eCOGRA: Under New Management ?
March 29, 2011
Posted by KaceyM in : General , 1 comment so far
eCOGRA announced today in a press release that it has undergone a management buy-out. And, much to the relief of online players and online casino affiliates, the highest bidder was its very own management. Starting today, eCOGRA strengthens its independent status by no longer including software groups in its ownership structure. A UK-based organization, eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) is an industry leader as a supplier of advisory and compliance services in the areas of fair gaming, responsible casino operator practices, and online player protection.
Players and casino-affiliates alike have often questioned and challenged a “safe and fair” endorsement by an “unbiased” company that was founded and maintained by three major competing software platforms in the online gambling industry: Microgaming, 888, and Bwin. Now that the eCOGRA endorsement is under its own management, its rigorous standards can hold their own weight against any claims of favortism or bias.
Andrew Beveridge, CEO of eCOGRA, states that while eCOGRA’s services and operational structure would remain largely unchanged, “the [online gambling] industry is maturing, and eCOGRA must be part of that evolving process.” He later added, “The trend toward national or state regulatory regimes around the world is just one of the areas in which our professional services are increasingly in demand by companies and jurisdictions committed to ensuring that they are well prepared in all respects to meet the highest international standards.”
We are all familiar with eCOGRA’s Safe and Fair Seal, which has become a trustworthy symbol of casino operators committed to commendable standards of fair gaming, customer service practices, and general commercial conduct. It’s no surprise that of the 145 websites currently achieving and maintaining eCOGRA’s high standards, several of them are some of the most successful Tier One companies in the gaming industry.
The step toward independence is an important one, in particular due to the ever-changing nature of the online gambling industry. With the United States wrapped up in potential State and/or Federal online gaming legalization legislation, having a strong and unbiased regulatory presence already in place is vital to the protection of players rights and to those casinos who maintain fair practices. CEO of eCOGRA, Andrew Beveridge, states in the press release announcement, “Going forward eCOGRA intends to become a major force in helping shape new gaming regulations, offering specialised advice and assistance to existing and emerging jurisdictions and be at the forefront of establishing industry standards.”
eCOGRA’s website was quick to make the updates to its pages, adding the “independent” adjective wherever it could to its titles and text. While we appreciate the change of ownership in more ways than we can mention, the real proof of the pudding will be in how eCOGRA negotiates the future of the online gambling industry as its own flagship.
For more information about the eCOGRA Board of Directors and its future objectives, read the official press release that makes the announcement.
Affiliate Marketing Tax: Unfair or Unconstitutional?
March 18, 2011
Posted by KaceyM in : General , add a comment
Illinois’ House Bill 3659, known by its more marketable name, “The Mainstreet Fairness Bill“, has was signed into action last week by Governor Pat Quinn. As stated in a press release from the Illoiness Government News Network (IGNN), this particular bill, “will require all online retailers who contract with an “affiliate” in Illinois to collect sales tax on customer purchases and remit it to the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).”
The press release also stated that the state Illinois currently collects sales tax revenue from over 20,000 brick-and-mortar retailers in the state, including their online and catalog sales. The “Mainstreet Fairness Bill” is aimed at online retailers who have online affiliate sellers within the state. In a word: Amazon.com.
As a response, Amazon pulled the plug on its affiliate program in Illinois, leaving its 9,000 affiliates to seek other online retailers to promote their wares. As Casino Affiliate Programs (CAP) reported, this isn’t the first, or perhaps the last, time this has happened. Amazon responded the same way by severing ties with affiliates in Colorado, Rhode Island, and North Carolina when similar internet taxation laws passed. And, just as with the online gambling bill, federal lawmakers have pushed internet taxation law down to the states to individually regulate.
A recent blog post at Wired.com, Amazon Spars with States over Taxes, had similar news, adding the question of whether or not the bill would have the stimulating effect as it was intended. While the bill would require Amazon to collect and remit sales taxes in order to “level the playing field and protect jobs for Illinois brick-and-mortar businesses”, it also puts the states’ hardworking online affiliate industry in a rather tight spot, and certainly fails to move forward the compaign goal of making the state more tech-friendly.
Amazon sent California senator George Runner a letter last month, letting the state know the official Amazon Position on Sales Tax Nexus Bills.
Just like land-based casinos wage war against online gambling, brick-and-mortar retailers will continue to battle it out with online retailers. Whether it’s about fairness or entrepreneurism will all depend on what the individual states decide and who is left standing at the end of the day. We can only hope the majority of the States are more forward thinking.
eCOGRA Welcomes the First Pan-European Consumer Protection Agreeement for Online Gambling
February 23, 2011
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In a February 23, 2011 press release, eCOGRA Welcomes First Pan-European Consumer Protection Agreement for Online Gambling, an announcement was made that solidified the rights of online gamblers in 31 European countries. Working with CEN, the European Committee for Standardisation, eCOGRA helped to facilitate the list of voluntary technical specifications, such as a CEN workshop agreement, to grow a single market for European industry and consumers across its members in 31 European countries.
Among many things, this Pan-European Consumer Protection Agreement for Online Gambling details these nine basic policy objectives:
- The protection of vulnerable customers
- The prevention of underage gambling
- Combating fraud
- Protection of privacy
- Fair gaming
- Accurate customer payments
- Responsible marketing
- Customer satisfaction
- Safe operating environment.
While seemingly simple, these nine objectives are further broken down into 134 measurable systems to insure each and every one is being carefully met.
As Andrew Beveridge, Chief Executive Officer of eCOGRA and Chair of the CEN workshop agreement, stated in the attached press release, “This is self regulation at its best, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders from across the world for the benefit of the consumer.”
As more details are released about this “self regulation”, one can only wonder what impact it will have on online casino, online poker room, and online bingo hall operators and daily operations. One would hope we would barely notice the general oversight because the operators are already managing within the constructs of the nine basic principles. We can also hope that this sort of research and regulation can provide an established construct for both the individual States and the entire US Federal Government as they grapple with if and how to regulate, tax, and maintain a legal online gambling industry within and throughout their borders.
We would welcome you toread the entire eCOGRA and CEN Press Release dated 2-23-11 and add your comments to a growing list of opinions. Is this consumer protection agreement functional or fairytale?
Bodog Blocks Bots to Protect the Everyman Poker Player
February 10, 2011
Posted by KaceyM in : General , 3comments
In its recent article, Bodog to Phase Out Poker Info Scraping Sites, Casino Affiliate Programs reports how Bodog is taking the online poker game back the the leisure player with the hopes of injecting more fun back into the online poker game. Tired of professional players leaching operational information by way of information portal sites like Poker Site Scout, PokerDB, and Shark Scope, Bodog is proactively targeting and blocking these sites to allow its players more fair play.
If online poker players are playing online for fun, they’ve likely never heard of these sites. Since the sites exist primarily to serve the interest of professional poker players, they can take away from organic and fair game play, leading to overall player dissatisfaction. And, as we all know, when the bread-and-butter leisure poker player isn’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. And no one knows this better than Bodog.
“These poker operator information portals are another example of how online poker is assisting in its own demise,” Patrik Selin explains in the article. “I have commented previously on how the operators are doing this to themselves with hand histories, HUDs and rake back, all of which we will be cutting out.”
Bodog was founded in 1994 by Calvin Arye, a Canadian-born upstart who saw to make one’s of the world’s best online gambling institutions. Incorporating online poker, online casino games, and online sports betting, Bodog is widely regarded to be a stand-alone force in the online gambling industry, operating under its own umbrella and running on its own poker software. With its recent lobby facelift, Bodog Poker has also made its games easier to find and to play, which plays right into the hand of making new and leisure players feel at comfortable staying awhile.
What are your thoughts about Patrik Selin’s comment that the online poker industry is crippling itself? Is Bodog taking the right steps in securing its hold on the online poker market?
Electric Word to take over Affiliate Media events and publishing
February 2, 2011
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On January 28, 2011, Electric Word, parent company to iGaming Business, announced the successful conclusion of a deal to acquire a portion of Affiliate Media, namely its affiliation with iGB Affiliate events and publishing. As the press releases rolled out, it became clear that iGaming Business has made simplification a new year’s resolution.
For nearly 5 years, Affiliate Media and iGaming Business worked together to publish CAP magazine and to launch the Euro London Affiliate Conference. In 2009, Electric Word took over the operational side of the iGB Affiliate magazine and its events, and this new, and permanent, separation of the two companies “will further simplify the business,” said Julian Turner, CEO of Electric Word. He had nothing but praise for Affiliate Media, who he states “have been a supportive and reliable partner” in their ventures together.
Affiliate Media, an industry leader in affiliate marketing via online publishing powerhouses, will maintain control over CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com, AffiliatePrograms.com, and PokerAffiliatePrograms.com, while relinquishing its interest in its iGB Affiliate events and publishing businesses. Affiliate Media’s CEO, Warren Jolly, affirms the decision, saying, “The sale of our interest allows us to focus on and expand our online publishing business while continuing to explore synergies between Electric Word and ourselves. We’ve built a strong foundation together for many exciting opportunities that lie ahead in the future.”
