Online gambling

Just around the corner on March 19, 2008 is slated eCOGRA's third annual Responsible Gambling training initiative. In collaboration with Gamcare - the UK's leading gambling addiction support center and counseling group - eCOGRA will be hosting the two-day training course in London with accredited eCOGRA online casino operators in attendance.

Not just any type of training, the interactive program will cover every aspect of being a responsible gambling site operator according the strict standards of both Gamcare and eCOGRA. Based on newly enacted UK online gambling regulations, which eCOGRA helped to shape through consultation, the session is designed to help operators implement measures that will effectively help identify problem gamblers and deal with them accordingly.

The main points of interest will be player protection, communication and dissemination of information to help prevent gambling addictions and give players the resources to spot signs within themselves and take actions of self-exclusion. More specifically, the course will focus on the fine line between intervention and interaction. In other words, online casino operators will be guided on how to best "interact" with problem gamblers, as deemed by the UK Gambling Act.

Doing more than any other organization to introduce standards of fair and responsible online gambling, eCOGRA is undoubtedly the best suited host for such an event. Having divulged its Play it Safe Seal to over 120 online casinos, eCOGRA has been instrumental in protecting online gamblers in an industry, which at one time was largely unregulated and unchecked. With an increasing number of casino operators becoming familiar with this growing non-profit, not to mention the players themselves, this year's seminar will surely inspire even larger seminars in the years to come.