Making online gambling safer

How do you tell if online gambling is safe? It can be hard to determine and you are always concerned that the games you are playing are rigged. You put a lot of faith into an online gambling website when you place your bids. There are many concerns for the online gambler and there can also be many benefits to online gambling.

Steps are being taken to try and make online gambling more secure for gamblers throughout the world. In 2003 an organization was set up to do just this. ECOGRA also known as e Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance. This organization is attempting to provide a set of standards for the online gaming community.

Some of the concerns the eCOGRA is working to regulate are the fear that the site is fraudulent, concerns of what to do if you do have problems, who can you contact. The eCOGRA is an independent , non profit organization that monitors online gambling sites. It audits and monitors these sites. It enforces the standards of these online gambling sites.

The goal of the eCOGRA is to insure the protection of online gamblers. They suggest only using eCOGRA approved sites. These sites are approved by the eCOGRA by being audited to ensure no fraudulent activity is taking place. It monitors complaints of the sites and investigates to insure player safety.

If a complaint is placed the eCOGRA organization works to quickly resolve the issues. Most issues are resolve in less than 48 hours. There are currently 76 online casinos that have the approval of the eCOGRA organization. These sites are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are keeping up with the guidelines of the eCOGRA organization.

ECOGRA's CEO and Executive Director Andrew Beveridge was asked in an interview in 2005 about the operations of the organization. He said, “It’s quite intensive. We physically go to the site and do an audit. We look at over 100 areas of the business to make sure they comply with our standards.” the sites are given a “Play It Safe “ logo once they are approved.

Beveridge said, “None of the sites have been awarded the Play it safe seal on the first try. What happens is that when they feel they are ready the auditors will go in and look to find where the areas of weakness are. That is reported back to the independent directors who are quite particular that the sites are 100 percent compliant with all our standards before the seal can be awarded. The auditors go back and forth to the site to pinpoint any short comings and to make sure that they are corrected. Although no one had been awarded the seal on the first try we have not had to withdraw any seals as of yet. I think the reason for that is the operators are making a continued effort to maintain their seal.”

If you are participating in online gambling then only go to sites that are approved by the eCOGRA organization a list of these sites can be found on their website. Look for the eCOGRA seal of approval before taking your chances at online gambling.