by CasinoBonusCenter | Aug 30, 2011 | Casino Articles
London, 30 August 2011 – PRESS RELEASE – Betclic, a well-established internet casino, poker and sportsbook company in the Betclic Everest Group, has successfully achieved the tough professional standards required to gain accreditation with the independent standards and player protection organisation eCOGRA.
Announcing the successful accreditation, eCOGRA chief executive Andrew Beveridge said that Betclic joins an elite group of 146 online gambling sites that have demonstrated a practical commitment to higher standards of operational conduct, fair gaming, integrity and player service through the organisation’s Safe and Fair seal, which Betclic is now entitled to display on its websites.
“The Betclic management is highly experienced and well established in the industry,” Beveridge said this week. “Betclic was the founding company when the Mangas Gaming Group, which subsequently became the Betclic Everest Group, was formed.
“It has also achieved compliance with the European Gaming and Betting Association’s (EGBA) standards, and it is therefore not surprising that the management met all of our requirements despite a rigorous on-site inspection and review process.”
The audit and inspection leading to accreditation was carried out by Bradley Khoury, a Chartered Accountant and Information Systems Auditor, who reported to the eCOGRA Seals Compliance Committee:
“The cooperation and dedication of the Betclic compliance personnel accompanied by unrestricted access to knowledgeable staff and transparent information facilitated a highly comprehensive review. The organisation demonstrated strong resilience and noteworthy commitment to compliance.”
Lisa Lombardi, the Licensing and Compliance Director for Betclic, said that the accreditation initiative had been both informative and challenging.
“We consider the investment in time and resources to have been very well spent, giving us the opportunity to review all of our procedures and gain the benefit of a totally independent, practical and expert view of the manner in which we conduct every aspect of our business,” she said.
About eCOGRA
eCOGRA (www.ecogra.org) is a London-based organisation that sets online gambling self-regulation requirements and provides an international framework for best operational and player protection practice requirements, with particular emphasis on fair and responsible gambling.
These requirements are enforced through inspections and reviews, and continuous monitoring.
Accreditation is open to all software companies and operators.
Accredited operators are entitled to bear the “Safe and Fair” seal, indicating to players everywhere that all operational systems and games are fair and continuously monitored to consistently high standards, and that an independent player dispute channel is in place.
eCOGRA is also an approved testing agency in various leading online gambling jurisdictions.
About Betclic
Created in 2005 by French entrepreneurs, Betclic is the founding brand of Betclic Everest Group.
As a leading online gaming operator in the worlds of sport, poker, casino and horse-race betting in Europe, Betclic provides a locally-tailored, easy-to-use offering focused on sporting passion.
The company is involved in promoting ethical and responsible gaming on a day-to-day basis, and has also achieved the ISO 27001:2005 information security standard.
by CasinoBonusCenter | Aug 24, 2011 | Casino Articles
London, 24 August 2011 – eCOGRA, the independent player protection and standards body servicing the international remote gambling industry, has achieved two milestones of its own, successfully qualifying as a testing agency with the Italian regulator AAMS, and having its systems approved by ISO – a Geneva-based international standards authority.
Working through the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, London-based eCOGRA was accredited by the International Organisation of Standards (ISO) after meeting its stringent systems-oriented requirements and standards.
On July 22, 2011 eCOGRA was awarded the ISO approval ISO/IEC 17025:2005 : General Requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. The accreditation is one of the quality assurance requirements for approval as a testing agency in various European remote gambling licensing jurisdictions.
eCOGRA has also confirmed its capability as a testing entity in the burgeoning Italian market by securing the approval of Italian regulator Amministrazione Autonoma Monopoli di Stato (Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies) or AAMS.
This accreditation empowers eCOGRA to act as a testing and monitoring agency for remote gambling platforms, random number generators and gaming operator applications for compliance with the technical standards issued by AAMS.
It opens eCOGRA’s considerable experience in the field to operators with plans to access the Italian market.
Andrew Beveridge, chief executive officer of eCOGRA, congratulated his IT and audit staff on the achievement of the new accreditations this week, saluting their professional commitment to the highest international standards.
“Promoting the values of commitment and self-regulation, and preparing remote gambling companies for the national regulatory systems now evolving, remains a critical part of our business, and eCOGRA will continue to pursue testing agency approval in other emerging jurisdictions to ensure that we can provide a full-service offering which meets all of our client’s regulatory compliance needs,” he said.
Beveridge added that eCOGRA expected to announce further jurisdictional approvals soon, and was open to approaches from both existing and new clients interested in the regulatory requirements of the emerging licensing jurisdictions, and how to meet these.
About eCOGRA
eCOGRA is staffed by highly professional auditors with Big 4 auditing firm experience, information system experts and responsible gambling specialists. The organisation is a leading supplier of compliance and advisory services in the areas of player protection, fair gaming and responsible operator behaviour to stakeholders in the remote gambling industry. In 2011 alone eCOGRA will perform almost 100 compliance reviews against eCOGRA’s eGAP Requirements, the European Gaming and Betting Association (‘EGBA’) Standards (incorporating the European CEN Workshop Agreement Measures) and various jurisdictional regulations.
About ISO
Founded in 1947, the ISO is an international standards-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organisations. The organisation promulgates worldwide proprietary industrial and commercial standards from its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO is a voluntary organisation whose members are recognised standard authorities, representing a diverse range of countries and industries. The bulk of the work of ISO is done by the 2700 technical committees, subcommittees and working groups, assessing and inspecting applicant companies dedicated to improving services and production.
About AAMS
The Italian online gambling market is regulated by the Amministrazione Autonoma Monopoli di Stato (Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies) or AAMS, which sets dedicated Italian market standards and requirements for operators in the Italian market and grants and monitors licenses.
