BIG DEMAND FOR THIRD RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING SEMINAR

22 February 2008

Working with Gamcare, eCOGRA will host its third intensive training initiative in March 2008


Starting March 19 this year, eCOGRA will be hosting its next Responsible Gambling training course in London, and eCOGRA accredited companies and other firms currently under review around the globe have already committed to the expense of sending managers to attend, registering over 40 delegates.

The two day course will commence with an address by a senior independent director of eCOGRA and former Chief Inspector of the UK Gaming Board, Bill Galston OBE followed by detailed practical tuition sessions on the clinical and social aspects of problem and underage gambling presented by expert professional speakers from Gamcare.

The highly interactive programme has been designed to cover all aspects of responsible gambling awareness and the implementation of effective and practical measures to identify and exclude problem gamblers, with the emphasis on player protection, customer communication and providing players with helpful information.

Managers attending the course will be coached on how best to ensure that staff is adequately and regularly trained to deal with
responsible gambling issues, and that marketing initiatives are in compliance with the Responsible Gambling Code developed by Gamcare, eCOGRA and the Remote Gaming Association last year. This has since been endorsed by the European Gambling and Betting Association and the Interactive Gaming Council.

One of the key sessions will examine intervention and interaction; how to deal with problem gamblers and the fine line between intervention and interaction. With the UK code recommending that companies engage in "interaction" this aspect will be explored and guidelines given on how it can best be achieved, and where the operator's responsibility ends.

In practical terms, eCOGRA and its partners have done more than most when it comes to the professional study of responsible gambling and the development of staff training aimed at reducing the possibility of underage or problem gambling.

The player protection organisation has partnered with leading international responsible gambling bodies to present two previous major training courses for operational managers, who then return to their home bases to implement measures and expand the training to other members of staff.

"Our previous courses have been well received as valuable guidance in complying with best practice standards for combating problem and underage gambling," eCOGRA's Fair Gaming Advocate Tex Rees said.

"The next course has combined the expert professional knowledge of Gamcare counsellors with the growing practical experience of top online gambling operators to produce what we believe is an effective and useful approach to a key industry problem."

eCOGRA is a non-profit London-based organisation that sets online gambling standards for 120 tier one online casinos and poker rooms and provides an international framework for best operational and player protection practice requirements, with particular emphasis on responsible gambling. These are enforced through inspections and reviews, and continuous monitoring.

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