Feburary 2009 eCOGRA NEWS
eCOGRA News Articles Table of Content for Feburary 2009
- Jadestone’s GamArena certified by eCOGRA
- eCOGRA Celebrates Fifth Year with New Safe and Fair Seals: Major European online sportsbetting company and Internet bingo sites pass stringent testing regime
- eCOGRA Acredits Another Affiliate Program: Standards developed specifically for affiliate sector
Jadestone’s GamArena certified by eCOGRA
February 17, 2009 (Stockholm, Sweden)
Jadestone Networks, the Nordic based online games owner and operator, today announced that its GamArena skill games offering has been certified to be compliant with EGBA’s standards applicable to software suppliers.
The certification followed after a rigorous assessment by independent auditors, eCOGRA Limited. This audit has confirmed the development, implementation and maintenance of the GamArena software is representative of best practice standards. These standards include 170 technical requirements, which have been adopted on a voluntary basis by all EGBA members, taking into account all aspects of online gaming and betting activities and associated services.
For Jadestone Networks, this means a commitment to ongoing audits of the compliance, in order to maintain the EGBA certification.
"Product quality is a key differentiator for GamArena and this certification is an important aspect of that," said Marcus Dahlgren, Product Manager at Jadestone. "Having the stamp of approval from an external auditor makes it easier for potential partners to evaluate our offering."
Additional information about GamArena can be found on www.jadestone.se.
eCOGRA Celebrates Fifth Year
with New Safe and Fair Seals
Major European online sportsbetting company and
Internet bingo sites pass stringent testing regime
London, 19 February 2009 - Press ReleaseThe online gambling independent player protection and standards organisation eCOGRA marked five years of quality and safety oversight at its 126 accredited poker and casino websites this week by awarding the tough Safe and Fair gambling seal to three new partners.
Sportsbetting operations of the Vienna-based Internet gambling giant Interwetten.com (http://www.intertwetten.com/) and two bingo sites - the first sportsbook and bingo accreditations under the stringent eCOGRA testing and monitoring regime - received the right to bear the eCOGRA seal.
The bingo sites are All Bingo Club.com (http://www.allbingoclub.com/) which is a member of the highly successful Jackpot Factory online gambling group, and Platinum Play Bingo.com (http://www.platinumplaybingo.co.uk/) which is a subsidiary of the long established Fortune Lounge group.
Interwetten is one of the best known of the top European sportsbetting, casino and poker Internet gambling sites and is a member of both the European Gaming and Betting Association and the European Sports Security Association.
Founded in 1990 as provider of sport betting via telephone, the company today has 110 employees and reached a betting turnover of EUR 320 million in 2008. The internationally active company currently has more than 900 000 registered customers in 200 countries. In 2008, bets were placed on more than 90 000 different sports events in more than 70 countries. Altogether, 11 million sports bets were placed in the previous year.
Accepting the eCOGRA seal, the CEO of Interwetten, Thomas Daubek said: "Interwetten's management and staff has every reason to be proud of this achievement, which has involved a detailed and comprehensive examination of every aspect of our operational, software and responsible gambling systems by independent eCOGRA professional audit teams.
"The high level of player safety and service which has been recognised in the past will now be maintained under the continuous monitoring to which we have agreed as part of this important and hard won accreditation."
David Brickman, spokesman and vice president of Player Affairs at the Jackpot Factory group said his company was pleased to have achieved one of the first eCOGRA bingo accreditations for its All Bingo Club website.
"Our casino and poker operations have all qualified for the practical and valuable Safe and Fair seal accreditation over the years, and it's good to know that our bingo operations also measure up to these high operational standards," he said.
A spokesman for the Fortune Lounge group commented that casino and poker room operations in the group were celebrating five years of Safe and Fair accreditation this week, and the addition of the Platinum Play Bingo seal to the Fortune Lounge list of achievements was added cause for pride.
"This is a tough test, but it brings with it real advantages in operational efficiencies and improved business," he said.
eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge congratulated the successful website owners on achieving accreditation, and urged Safe and Fair operators to maintain the highest standards, with player protection, business efficiency and responsible gambling always front-of-mind.
"eCOGRA can look back on the last five years with some satisfaction," he said. "It has seen our standards, inspection and monitoring systems and professional staff expand to embrace all the main Internet gambling platforms, from mobile, live dealer and bingo through sports to casino and poker," he said.
"Along the way, our Fair Gaming Advocate has successfully mediated thousands of player issues, although these represent a miniscule percentage of the substantial volumes of business our accredited sites handle every day.
"There are now 126 accredited sites under the eCOGRA Safe and Fair umbrella, belonging to the most successful and well-established gambling companies on the Internet," he continued.
"Going forward we intend to remain at the leading edge of online gambling standards and player protection in a dynamic and challenging high tech industry, constantly ensuring that our standards and systems are current with technology and best business practice."
For more information, go to http://www.ecogra.org/.
eCOGRA ACCREDITS ANOTHER AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Standards developed specifically for affiliate sector
London, 24 February 2009 - Roxy Affiliates.com, which has for the past seven years administered the efforts of affiliate marketers promoting tier one Internet casinos, including Roxy Palace, has become the second affiliate program to be tested and monitored by the independent player protection and standards body eCOGRA.
The recently introduced eCOGRA Affiliate Trust Seal awarded to Roxy Affiliates this week recognises affiliate operators that observe best practice standards of fairness and efficiency in dealing with affiliate marketers.
The seal is awarded contingent on the applicant company meeting defined professional standards and undergoing a comprehensive on-site inspection and audit by an eCOGRA compliance team. Among the criteria for accreditation, applicant programs must show that affiliate revenue is calculated fairly and accurately, that payments are prompt, and that there are appropriate controls in place to accurately link players to 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 qualified inspection and auditing 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.
"We have a number of other programs under review, and since awarding our first seal to another leading affiliate program last year there has been considerable interest and feedback regarding the eCOGRA standards and certification process," he added.
Sophie Guédon, Affiliate Program Manager at Roxy Affiliates, said the award of the Affiliate Trust seal was an affirmation of the program's commitment to operational efficiency and integrity.
"The eCOGRA certification is achieved through practical and professional testing and inspection, and I am pleased that we have met the high standards required," she said. "It reinforces our market positioning as a serious affiliate program giving affiliates significant revenue opportunities through a trusted system with outstanding casinos. It’s important to have this externally audited.”
Roxy Affiliates has been operational for over seven years and was among the first to focus on EU markets, creating a strong position in the main European markets. The company offers its services to affiliates in eleven languages, with promotional programs for well established and top-rated online casinos licensed in Malta and powered by Microgaming. It is an active member of the Gambling Webmaster Portal Association (GPWA).
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