The independent player protection and standards body that services the international remote gambling industry, eCOGRA, has managed to achieve two milestones: it is now qualified with the Italian regulator AAMS as a testing agency and has had its systems approved by the Geneva-based international standards authority, the International Organization of Standards (ISO).
About ISO
The ISO, which was founded in 1947, is responsible for setting international standards within various industrial and commercial spheres. Most of its work is carried out by technical committees, subcommittees, as well as working groups. They inspect and carry out assessments on companies that intend to improve the services they provide.
eCOGRA Explained
eCOGRA is an audit agency that provides advisory and compliance services in terms of fair gaming, player protection, and ensuring that operators act responsibly toward their stakeholders within the remote gambling industry. Its auditors have experience in information systems and Big 4 auditing. In 2011, eCOGRA will be involved with about 100 compliance reviews against a number of jurisdictional regulations as well as the European Gaming and Betting Association Standards, which incorporates the European CEN Workshop Agreement Measures.
Accreditation
eCOGRA, which is based in London, was awarded the ISO accreditation once it had met certain standards and requirements set by the agency. The approval given was ISO/IEC 17025:2005: General Requirements for the competence of testing id calibration laboratories. The accreditation, which was granted on July 22, 2011, is required by many remote gambling licensing jurisdictions in Europe.
eCOGRA can now be a testing and monitoring agency for a number of applications, including random number generators, remote gambling platforms, and gaming operators. It now needs to comply with the AAMS technical standards.
eCOGRA also managed to get approval from Amministrazione Autonoma Monopoli di Stato (Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies), or AAMS. This means that it can be a testing entity within the Italian market. In Italy, AAMS regulates the gambling market, which includes setting the requirements and standards needed for operators and monitoring gaming licenses. This move by eCOGRA opens up a wide range of experience within this field to operators who want to move into the Italian market.
Achievements
The Chief Executive of eCOGRA, Andrew Beveridge, was very pleased with the achievement of his staff and praised their professionalism and commitment to reaching such high 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,” Beveridge said. “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.”
Beveridge expects that eCOGRA will be announcing more jurisdictional approvals in the near future. He is keen to be approached by any client who is interested in regulatory requirements concerning new licensing jurisdictions, in order to find out how eCOGRA can meet these demands.