eCOGRA Expands eGAP Standards to Online Bingo Rooms
If there was one thing other than a verification by Google that the online bingo sector is growing by leaps and bounds, it would be this: For eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) to expand its stringent independent fairness testing standards beyond the scope of online casinos and poker rooms to include the increasing number of internet bingo rooms taking real money wagers these days.
Well folks, consider it done. eCOGRA has announced they will now be offering their “Safe and Fair” verification seals to not only bingo rooms, but also to sports betting sites and live betting operations that are more commonly found on the Web these days. A great accomplishment for both eCOGRA and the bingo industry at large, the news is sure to see a number of respectable bingo rooms applying for an eCOGRA certification. In fact, eCOGRA’s CEO, Andrew Beveridge, says there are already a “significant number” of sites under review.
Mind you, it is no easy task for an online gaming site to receive the “Safe and Fair” Seal. Betting sites must meet best practice standards in the areas of gaming fairness, responsibility and customer service. This amounts to constant monitoring and compliance inspections in all operational areas, including financial systems, customer service and software fairness (verified by published monthly payout percentage reports).
Using Chartered Accountants and IT specialists from the world’s leading audit and technology firms to conduct truly independent, third party testing, there is no other non-profit group doing what eCOGRA does for the online gambling sector. In essence, they are helping guide universal regulatory standards for online gambling betting sites. Over the last six years, eCOGRA has lead the way in helping make the internet betting sector a legitimate industry contained by strict regulation. Adding online bingo rooms to the lot, is just another step in the right direction.