ECOGRA TO MONITOR AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

5 September 2008

Fortune Affiliates the first to qualify


The Fortune Lounge group affiliate program, Fortune Affiliates, is the first i-gaming affiliate program to achieve accreditation under the new eCOGRA Affiliate Trust inspection and monitoring regime, and put up its new seal of approval this week.

eCOGRA is an independent, non-profit, standards and best business practice organisation in the online gaming industry, overseeing fair gaming, player protection and responsible operator conduct. The organisation’s Safe and Fair Seal identifies most of the reputable online casinos and poker rooms, and the new eCOGRA Affiliate Trust seal now recognises affiliate operators that observe the same standards of fairness and efficiency.

Fortune Affiliates was awarded the seal after a thorough audit and on-site inspection. “We are extremely honoured to receive the very first Affiliate Trust Seal,” said a spokesman. “The process was a tough one, but as our Affiliates have always known, we have always held ourselves to high standards.”

The founder and president of trade association Casino Affiliate Programs.com, Louis Fabiano, said that his organisation was not surprised that Fortune Affiliates had achieved the tough accreditation. “One of CAP’s premier certified partners, Fortune Affiliates is one of the largest, oldest, and most respected groups in the Microgaming family, and fully deserving of being the first affiliate program awarded with the prestigious eCOGRA seal,” he said.

eCOGRA's new service introduces detailed best business practice standards for affiliate program companies, backed by a strict inspection and monitoring system and the display of the new eCOGRA Affiliate Trust seal. Affiliate programs must demonstrate that their program establishes, enforces and monitors specific best practice standards, demonstrating that affiliate revenue is calculated accurately and payments to affiliates made promptly, and that there are controls in place to accurately link players to affiliates.

Fortune Affiliates administers thousands of affiliate marketers of the Fortune Lounge group of casinos, poker and bingo rooms, and was chosen to participate in the Affiliate Trust pilot project with eCOGRA throughout a full year of study and standards development. The new standards, which were inspected in an extensive on-site audit during the Fortune Affiliate accreditation process, are a set of generally accepted principles (eGAPs) for online casino and poker room affiliates.

"Although there are others monitoring affiliate programs, eCOGRA provides the most public, structured and formal on-site approach, ensuring compliance with consistent standards through regular monitoring and full annual reviews carried out by highly qualified inspection and auditing teams," the spokesman said.

Andrew Beveridge, CEO at eCOGRA, congratulated Fortune Affiliates on its achievement and said: "The eCOGRA Affiliate Trust initiative is all about actually going and visiting the management and operations of affiliate programs, gaining direct access to check relevant player and affiliate data to ensure that affiliate members are being treated fairly."

Details of the Fortune Affiliates program and information on the online casinos, poker and bingo rooms included in the program are available at www.FortuneAffiliates.com. The eCOGRA Affiliate Trust program is described in detail at www.ecogra.org/affiliates.

eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) is a non-profit London-based organisation that sets online casino and poker standards and provides an international framework for best operational and player protection practice requirements, with particular emphasis on fair and responsible gambling.

These are enforced through inspections and reviews, and continuous monitoring. Accreditation is open to all software companies and their operators. Accredited companies are entitled to bear the “Safe and Fair” seal, indicating to players everywhere that all operational systems and games are fair and continuously monitored to consistently high standards.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa