Largest Online Gambling Player Survey Goes Live Today

Largest Online Gambling Player Survey Goes Live Today

September 08, 2006

-- Players Urged to Have Their Say

    NEW YORK, Sept. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- eCOGRA
(eCommerce and Online Gambling Regulation and Assurance)
http://www.ecogra.org , the player protection and standards
authority of online gambling, announces the launch of its
much anticipated Global Online Gambler Survey. As of today,
millions of poker and casino players worldwide will be
offered the opportunity to have their say, in what has been
widely reported as the largest research initiative ever
undertaken into the behavior and attitudes of online
gamblers.

    Covering areas such as poker, casino, player
protection, responsible gambling and luck, the survey will
be promoted to players via an unprecedented show of support
from leading software providers, operators and portals, as
well as through eCOGRA's own contact database.

    The results are expected to create a better
understanding of players' needs and concerns and to hear
directly from players as to what makes rewarding and safe
online gambling experience.

    eCOGRA members 888, Microgaming and Ongame, whose
software together handles the majority of the online casino
industry's turnover, are supporting this survey together
with many of their operators that have been awarded the
eCOGRA "Play It Safe" seal. In addition, more
than 30 top online gambling portals and other leading
operators will promote this survey through hyperlinks on
homepages, and outreach to the online gambling community.

    Andrew Beveridge, CEO, eCOGRA comments, "Our aim
all along has been to maximise participation in this
groundbreaking project, one of the largest of its kind
undertaken in any field. Very few players on reputable
sites will remain unaware of the survey in the coming weeks
and we would urge everyone to complete it in full. The
results will give gamblers and organizations a better
understanding of how this rapidly expanding industry has
developed and where it might be heading, informing future
decisions that we hope will ultimately lead to a greater
improvement of standards across all aspects of the
industry."

    Devised by the leading gambling research team from
Nottingham Trent University and supported by the University
of Nevada (Las Vegas), the survey will be supplemented by
qualitative focus groups in six of the industry's major
markets -- US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany and Sweden -- due
to take place from October.

    The resulting 'eCOGRA Global Online Gambler Report' is
due to be launched to the public in January 2007.

    "This survey comes at a critical time in the
United States," said Frank Catania, board member of
eCOGRA. "By working with two universities that are
experts in this area, we're able to offer online gamblers a
chance to express themselves, and tell us about their
experiences with the online gaming industry."

    Players can find the survey at
http://www.ecogra.org/playersurvey and anyone wishing to
promote the survey can contact eCOGRA directly for the
hyperlink.

    Notes

    eCOGRA, the independent standards authority for the
online gambling industry, is committed to protecting online
casino and poker players around the world. The non-profit
organisation addresses the most important issues to
players: fast payouts, fair gaming, responsive and
efficient service and responsible operator conduct.

    eCOGRA provides an international framework of best
operational and player practice requirements enforced
through inspections, reviews, and continuous monitoring by
independent global audit companies. To date, over 100 sites
comply with these requirements and have been awarded the
coveted "Play It Safe" Seal that identifies to
players the safest online gambling sites on the Web. For
more information on how eCOGRA is constantly improving
standards in online gaming for players everywhere, go to
http://www.ecogra.org .

    For more information, please contact:

     Stuart Hehir, 
     Chameleon PR, London 
     Tel:    [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]

     Susan Lindner, 
     Lotus Public Relations, New York
     Tel:    [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]

SOURCE  eCOGRA Ltd