eCOGRA Releases Dispute Statistics for 2010

February 07, 2011 | News Category: Online Casinos

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The eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) body has released the statistics gathered regarding the disputes that were brought to the organization in the year 2010. The statistics were revealed by the Fair Gaming Advocate at the organization, Tex Rees. The complaints received regarded disputes that took place between various parties, and the online gambling sites that eCOGRA has given accreditation to.

Interestingly, some of the complaints that were received by the Fair Gaming Advocate were discovered to be unfounded for the reason that they came from players who formed part of a syndicate, who were trying to fraudulently manipulate online casino bonuses. After a thorough investigation, this player syndicate was discovered.

Regarding this fraudulent player syndicate, Rees notes: "Security considerations prevent the disclosure of the location and modus operandi adopted by the swindlers, who were all subsequently discovered and blocked."

In 2010, eCOGRA received 846 disputes/complaints, as opposed to the 826 complaints the organization received in 2009. 67 of the complaints were immediately dismissed because they concerned online gambling companies that do not have eCOGRA accreditation, which means that the companies are outside of the Fair Gaming Advocate's authority.

As is usually the case, there are other complaints that are dismissed for various reasons making them invalid, such as those that are non-specific, anonymous, fraudulent, or abusive in their nature. This year, there were 125 complaints dismissed for these reasons.

In 2009, the number of valid complaints was 628, while in 2010, the nuber of valid complaints was 654. 44% of these complaints regarding cashing in problems, 25% of these complaints regarded issues with bonuses, and 19% of the complaints regarded locked accounts. Another 12% of the complaints covered issues such as responsible gambling, the fairness of the online gambling software, and also allegations of spamming.

During 2010, around 43% of the disputes that were brought to eCOGRA were resolved in the player, or complainant's, favor. This was a slight decrease in the number of disputes that are usually resolved in the player's favor. Since 2004, nearly 49% of the 4,500 disputes that have been handled by eCOGRA have been resolved in the player's favor.

Rees explained: "The small decrease in the percentage of disputes resolved in favor of the player, and a corresponding increase in allegations of unjust bonus disqualification have been proved through detailed investigation to be connected. A fraudulent player syndicate was caught out by sophisticated security systems, resulting in its members submitting allegations which subsequently proved to be false, but had to be painstakingly followed up."