eCommerce Online Gambling Regulation and
Assurance (eCOGRA) has published their latest figures regarding player disputes
and complaints with eCOGRA accredited casinos - and as usual, all looks well on
the home front. According to stats released by eCOGRA's Fair Gaming Advocate,
Tex Rees, there was actually a 19% decrease in complaints covering the same six
month time period last year. Additionally, approximately 50% of all complaints
were resolved in favor of the player.
There were 346 complaints total - fifty of
which were thrown out because they involved an online casino or betting site not
holding an eCOGRA certification, while another 36 were false or did not contain
sufficient contact or incident information. That left 260 complaints requiring
further investigation by eCOGRA, many of which revealed player fraud - a trend
not too different from last quarters results. Still, eCOGRA was able to resolve
127 of these complaints on behalf of the player.
The majority of these complaints
specifically dealt with bonus issues (58 incidents to be exact), while account
lock-outs prompted 44 complaints. In just about every case, miscommunication
between the player and casino, or a lack of due diligence on the player's part
to read the casinos terms and conditions were at the heart of valid disputes.
What was most impressive about these findings is that the average number of
valid disputes per approved online casino was just 0.40 per month. That is the
lowest it has ever been, and is astounding considering the amount of traffic and
players handled by eCOGRA's 131 approved online betting sites.
For anyone unfamiliar with eCOGRA, they are
an independent gaming standards authority and player protection body. Continuing
to lead the way in fair and responsible gaming practices, eCOGRA requires that
all approved online casinos meet their strict guidelines in order to display the
Safe and Fair Seal. Furthermore, all complaints against an approved site are
investigated by eCOGRA's player advocacy department.
If you see eCOGRA's Seal you know you're in
good hands. For a list of approved casinos, including Microgaming powered
casinos still accepting U.S. players, please visit our
eCOGRA Casinos
page.
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