EGAP IMPROVEMENTS GIVE PLAYERS EVEN MORE PROTECTION
Keeping up with the times at eCOGRA
Several new provisions have been added to eCOGRA’s EGAP (Generally
Accepted Practices) to ensure that they offer even better protection to
players in line with player demands and emerging industry trends.
eCOGRA’s CEO Andrew Beveridge revealed that his organisation has
had significant feedback from players who felt that certain necessary
requirements were absent. In taking careful note of these comments,
changes were made to the minimum acceptable requirements including the
following:
Terms and conditions applicable to promotional activities must now
be clearly displayed and shall not be unreasonably altered subsequent
to the wagering activity.
To meet international demands for tighter controls the section on
anti-money laundering has been revised to include requirements for
preventative and detection controls addressing money laundering and
fraud risks to be documented and implemented, and where appropriate for
controls to be according to the relevant points in the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) guidelines. This has been addressed in order to
accommodate the FATF`s Forty Recommendations which were published last
year.
Under `Fair Gaming`, the Total Gaming Transaction Review
requirements have been amended to incorporate additional tests that are
being performed by eCOGRA’s audit panel members.
One example of this change is that wagering activity, including
wins, should be distributed amongst an acceptable population of
players. This test includes the audit panel verifying beyond question
that a significant sample of the winning players does in fact exist,
providing further assurance of data integrity.
Another noteworthy revision is that eCOGRA now requires all games
and slots to have a combined average theoretical / estimated
statistical return to players of at least (the minimum) 92%. This
compares favourably to land-based jurisdictions, such as New Jersey,
that requires a return of 83% on slots.
Elsewhere new addendums have been added which detail the
requirements to be met when operators who have already been approved
add new, or transferred foreign language and foreign currency casinos.
These stipulate that seal holding casinos cannot simply add a new
casino brand and legitimately display the eCOGRA seal - such changes or
additions must go through a comprehensive compliance review by eCOGRA`s
independent inspection contractor.
Beveridge urges that players and operators alike communicate with
eCOGRA with suggestions or problems, `We welcome a two way flow of
ideas and suggestions, which make the organisation stronger and more
relevant,` he says.
`The release of this update on eGAP coincides with the next
inspection cycle for previously approved operators, and it is therefore
timely,` says Beveridge. `Keeping our regulations up to date and in
line with industry developments demands that we continually raise the
bar for operators and software providers to comply with our standards.`« Back