eCogra Touts Low Complaint Rate

According to statistics released today, eCOGRA accredited casino operators maintained a very low complaint ratio compared to other sites.

According to eCOGRA Fair Gamign Advocate Tex Rees, sites that are eCOGRA accredited maintained customer complaints at almost 0.5% lower than unaccredited sites, and that most valid complaints received by the organization were resolved within 72 hours.

eCOGRA monitors the activities of nearly 145 gambling websites and operates a dispute resolution service to players that have played on an accredited site. Some of the largest casino operators online are eCOGRA certified, and awards accredited websites a "Safe and Fair" seal of approval.

Rees commented on the disclosure given by operators to him in discussing disputes, saying "Operators have responded in a fast and cooperative manner to those cases where I have requested information and explanations, and have been quick to respect my findings in each case,"

During the first half of the year, 475 complaints were received by the organization, with 57 being outside of eCOGRA's area and therefore rejected, and 60 more rejected due to lack of information or being irrelevant. Of the 358 valid complaints, 41% involved cash-in problems, while 23% regarding bonus issues and 21% being related to locked out accounts.

An average of 13 complaints per week were reported, across the accredited sites. Disputes that fell in the favor of the player dropped 3% year over year from 2010, to a total of 40%. This decrease is because of players violating terms and conditions in addition to using fraudulent documents, a practice that is becoming more common, said Rees.

eCOGRA is an independent self-regulatory and compliance and advisory services organization that operates out of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2003 and is owned by its management team.