winneronline.com
For Tex Rees, the Fair Gaming Advocate at regulator eCOGRA's London office a low level of complaints is not only less work, but good news for the organisation. It means that the 55 top casinos that submit to its authority are carrying out business in the consistently fair and player-sensitive manner required by the regulations.
Considering the very high volumes of business transacted daily by those casinos, which handle well over 50 percent of all online casino gambling, the complaints ratio is remarkably low, says Rees.
"Typically we average around 5 complaints a week, the majority consisting of easily cleared up issues that are resolved within 48 hours" says the experienced staffer. "In order of frequency, the most common 3 complaints concern slow cash-ins, bonuses and locked accounts"
Disputes are submitted online through the www.ecogra.org/disputes website and receive immediate attention. "Wherever possible we like to get an acknowledgement of the complaint off to the player immediately, and then keep him or her advised of progress if the issue drags on for more than a week," Rees reveals.
Complaints are regarded as a priority and one of Rees's first tasks in a working day is to review any issues that have arisen overnight.
"My first check is to ensure that the player is complaining about a casino over which eCOGRA has authority. Then it must be confirmed that the player has attempted to resolve the issue direct with the casino involved before coming to eCOGRA. In the vast majority of cases, simply escalating a dispute to casino management will see a problem resolved without our having to be involved at all," she says.
"Once this has proved unsuccessful or worse where the player has been unable to get through to casino management, we will engage with the player to resolve the problem."
The FGA's next step is to take on the dispute and contact the casino concerned. Rees has high level contacts in the management structure at all 55 casinos and says that a response is invariably fast and efficient, with records open for inspection.
Everything is documented for good order and future reference, but most of the complaints consist of misunderstandings or simple mistakes on either side that are quickly ironed out and restitution made direct to the player where this is indicated.
Because the casinos carrying eCOGRA's "Play It Safe" Seal operate within a clearly defined rules structure, assessing a complaint is made easier, but the FGA has access to expert opinion both within and outside of the organisation for more complicated cases.
"Several highly experienced industry mediators and specialists volunteered some time ago to consult at no charge on cases where we might require a second opinion, and from time to time we have sought their views," Rees says.
Once the FGA has resolved a case, she summarises her ruling and documentary proof, which then receives a final review by the CEO, Andrew Beveridge.
"Most cases are resolved within a matter of days because we know how much worry and stress this sort of experience can impose on the player, and for that matter any casino that takes a pride in a clean record," Rees says.
"Since the beginning of this year we have dealt with 125 complaints, of which 22 were about non-eCOGRA casinos where I cannot assist. The remaining 103 complaints involved 33 of our Seal casinos with a total of 92 players complaining. 8 percent of the cases were resolved in favour of the player. Considering that the average Seal casino handles hundreds of thousands of transactions in a single month, I think this complaints ratio is remarkably low."
Once the FGA has made a ruling, it's generally back to the keyboard, the mouse and the next game for the player but not at eCOGRA. The FGA is required to present her current rulings and complaint statistics to the three independent directors that control eCOGRA at their regular meetings, where the information is evaluated as an additional safety check on Seal casino performances.
Although sanctions have not thus far been required for non-compliance with regulations, eCOGRA can revoke its Seal for consistent or serious failures by any of its casinos to meet the required standards. Given the difficulty in achieving Seal status through independent inspections and monitoring, no casino manager would want that to happen.
