PARTYGAMING SCORES eCOGRA AFFILIATE TRUST SEAL
London 20 January 2010 - PartyPartners.com, the
affiliate program for several leading online gambling brands in the PartyGaming
plc group, has successfully passed the on-site inspection and
monitoring requirements of player protection and standards body eCOGRA.
The program is now entitled to display the eCOGRA Affiliate Trust
Seal, which certifies that it observes best practice operational
standards of fairness and efficiency in dealing with affiliate
marketers, and is independently reviewed on a regular basis.
eCOGRA chief executive Andrew Beveridge said that the
Affiliate Trust seal is awarded contingent on the applicant company
meeting clearly defined international standards and undergoing a
comprehensive on-site inspection and audit of its business systems by a
professionally qualified 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,` he said. `Achieving
accreditation such as PartyPartners has done requires professional
commitment and impeccable administrative and business systems.`
eCOGRA compliance team leader Sean Roberts, a fully qualified
Chartered Accountant who managed the audit at PartyPartners, said that
it had been a significant project in his experience.
`This is a major and respected tier one international gambling group
with top online casino, poker, bingo and sportsbetting brands, all
using the PartyPartners affiliate program to manage relationships with
thousands of affiliates around the world,` he said.
`We were impressed by the competency of both staff and systems,
which we thoroughly tested at full capacity to determine efficiency and
consistency levels. In my opinion it is among the most professionally
managed businesses I have encountered in hundreds of eCOGRA reviews and
audits at major Internet companies.`
Jim Ryan, chief executive officer at PartyGaming said he was
pleased but not surprised that PartyPartners had done so well in the
accreditation process.
`We have a really good management team in place there, which
recognises the importance of our affiliates and their contribution to
our success,` he said. `The achievement of this industry-respected
accreditation is an affirmation of our full commitment to operational
efficiency and integrity in this critical area of our business.
`The eCOGRA certification is achieved through practical and
professional testing and inspection, and I am pleased that we have
achieved the high standards required,` he added. `It reinforces our
market positioning as a serious affiliate program giving affiliates
significant revenue opportunities through a trusted system with
outstanding brands.
“It’s important to have this externally audited.”
About eCOGRA’s Affiliate Trust Seal
eCOGRA (www.ecogra.org)
is an independent, non-profit London-based standards organisation that
sets online gambling standards and provides an international framework
for best operational and player protection requirements, with particular
emphasis on fair and responsible gambling.
Best practice standards relevant to affiliate programs have been
established through an extensive international research and consultation
program, targeting key areas of affiliate program activity to ensure
that:
- Affiliate revenue is calculated accurately and deductions are
correctly allocated
- Payments are completely and accurately processed
- Preventative and detective controls are in place to ensure
accurate and correct linking of players to affiliates
- Program software applications are developed, implemented,
maintained and secured in a manner representative of best practice
international standards
- Affiliate programs must be able to demonstrate that they can
recover from a system disaster.
The eCOGRA Affiliate Trust involves visiting the management and
operations of affiliate programs, and gaining direct access to check
relevant player and affiliate data to ensure that affiliate members are
being treated fairly.
The revised Affiliate Trust Seal requirements are available in
detail at www.ecogra.org/affiliates
PartyPartners.com, the affiliate program for
several leading online gambling brands in the PartyGaming plc
group, has successfully passed« Back