions and major industry bodies like the European Gambling and Betting Association, so I think this makes sense.

IMO it was a sound decision to keep on board the existing independent directors - these are respected execs from the wider industry and their experience and knowledge will continue to add value to the operational management imv. You can find their biogs on the eCOGRA.org website.

Judging by the statement, it also appears that the professional teams are staying on - that's a lot of experience that is important to retain imo.

[vinylweatherman]

The main benefit of this move is to cut the ties and perceived vested interests of the founding companies.

This has often lead to accusations that eCogra can be "bribed" where a concern is raised about an operator that is connected to one of these founding companies. With the ties cut, and eCogra becoming self funding, these accusations no longer have circumstancial evidence backing them up. This should not make any visible difference, since in reality these founders had little influence over the regulatory decisions made by eCogra, nor in the outcomes of any player disputes - and this has been the case for a long while.

Maybe at first, eCogra DID have to bow to some pressures from the founders, but this was before they had such an important role in regulation. Full independence will also improve their credibilty when it comes to dealing with official regulatory bodies.

[lots0]

Staffed by IT, responsible gambling and audit specialists, eCOGRA offers a wide range of professional business services to internet gambling companies, and enjoys business relationships with major trade associations and several international licensing jurisdictions.

Sounds like ecogra is turning into a business service company for online casinos.
That is OK with me... they never were a 'real' player advocate anyway.

Wonder how there player advocate stance is going to go along with their providing 'business' services to the casinos... Not very well I would think.

Ecogra the player advocate that is funded by providing 'business' services to online casinos... Ya that's a business model that is going to work....

[rainmaker]

I must admit that eCOGRA for me has always been meaningless.

"Player protection and standards organization" that is owned and funded by the same companies that this organization shall control

eCOGRA in my opinion is mostly by Microgaming, for Microgaming. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. Or that they are doing something "illegal". But I am saying that eCOGRA as an independent organization is a joke.

So how will they be organized now? Well, I guess that they instead of "funding owners" will have "paying members".

Just as it has been.

[BoyleCasino.com]

I must admit that eCOGRA for me has always been meaningless.

"Player protection and standards organization" that is owned and funded by the same companies that this organization shall control

eCOGRA in my opinion is mostly by Microgaming, for Microgaming. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. Or that they are doing something "illegal". But I am saying that eCOGRA as an independent organization is a joke.

So how will they be organized now? Well, I guess that they instead of "funding owners" will have "paying members".

Just as it has been.

It's a system that works for IBAS. The company pays to display their seal and to offer players peace of mind that there is an escalation point should they need it. Problem is that white label jurisdictions offer these services now so the board at eCOGRA think it's time to evolve the company along with the industry and change the main direction of the business.

[DiamondGeezer]

It's a system that works for IBAS. The company pays to display their seal and to offer players peace of mind that there is an escalation point should they need it. Problem is that white label jurisdictions offer these services now so the board at eCOGRA think it's time to evolve the company along with the industry and change the main direction of the business.

It's a good comparison because both are equally ineffective. IBAS is funded by the bookmaking industry I believe. Luckily thanks to better legislation most gamblers bypass IBAS and go to the small claims court to settle disputes, with the benefit that legal procedures are observed.

Are eCOGRA now an affiliate? I went on their site and there are a load of click through links to MG casinos. Looks like that is the new business plan. Expect KK to be headhunted on the the board of directors very soon .

[KasinoKing]

Are eCOGRA now an affiliate? I went on their site and there are a load of click through links to MG casinos. Looks like that is the new business plan. Expect KK to be headhunted on the the board of directors very soon .

They couldn't afford me...

KK

[jetset]

Sounds as if some of the posters here may need to re-read the posts above.

And insisting on the old chestnut that Microgaming 'owns' and 'controls' this company (there were three founding companies, each of which competes in the market with the others) takes little cognizance of fact, the company structure or the strong personalities in it's management.

I personally doubt that any reasonable observer would characterise eCOGRA as being 'ineffective' in either standards or player advocacy over the past eight years - there is ample evidence to the contrary imo in the respect for this non-profit company in the industry and in the tangible and balanced results illustrated by the FGA's regular reports on dispute resolution.

Bringing in third party business consultants and auditors and paying for their services is standard business practice across most industries, and is rarely seen as a corruption of either the services being monitored or of the third party doing so. BTW now's the point at which the diehards point to the Enron scandal and Arthur Andersons, tarring the entire global system with the same brush.

But this - together with the independence and control functions of the eCOGRA independent directors - is old and much-trodden over ground.

There are positive and negative views on eCOGRA that are held equally strongly by both camps, and it seems that there is little that will persuade either to change their views as the years pass by.

In my personal opinion this organisation has done an enormous amount of good work for both players and the industry, and I hope that it continues so to do.

[jetset]

It's a good comparison because both are equally ineffective. IBAS is funded by the bookmaking industry I believe. Luckily thanks to better legislation most gamblers bypass IBAS and go to the small claims court to settle disputes, with the benefit that legal procedures are observed.

Are eCOGRA now an affiliate? I went on their site and there are a load of click through links to MG casinos. Looks like that is the new business plan. Expect KK to be headhunted on the the board of directors very soon .

Just for clarity here - are you talking about click throughs from the eCOGRA 'Safe and Fair' seal list of operations to the venues concerned?

Or are there other 'MG casinos' on the site to which the eCOGRA visitor is routed on request?