eCogra online casino dispute stats for 2010

eCogra have just released their dispute stats for 2010 which make for interesting reading.

Their dispute resolution process is only available to players who play at member casinos and the organization has no authority to intervene where the casino is not eCogra accredited.  So there will be many disputes during the year that are not covered by the below summary. Still and interesting read though.

Here’s a snapshot…

• total of 846 disputes (2009: 826 complaints) were submitted;
• 67 concerned companies not accredited through eCOGRA and therefore not pursued;
• 125 were found to be invalid, being fraudulent, non-specific or abusive and anonymous in nature;
• of the remaining, or valid, 654 disputes (2009: 628 complaints) cash-in problems accounted for (44 percent); bonus issues (25 percent); and locked accounts (19 percent);
• 43 percent of disputes was resolved in favour of the player.

The dispute investigation process also revealed a syndicate of players fraudulently manipulating bonuses.

“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. Security considerations prevent the disclosure of the location and modus operandi adopted by the swindlers, who were all subsequently discovered and blocked,” says Tex Rees of eCogra.

In all the level of disputes per accredited eCOGRA site was very low considering business volumes.  On average only 4.5 disputes were lodged for the year per accredited site.

For what it’s worth eCogra also accredits online gambling portals that it meet it’s quality standards.  And yes we’re a reputable portal!

Finally I should also add that most regulators have a dispute resolution procedure so the absence of eCogra accreditation doesn’t mean you have no avenues to follow.

A list of eCogra accredited live gaming operators and regulators is set at our industry organizations page .