July 2006 eCOGRA NEWS
eCOGRA News Articles Table of Content for July 2006
- Ongame Exec Appointed to eCOGRA Board of Directors
- World's Largest Online Gambling Player Survey Launched
ONGAME EXEC APPOINTED TO eCOGRA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Thursday, July 11, 2006
Online player protection body welcomes IT and audit expert
LONDON, 11 July, 2006 - Andrew Beveridge, CEO of online gambling standards and player protection body eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance has announced the appointment of Anders Lantz to the eCOGRA board of directors.
Lantz is Chief Security Officer at turnkey online poker and casino provider Ongame e-Solutions AB in Sweden, one of the industry leading software companies supporting the eCOGRA initiative, which provides players with a better and safer gaming experience through improved operational efficiency and customer care at online poker and casinos.
As a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Lantz has extensive management experience in information technology auditing, governance, compliance testing and security; financial control and system development and security. Prior to joining Ongame, he held management positions with a major management consultancy and international auditing companies.
Ongame is a turnkey provider and poker network owner with the major operator PokerRoom.com as its best known subsidiary. Ongame itself was acquired earlier this year by betandwin, an Austrian publicly listed company and one of the world`s leading providers of online gaming entertainment.
"The highly relevant professional experience that Anders has acquired in a brilliant career makes him a valuable asset for the IT and auditing responsibilities of the board," Beveridge said.
Commenting on his appointment, Lantz said: "The players regard safety and fairness as their highest priorities, and it is vital that we demonstrate that we can provide this. Having standards like eCOGRA`s eGAP is crucial for the industry, and I regard my appointment and background in auditing as a perfect opportunity to positively influence the future development of secure and efficient online gaming entertainment."
WORLD`S LARGEST ONLINE GAMBLING
PLAYER SURVEY LAUNCHED
Monday, July 03, 2006
Industry standards body eCOGRA gives players a voice
LAS VEGAS, 3 July, 2006 - eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) www.ecogra.org, the online gambling industry's player protection and standards authority, has unveiled plans for one of the world's largest online gambling research initiatives. It is expected to provide the first player perspective following continued phenomenal growth of the worldwide online gambling industry.
Researchers aim to capture the opinions of 20,000 players through a quantitative internet based survey, supplemented by qualitative focus groups in six of the industry's major markets. Over 200 players in the US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany and Sweden will be asked for their opinions in the qualitative exercise, in what is believed to be the first attempt to empower the player community and put figures on anecdotal feedback about their concerns and priorities for the industry.
Leading gambling research teams from the University of Las Vegas and Nottingham Trent University start work on the research immediately with the resulting ‘eCOGRA Global Gambler Report' launching in January 2007. It will provide the most comprehensive insight into player's attitudes globally, with a focus on what constitutes fair gaming, perceptions of operator conduct, including customer service standards and will canvas opinions on what further player protection measures can be put in place.
The report's contents will also focus on who gambles, how frequently, why and with what consequences including its impact on finances and well being. Importantly, it will also differentiate between poker and casino players.
The eCOGRA announcement comes amid current legislative and regulatory issues in the United States and the broad concern that the industry is not doing enough to identify and curb problem gambling. eCOGRA's Generally Accepted Practices (eGAP) provide an international framework of best operational and player protection standards and its "Play it Safe" seal is currently the industry's only independently verified certification that consistently rechecks recipients through a globally recognised international auditing firm.
Andrew Beveridge, CEO, eCOGRA comments, "We believe this is the first time that the industry has tried to really identify what its customers – the players - want and what motivates them. Online gambling attracts people from so many diverse regulatory regimes that it has been impossible up until now to conduct research of any scale. It is essential however that player concerns are fully understood by organisations like eCOGRA which provide the only effective monitoring and resolution protection procedures. We think the results will inform regulatory decisions, operator conduct and even software design for years to come. This announcement represents a step forward for everyone and a real sign of a maturing industry.
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