In most day-to-day situations, the average consumer need not worry about unfair dealings or criminal activity when taking that leap of faith necessary to handing over cash for an intangible service; years to decades of legal infrastructure have been put into place in order to protect the individual’s rights those who would take advantage.
Particularly online is the consumer transaction a genuine leap of faith. Every day, millions exchange credit card information with millions of others that they’ve never met or even seen face-to-face. Sensitive financial information can be passed on without a second thought or Big Brother-like controls because of regulation which approves legitimate businesses.
Thanks to unclear laws and/or complicated regulations in most countries from North America to the European Union and beyond, online gambling is regulated in few nations and thus those citizens are not protected from unfair practices. (The U.K. is one exception; certain protections are in place for U.K. citizens provided they play on a website on the government’s “white list” of tested-and-approved gambling sites.) Should an unscrupulous casino owner wish, the unassuming player’s deposit (or worse yet, crucial sensitive information) might be taken with little – if any -- legal recourse available to the player.
The independent regulatory body eCOGRA is an answer to the internet casino industry’s otherwise potentially lawless state. Comprised of independent directors from within casino gaming, eCOGRA seeks to provide “real self-imposed regulation of quality online casinos and poker rooms through internationally set standards ... and to provide a dispute mediation service to the player community where issues arise.”
eCOGRA representatives thoroughly check both staff and software of a given gaming website and/or company to make a quality determination. Any casino that carries the eCOGRA seal must meet the organization’s “Generally Accepted Practices” both in gameplay and financial transactions.
Today, of thousands of online casino websites, some 92 have received eCOGRA certification, including the following Live Casino Direct-partnered casinos: 777 Dragon, All Slots, Cabaret Club, Casino Australia, Casino France, Casino UK, Casino US, Cinema Casino, Crazy Vegas, First Web, Maple Casino, Mummy’s Gold, Piggs Peak, Roxy Palace, Ruby Fortune, Spin Palace, Sun Vegas, and Wild Jack casino.