EGBA Standards

A key objective of the association is to ensure its consumers can enjoy playing on members’ websites in a safe, secure and reliable environment. That’s why EGBA members have developed a set of ambitious self-imposed standards to:

  • Stay ahead of this fast changing technological environment
  • Enforce a consistent and high level of consumer protection across Europe
  • Offer binding and independent dispute settlement for consumers

The EGBA standards complement the licensing requirements imposed by online gaming regulators in different jurisdictions in the European Union. The EGBA standards have been amended in February 2011 to incorporate the Remote Responsible Gambling Standards as agreed in the European Committee for standardisation (CWA 16259 : 2011 –  ‘Responsible Remote Gambling Measures’). The EGBA standards, which fully include the CEN standards,  are a compulsory membership requirement. Their compliance is verified by a mandatory annual audit carried out by eCOGRA http://www.ecogra.org/ an independent London-based ISO/IEC 17025 accredited testing agency and player protection and standards organisation.

Non-compliance of a member with the standards would ultimately lead to expulsion from the association.

Please find below the list of principles and some examples of the EGBA standards:

 

Principle 1: Promote Responsible Gaming And Betting

  • Providing customers with explicit information about the possible risks and harms of online gaming
  • Providing a link to qualified sources of help
  • Allowing customers to request the setting of betting/deposit limits
  • Offering customers the opportunity to self-exclude
  • Not providing credit to customers

 

Principle 2: Know-Your-Customer And Prevent Underage Gaming And Betting

  • Prominently displaying a ‘no under 18’s’ or ‘no under 21’s’ sign on the homepage of the members’ websites, linking to a clear message about underage play
  • Advising parents regarding recognised filtering programmes, including a link to a recognised filtering programme to enable customers/parents to prevent minors from accessing gaming and betting sites
  • Regularly monitoring underage gaming and betting by conducting random checks of customers to ensure compliance with age restrictions

 

Principle 3: Zero Tolerance Of Fraudulent And Criminal Behaviour

  • Introducing anti-money laundering policies and procedures to cater for the identification, escalation and reporting of unusual or suspicious activities, including investigating material or unusual deposits, withdrawals and customer accounts where little or no gaming or betting activity takes place
  • Logging of all information regarding changes to customer details and requesting appropriate verification documentation for significant changes (e.g. changes to customers’ names and banking details)
  • Introducing anti-money laundering practices including the provision of suspicious transaction reports to the relevant national financial investigation unit and international institutions

 

Principle 4: Protect Customer Privacy And Safeguard Information

  • Protecting confidential customer information from unauthorised or unnecessary disclosure
  • Ensuring privacy and confidentiality: customers will be informed on EGBA members’ websites about the exact terms and conditions of the member’s privacy policy

 

Principle 5: Prompt And Accurate Customer Payments

  • Ensuring prompt and accurate processing of payments subject to appropriate and necessary checks and verifications
  • Allowing customers to open only one account, by providing the following minimum information: name, age, address, unique username and password.

 

Principle 6: Rigorous Independent Assessment Of Product Fairness And Randomness

  • Implementing a product testing policy, approved and supported by the EGBA member’s senior management, which will provide for the internal and external testing of all products for fairness and randomness

 

Principle 7: Ethical And Responsible Marketing

  • Ensuring that advertisements shall not entice the underage to bet, and shall not be displayed in media that is clearly targeted at the underage
  •  Ensuring that advertisements only contain factually correct information and avoid misleading information
  • Ensuring that members do not knowingly engage in the distribution of unsolicited advertisements (i.e. SPAM) either directly or through a third party

 

Principle 8: Commitment To Customer Satisfaction And Support

  • Giving customers the opportunity to log complaints and disputes on a 24/7 basis
  • Ensuring that an independent third party shall be available for mediation or resolution of disputes received from members or their customers

 

Principle 9: Responsible Practices Underpinned By A Secure, Safe And Reliable Environment

  • Having a legal operating license from a reputable European regulatory authority
  • Having an independent third party assessing on an annual basis the EGBA members’ compliance with the standards
  • Having EGBA members commit to an annual audit of financial statements and accounts performed by a reputable external audit firm

For a full list of the EGBA standards, please see here.

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