eCOGRA Certification Explained

Kiwis love a good online casino, but it is hard to tell what jurisdiction each site is under. Since there are so many licensing companies and regulatory bodies for online casinos across the globe, it can be even harder to find regulations that allow Kiwis to play. One of the top regulatory figures, however, enables New Zealand players to gamble and protect their information simultaneously; this company is known as eCOGRA.

What is eCOGRA?

The eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance, more recognizably known as eCOGRA, is a UK-based regulatory company that launched in 2003 and provides jurisdictional services within the online gambling sector. Any casino with this company’s logo immediately brings trust and security to the minds of gamers; I know this was my first thought when visiting one of their affiliated casinos! 

Benefits of eCOGRA for NZ Players

Like anything, eCOGRA provides a range of benefits for those seeking out this company’s services. To make it convenient, I have listed some of these benefits below for both player and operator use:

Data Monitoring

eCOGRA not only enforces jurisdictional rulings for operators and affiliates, but also monitors information for RNG and RTP. RNG is the Random Number Generators that online casinos use to ensure fairness within their games, and RTP is the Return To Player percentage a game has, which essentially is how high of a return players get when they win. 

Analysis and Certification Services

Based on research from business forums and eCOGRA’s official website, this company provides over 13 certification and analysis services for over 20 online casinos and gambling sites. This level of security across many popular Kiwi hotspots allows ease of mind when players engage in their favourite games. 

eCOGRA Services

eCOGRA not only provides regulations and guidelines for online platforms, but they also cater to additional divisions to ensure access is granted to the right sources. To assist with this, I have listed what these divisions are below for easy access:

eGAP

eGAP, or eCOGRA Generally Accepted Practices, are the practical requirements that this regulatory figure assigns to operators, affiliates, and software providers. These requirements provide concise steps the operators and providers need to complete prior to being approved for an eCOGRA certification. 

The three levels of certification are: Safe and Fair Seal for operators, Certified Software Seal for software providers, and Affiliate Trust Seal for affiliates. 

ATA

eCOGRA’s ATA, or Approved Testing Agency, gives assistance for certification of gaming software through testing. This service has been successfully used amongst 80 trusted software providers and operators within the iGaming industry, with names like Ladbrokes, Microgaming, and NetEnt to name a few.  

SRS

The SRS, or Self-Regulation Service, consists of several objectives regarding policies and safety of players. These objectives include prevention of underage gambling, fair gaming practices such as Return To Player (RTP) and Random Number Generation (RNG), secure and reliable operating environments, and combating fraudulent behaviour.

Top 5 eCOGRA-Certified Online Casinos in New Zealand

Because of their security and trustworthy practices, eCOGRA has licensed and certified their fair share of online casinos. To save fellow Kiwi players some time, I have scoured the internet to bring the top 5 eCOGRA-certified casinos:

Conclusion

Overall, eCOGRA certifications and seals are a big deal! Any of the casinos from the list I provided above have top-notch regulations in place for player safety, along with regular testing to ensure fairness from eCOGRA themselves to make online gambling a better environment.

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