eCOGRA Runs Survey

NEW YORK – (PRESS RELEASE) -- eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gambling Regulation and Assurance), 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 eCOGRA.org/playersurvey and anyone wishing to promote the survey can contact eCOGRA directly for the hyperlink.