LONDON, May 8 /PRNewswire/ --
- 130 Leading Casino and Poker Brands to Display eCOGRA's Software Fairness Reports
The online gambling standards and player protection bodyeCommerce and Online Gambling Regulation and Assurance (www.eCOGRA.org) hasstepped up its game fairness testing for online casinos and poker rooms withthe appointment of a dedicated and fully qualified team to run the TotalGaming Transaction Review (TGTR) continuous monitoring and data analysisprocess.
The objective of TGTR is to confirm on an ongoing basis thatthe games being used in online gambling venues are independent and fair bycontinuously analysing the actual results of the various casino and pokergames. This 'gold standard' of verifiability is intended to ensure completeplayer confidence in operator procedures and increase confidence in theindustry generally.
eCOGRA has expanded the test facility as an independentcommercial service for any operator wishing to validate and distinguish thegames on offer through a legitimate test and certification process thatincludes:
- Payout percentage reports for slots, table games, pokergames and all games on a monthly basis;
- Poker card-shuffling reviews on a monthly basis;
- Bi-annual RNG reports for blackjack, video poker androulette; and
- Reports in 14 different languages, including Chinese andJapanese.
Andrew Beveridge, the CEO of eCOGRA says that operatorswishing to use the service must first ensure that the software provider theyare using has been reviewed by eCOGRA for compliance with its eGAPrequirements, which establish through inspection that the software is beingdeveloped, implemented and maintained in a manner representative of bestpractice standards.
"This enables eCOGRA to obtain a sufficient level of comfortthat the games are being professionally developed and are inherently fairbefore monitoring the ongoing results, and we have implemented systems whichenable us to provide updated reports within two weeks of month-end on thecasino and poker websites without any effort from the operator," Beveridgerevealed.
"eCOGRA now has the necessary skills, experience and playerrecognition to undertake this work, enabling us to give it our closer andmore transparent and immediate attention. These dedicated resources willallow us greater flexibility to meet the dynamic demands of the industry, butmore importantly the requirement for safe and fair gaming from the playercommunity," he said.
In order to further ensure the integrity of the process anddata, eCOGRA has appointed KPMG in London to regularly review the followingaspects of the TGTR work:
- the people and processes involved in producing reports;
- the RNG methodology;
- the process followed on a sample of RNG reviews;
- annually the process to conduct payout reconciliationreviews.
KPMG reports to eCOGRA's independent directors: Bill Galston,OBE, retired Chief Inspector for the Gaming Board of Great Britain; newlyappointed Bill Henbrey, former head of gaming services at leadinginternational accounting firm BDO; Frank Catania, former Assistant AttorneyGeneral and Director of New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement; as well asMichael Hirst, OBE, a former board member of Ladbroke Group Plc, and formerlyChairman and CEO of Hilton International.
eCOGRA's testing principles and methodologies are alreadyrecognised by several international jurisdictions, and eCOGRA continues towork with other regulators and standards bodies to develop consistency intesting in order to give players the assurance that online games are fair.
Beveridge concludes
"It's worth noting that the results of eCOGRA's recentindependent Global Online Gambler Survey involving 11 000 active playersshowed that 88 percent of players rate monthly payout percentage reportsprepared by a reputable independent third party as important, and 91 percentof respondents rated RNG fairness reports as important," he said.
eCOGRA Ltd
For all media queries or to arrange a briefing, please contact: Stuart Hehir or David Hall, Chameleon PR, London , stuart@chameleonpr.com/david@chameleonpr.com, +44-(0)20-7680-5500
