The Fair Gaming Advocate for the eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) has reported that a total of 439 complaints had been received during 2005, although 103 of these were in respect of non-eCOGRA sites where players do not fall under eCOGRA protection.
Of the remaining 336 complaints, 10 per cent turned out to be valid complaints demanding redress, while 70 per cent were made up of bonus and cash-in issues, almost entirely to do with Terms and Conditions or Support errors.
“Over 95 per cent of disputes were dealt with in less than 48 hours, a general benchmark for the industry that remains unmatched by either individual webmaster \’watchdogs\’ or comparable channels instituted by other industry organizations, and one achieved due to the rapid cooperation of seal venue managements,” said FGA official Tex Rees.
“In the cases where the seal venue was at fault the issues were immediately redressed to the benefit of the player, and follow-up action suggested that remedial measures were introduced to avoid recurrences,” added Rees.
“My experience with the seal operators has been an extremely positive one throughout the year,” Rees reported.
“The exceptionally low ratio of complaints to total business handled attests to the effectiveness of the eCOGRA standards, and to the consistency in which these are being applied by the operators. Responses to my investigations have at all times been prompt, cooperative and in all ways compliant with the requirements of eCOGRA, making for the safe gambling for the playing community embodied in our \’Play It Safe\’ seal.”
The eCOGRA “Play It Safe” Seal is awarded to operators that meet the organization\’s strict standards for fair gaming, player protection and responsible conduct.
“The independent directors are pleased with the continued low level of complaints, which is largely due to the conscientious application of our standards. It is to the credit of \’Play It Safe\’ seal managements that this trend continues. Since FGA operations commenced in April 2004, there have been a total of only 690 complaints, a miniscule percentage of the vast volumes of business handled over that time by some of the largest online groups in the business,” commented Andrew Beveridge, CEO of eCOGRA.
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