September 2008 eCOGRA NEWS
eCOGRA News Articles Table of Content for September 2008
- Fortune Affiliates First to be Awarded new eCOGRA "Affiliated Trust Seal"
- PartyGaming Achieves eCOGRA Accreditation
FORTUNE AFFILIATES FIRST TO BE
AWARDED NEW eCOGRA "AFFILIATE TRUST SEAL"
03 September 2008
03 September 2008 (London, UK) – Fortune Affiliates is the first igaming affiliate program to receive the new eCOGRA "Affiliate Trust Seal". eCOGRA, the independent, non-profit standards authority of the online gaming industry, oversees fair gaming, player protection and responsible operator conduct. Just as the organisation’s Safe and Fair Seal has identified the most reputable online casinos and poker rooms, the new eCOGRA Affiliate Trust Seal now recognises affiliate operators that observe the same standards of fairness and excellence. 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 for Fortune Affiliates. "The process was a tough one, but as our Affiliates have always known, we have always held ourselves to very high standards."
"We’re very happy for Fortune Affiliates, and not the least bit surprised to see them achieve this honor," commented CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com Founder and President Louis Fabiano. "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."
Like eCOGRA’s accreditation process for gambling site operators, the 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.
To display the new Seal, affiliate programs must demonstrate that their program establishes, enforces and monitors best practice standards. Specifically, they must show that they calculate affiliate revenue accurately and make payments promptly, and that they have controls in place to accurately link players to affiliates.
Fortune Affiliates, which administers thousands of affiliate marketers of the Fortune Lounge group of casinos, poker and bingo rooms, was chosen to participate in a pilot project with eCOGRA during its year of study and standards development. The new standards, which underwent an extensive on-site audit and inspection during the Fortune Affiliate pilot project, 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 and ensures adherence to consistent standards through regular monitoring and full annual reviews carried out by highly qualified inspection and auditing compliance teams.
"The eCOGRA Affiliate Trust initiative is more 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," said eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge.
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.
PARTYGAMING ACHIEVES
eCOGRA ACCREDITATION
02 September 2008
London, 2 September 2008 - PartyGaming, the world’s leading listed online gaming company, is proud to announce that three of its major gaming sites have passed the stringent eCOGRA accreditation, testing and inspection regime for online casinos and poker rooms.
Commenting on the awards, Andrew Beveridge, CEO of eCOGRA, the independent player protection and standards organisation said: "After extensive testing and inspection by the eCOGRA professional compliance team, PartyGaming passed with flying colours. Our independent directors have awarded the revocable "Safe and Fair" seal, and are satisfied that PartyCasino.com, PartyPoker.com and EmpirePoker.com meet the required standards for responsible gambling, player protection, management and fiscal integrity and operational best practice."
PartyGaming is a member of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), for whose best practice standards eCOGRA provides assessment services and shares common goals in securing the highest standards of operational and regulatory compliance.
Welcoming the announcement, PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan said: "PartyGaming is committed to responsible gaming and want all of our players to play on our online sites for the right reason - to have fun and play within their means. These new seals show our sites provide our players with a very high level of protection backed by our EGBA membership and eCOGRA accreditation."
"The eCOGRA standards are focused on providing player assurances in the areas of fair gaming, player protection and responsible operator behaviour and the EGBA standards take this level of commitment further and include standards which allow us, as a member, to demonstrate that we are on a par with, or exceed, the standards required by leading licensing jurisdictions and state monopolies around the globe."
Accepts all Players except US Players
This web site is intended for entertainment purposes only. No guarantee is made that the information presented is accurate or up to date. Warning: You must ensure you meet all age and other regulatory requirements before entering a Casino or placing a wager. There are hundreds of jurisdictions in the world with Internet access and hundreds of different games and gambling opportunities available on the Internet. YOU are responsible for determining if it is legal for YOU to play any particular games or place any particular wager.