Online Casinos Directory

The European Union is fighting for the cause of online gambling. There are still a handful of small countries that are not regulating online gambling. The problem is that this opens the door to fraud and other illegal activities for companies to be bringing to the market. It threatens the safety of players worldwide too. Many players who aren’t as savvy may be wooed by companies offering outstanding deals and specials. Once they are drawn in and deposit their money, any number of them lose money or even worse, their identities. Without regulation, online gambling is a sure fire way of putting people in dangerous situations.

The EU, or European Union, is trying to coerce every member state into adopting the same rules it has come up with in terms of regulation when it comes to gambling. A recent report showed that over the next two years, there should be an overwhelming growth of 42% in the world of online gambling. That adds up to about $30 billion in additional revenue for the world to divvy up. With an already depressed financial state, few countries can pass up the millions of dollars in additional revenue they can bring in by regulating online gambling and land-based gambling properly. Accounting group KPMG advises countries on finances throughout the world and they recently release statements requesting that countries regulate the gambling market. It is their desire to make regulation of gambling—both online and at land-based locations—a priority in the world today.

KPMG realizes the value of increased taxation on gambling and how that is the key to bringing more money into the world economy. Many online casinos have been putting time into avoiding taxation increases. Unfortunately, as rules are shored up this may become increasingly impossible. For example, for a casino company to set up in the UK, it has to have the proper licensing. That license, of course, comes along with a licensing fee that needs to be renewed periodically. This is another way, in addition to taxation, countries benefit from regulation and increased gambling. Hopefully, other countries will take cues from the UK and begin with the same regulation process. It promises to bring in much-needed cash and protect citizens who want to partake in the hobby.

A new survey by a media study group has found that US residents are moving more and more to the online world for gambling, rather than going to land-based casinos. These numbers come despite the UIGEA attempt to block access by US consumers to Internet gambling sites. Mintel International Group reports that 30% of Americans say they have visited a land casino in 2009, while in 2001 that number was up to 35%. Mintel also found that 12% of US adults had played at an online casino in 2009.

The shift in patrons from land-based gambling venues to Internet gaming is a natural evolution caused by ease of use and convenience. With the growth in the online industry, more and more customers are shifting to the internet for their needs. It’s like the general wave of customers to use Peapod.com, a grocery delivery service, rather than go to the store. Due to the huge convenience, they rather stay in the comfort of their own home and order food. In fact, the transition has probably been considerably slowed by the UIGEA says OCA analyst Sherman Bradley. Without the tireless efforts of the federal government, the will of the people would surely have led to massive defections to online casinos by now, Bradley stated. Considering Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a major block in the attempt to regulate online gambling, is supported by campaign donations from Nevada casinos, the federal delay in enacting the wishes of the voters may be obvious. But the Mintel study makes it clear that US residents will not stifle themselves from online gaming. Though the rules are still coming together and legislators don’t yet know how exactly to write them due to the newness of the online gambling world, time will lead the decision-makers into writing the proper code.

Part of the problem with the UIGEA was that it was unable to do what it was created for. It was supposed to thwart online gambling, but what it did was cause millions of US players to defect to offshore gambling companies. Only time will tell how the regulations play out, but hopefully everyone can take advantage of the lucrative hobby and still have an enjoyable game.

Lawmakers in Cyprus are concerned. They are currently trying to rework laws regarding the online casino operators. WIth the huge growth in the industry, lawmakers see the need to create tightened restrictions on the market to protect its economy. A report in the Cyprus Mail says concern for the best interests of residents and the Cypriot society are causing legislators to re-examine the rules governing Internet gambling. Presently, Cyprus has no gaming authority to oversee gambling operators in the country. Land-based casinos are forbidden, but online casinos are expected to generate almost $7 billion in international operations by 2012. WIth the hefty projected growth, it’s difficult for legislators to continue ignoring the call for more regulations.

Gambling at online casinos is not against Cypriot law. In fact, there is a provision to allow it. The problem is that the economy is changing quickly and that is calling for more strict law. The laws are set to follow the requirements laid down by European Union rules in regard to free exchange of services, as befits a member of the EU. However, there is a movement coming to alter the Betting Law again to remove Internet gaming from the list of services Cyprus shares in the EU single market. “The main aim is to protect Cypriot society,” says legislator Aristofanis Georgiou.  “Ninety-five per cent of electronic gambling services in our country operate legally because they are provided over the Internet and there is no authority where one can apply for a permit,” adds Ionas Nicolaou, the chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee. Among proposals will certainly be a taxation plan to create revenue for Cyprus from the massive sums being moved through the country.

Cyprus is still working with various configurations of laws just like the US states are. As the economy shifts, legislators want the revenues available via online gaming, but they also want to safeguard the system, the players and the states. Most likely every state and country will allow some form of regulated gambling online, but it may take time for them to come up with laws that are adequate to protect everyone and still benefit the economies.

In the midst of the post-recessionary economy, there are many problems to overcome. One of the main problems the Obama administration is facing is finding ways to overcome the unemployment rate. In the past two years, the unemployment rate has soared and millions of Americans have found themselves without jobs. Businesses cut back on jobs to stay in business and those jobs are yet to be recreated in the market. With a lack of jobs, the unemployment rate is stifled and unable to recoil from disaster. Though the government is giving tax breaks to businesses if they create jobs, the revival has been slow in coming.

One of the biggest pushes of bringing gambling and new casinos to various cities is the job creation that inevitably will come along with the new constructions. Developers are pining for casinos hoping that not only will jobs be brought to various areas, but also money will be brought into the markets. For example, Kentucky has long been toying with legalizing and regulating gambling. The state, like most others in the US, is hoping that gambling will be the answer to the state’s overall budgetary problems. The recession brought many states to their knees in terms of funding. Many programs are going to be cut without some viable way of bringing in additional funding. There are few options available but gambling is proving to be one that most legislators are at least willing to hear out. The UIGEA was the last ruling the federal government made regarding gambling and it stopped financial institutions from managing activities relating to gambling. This caused people who wanted to gamble to merely gamble elsewhere. They moved to offshore gambling entities and channeled billions of dollars out of the country.

Now that the government is realizing what a mistake the UIGEA really was, its legislators are working together to change things. They want to legalize and regulate gambling for the purpose of not only bringing jobs into the market, but also bringing in millions of dollars to the state, city and federal level of government. It’s a difficult time for the US states and budgets throughout, but hopefully new laws can aid in bringing in much needed funds.

The EGBA, or the European Gaming and Betting Association, is the governing body that decides on rules of online gambling casinos and what regulations each must follow. Their aim is to ensure the protection of online gamblers in many different areas.  First of all, security is their prime concern. With the continued rise of identity theft, it is important to focus on secure information transfer.  The EGBA is an organization that sets up the rules for online casinos in terms of security and encryption. With the huge growth in online gaming, the market is aware that some safeguards need to be set up for the gambling public. Similarly to brick and mortar casinos, some government body needs to take the responsibility of maintaining and monitoring online casino activity.  The biggest issues are identity safety, funds, and underage gambling. Many casinos are finding themselves monitored by Price Waterhouse Coopers but there are other organizations hoping to contribute to gambling safety.

An additional concern the government has is to protect consumers from unscrupulous online casinos is that as the global marketplace continues to grow, it’s harder and harder to find culprits. For example, if a person deposits money to their online account expecting to play games, they can be misled. It is possible their account may be frozen or the money may simply, disappear.  Then when they do some investigating, they realize that there is no customer service line and tracking down the company is virtually impossible.  This is another concern of the EGBA.  They are looking to set up regulations in terms of transparency with customers. This includes having 24-hour/7-day a week customer service lines available to any customer who needs them.

Game fairness is another concern. Intricate codes and overwhelming TOS can potentially create problems if games are “fixed” in the online world.  The EGBA requires that games are never fixed and that the website has a good track record of payouts.  They want to make sure that players have won the specified amount of money they were expecting should they get lucky. Overall, the EGBA is the governing body that makes gaming secure. They regulate and monitor online casinos to ensure that consumers are getting what they paid for: fun gaming and the fair chance of winning money.

In October of 2006 the UIGEA, or Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, was passed. It did not define gambling as illegal. In fact, it didn’t really touch the topic of gambling at all. It actually focused more on stopping deposits and withdrawals for online gambling transactions. It focused on financial institutions and made them responsible for flagging and denying transactions that were coming from gambling websites.  Over the years the UIGEA has had limited success in achieving its goals. Banks have never been supportive of the law because it left the responsibility of checking each transaction with them. They also were held responsible if any transactions got past their system of checking. This led to huge fines and federal issues. It’s no wonder banks had a hard time with the UIGEA and are more than excited to hear about some of the changes the laws are going through.

Part of the problem with the UIGEA is that although it initially was thought to be instituted to “protect family values” in reality it had other outcomes.  In particular, it forced some of the best and most reputable online casinos from the US to pull out of the country.  They wanted to avoid conflict with the US government and the federal government and felt the most viable solution was to leave operations in the country completely. Unfortunately the repercussion for good online casinos leaving was the door opening for less than scrupulous casinos coming into the market to take over the US market. These newer online casinos offer huge bonuses, easy deposits, and tons of gimmicks that rarely payout.  They also are notorious for offering huge jackpots—until players win them. Then the huge jackpot is not paid out due to some “fine print” rule. 

Another negative repercussion of the UIGEA happened in 2008. November of that year MicroGaming, one of the biggest online software providers to online casinos, made a change. They allowed their licensees to continue servicing existing USA residents with accounts, but they stopped allowing them to accept new registrations from US players.  Again, this put players in a difficult situation because suddenly they had to be twice as careful when choosing an online slots or gambling casino. Because of the many problems the UIGEA introduced, legislators are hoping that the new laws being written will be able to contribute to the game of online gambling, rather than detract and limit it.

The word eCOGRA stands for eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance. The company first entered the gaming world back in 2003. It was meant to unify “strict, universal online casino regulation standards and to bring more overall transparency to the online gambling industry as a whole.” The great thing about eCOGRA is that it could not have come at a better time.

Back in 2003 online gaming was not what it is today. It was still gaining a footing in the market and growing slowly. Now, six years later, online gambling is ready to truly make its mark. Legislators are looking for regulation standards and ways to bring online and land-based gambling revenues to the economy. The recession has forced legislators to look for money-generating activities that can help to overcome huge deficits and money shortgalls. Because of the move towards legalizing gambling the amount of occurrances and problems should increase accordingly. eCOGRA is ready for the surge.

The Non-profit organization has come a long way in its lifespan. It now has a board of four independent directors, two non-executive directors and a CEO. All have a lot of experience in the market of online gaming and are looking to use that expertise to help protect consumers. eCOGRA provides mediation services for players who have a resolution-pending dispute with an eCOGRA approved online casino. It is a great way for the market to have a consumer advocate that is a watchdog. The company assures that regulations are followed and their seal of approval is not simple to get. If a casino manages to get the eCOGRA “safe and Fair” Seal of Approvaln it has most likely gone through the rigors of certifiation. The non-profit has a strict generally accepted practices, known as eGAP.  All online casinos must first receive a fairness verification, which is essentially contingent on the software platform being used. This is why most online casinos with the eCOGRA seal are powered by MicroGaming. MicroGaming is one of the leaders in teh industry of software for gaming.. That’s why there is nothing more reassuring than having a non-profit player advocate such as eCOGRA on your side. Look for the eCOGRA Safe and Fair Seal of Approval and know that it is a verification of online safety and security.