Ensure online gambling is fair, convention told

Online casinos must unite to ban cheaters, restrict underage gamblers and ensure fair gaming if it wants to lose its shady reputation, a champion of industry standards said yesterday.

Only then will the Internet gaming world gain the respect of gamblers who stay away, Andrew Beveridge, chief executive of watchdog eCOGRA argued at the online gambling convention at the Palais des congres.

"The entire industry is not pulling together to address these issues," Beveridge said. Only

76 websites among hundreds carry the eCOGRA seal of approval, which ensures the games are random, payout percentages are fair and money transfers are secure.

"Players want to know their money is safe, and that they'll get their cash if they win," said Ted Loh of Orient Gaming, an Asian gambling consultancy. "There's the real fear they'll be cheated by the sites and by other players online."

ECOGRA (e-Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) was born out of player concern for this unregulated and quasi-legal industry, Beveridge said.

Some jurisdictions that allow online gambling, like Kahnawake, Curacao and the Isle of Man, have their own regulations, but "how strongly they're enforced is questionable," Beveridge said.

"Joining eCOGRA is a financial investment. But so many casinos are making so much money that this is not a priority for them. But it's a short-sighted attitude."

A Harris Interactive poll in February showed that 76 per cent of U.S. adults felt online gambling was unsafe, an attitude casinos want to change.

Internet poker rooms, gaming veteran Roy Cookes said, need to show players that there is no collusion between cardholders.

It's easy, for instance, for one person to be posing as two players by playing on two computers at once.

"We also have the moral obligation to assist gambling addicts, said Cookes, a columnist for Card Player magazine. "We can't be like Las Vegas casinos, who send problem gamblers a limo."

While there is software that can detect suspicious and abusive behaviour, there is no fool-proof method, Beveridge said.

"We're still learning a lot in this area," he said.

Online gambling is a $12 billion market that is expected to double in four years. Montreal has hosted the Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo for the past six years. The expo brings together casinos, gambling havens, software developers and solutions providers.

courtesy of pokergazette

News Added: 19 May, 2006

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