| For Immediate Release September 27, 2000 |
CONTACT: Rick Smith |
Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) Implements Seal of Approval Program
The Interactive Gaming Council Canada (IGC) today announced the commencement of “live” operations for a new program, known as the “Seal of Approval” program, that will allow Internet gaming operators to acknowledge, and display in a visible manner, their support for fair, honest, and responsible gaming.
Internet gambling is big business: most estimates of Internet gambling revenues worldwide top $810 million this year. In 2002, that revenue projection surpasses $4.5 billion, with some estimates reaching as high as $10 billion by 2003. Compare this to statistics available just three short years ago, when there were only about 30 sites that actually accepted bets over the Internet.
The Seal is an actual logo that is placed on interactive gambling sites to symbolize a willingness of the operator to adhere to a higher level of integrity and responsibility. The Seal of Approval logo will be served from a dedicated third party server in order to protect, to the best of our technical abilities, its authenticity and allow for instantaneous removal of the seal should the IGC revoke its approval.
According to Rick Smith, IGC Executive Director, the IGC has recognized the need to provide industry members with an accreditation that the public will recognize and trust. “The Seal of Approval program allows operators to display a seal that indicates to consumers the site’s willingness to adhere to a new, higher level of compliance as a supplement to existing government regulatory regimes.”
“We’re excited about the Seal of Approval program. It displays to the world the responsible nature of Internet gaming operators,” said Sue Schneider, IGC Chairman and President of the River City Group (www.rivercitygroup.com), an Internet-related marketing firm and publisher of Interactive Gaming News. “The program is an open display of the bearer’s business integrity and commitment to comply with a set of established guidelines and abide by a specific Code of Conduct.”
The Seal of Approval program also provides an important mechanism for dissatisfied players in the form of dispute resolution. The Seal of Approval program establishes a system where a designated Compliance Officer, initially the IGC Executive Director, can intervene and mediate a resolution when there is evidence that any attempted resolution, between a Seal of Approval member site and the consumer, has not been effective.
“While there are no guarantees, the IGC believes that the Seal of Approval program is an important step toward increasing the legitimacy of the Internet Gaming Industry. The program allows players to have some reassurance that Internet gaming sites that display the IGC’s Seal of Approval have agreed to higher standards, a strong Code of Conduct, and random monitoring by a third party industry association,” said Smith.
“The Seal of Approval is by no means designed to be a replacement for strict government regulation. In fact, the IGC has been actively advocating strict licensing and regulation by governments. In my opinion, effective government regulation is the only way to move the Internet gaming industry, as a subset of eCommerce in general, to the next level of legitimacy,” said Schneider.
The first two companies to participate in the program and display the ‘seal’ are VIPsports.com, operator of VIPsports.com, VIPsoccer.com, and VIPcasinos.com, and Sunny Group Casinos (www.sunnycasinos.com), operator of Casinofortune.com, Mapau.com, and Miamibeachcasino.com.
VIP’s Alistair Assheton said, “This is a fantastic move by the IGC. The ‘Seal of Approval’ is a significant stride in legitimising the online gaming industry. And, most encouraging is that the ‘Seal’ may persuade some consumers to visit our sites rather than our competitors.”
A spokesman for Sunny Group Casinos said “the program furthers the goals of promoting integrity among gaming operators and increasing consumer confidence for interactive gaming players.
“The Seal of Approval program benefits consumers and gaming operators by increasing consumer confidence within the interactive gaming industry, maintaining fair and honest gaming environments, and providing players with access to mediated dispute resolution processes.”
About IGC
The Interactive Gaming Council (igcouncil.org) is an international non-profit trade association of over 100 companies around the globe that are involved with the interactive gaming industry. Members are operators of Internet gaming sites, software suppliers, e-commerce providers, information-providers or other companies related to the industry. Each operating member of the IGC must be licensed to lawfully conduct gaming from within a licensing jurisdiction and agree to abide by the IGC’s Code of Conduct, a copy of which can be found at the IGC web site-- igcouncil.org. The association offices are located in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada.
The IGC’s mission is to: provide a forum to address issues and advance common interests in the global interactive gaming industry; establish fair and responsible trade guidelines and practices that enhance consumer confidence in interactive gaming products and services, and serve as the industry’s public policy advocate and information clearinghouse. An important role of the Interactive Gaming Council is to advocate for the adoption of strong government regulation of the Internet gaming industry.
About Sunny Group
The Sunny Group headquarters is based in Trinidad in the West Indies, and the company operates all sunny casinos (www.sunnycasinos.com) including its successful Seal of Approval applicants: casinofortune.com, mapau.com, and miamibeachcasino.com.
Casino Fortune was started operating in January 1997 and was one of the first casinos on the Internet.
About VIPSports
The VIP headquarters is based in the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean, where taxation levies are slightly friendlier than in the UK.
VIP operates a portfolio of online gambling and gaming services including VIPsoccer.com which focuses on European football, VIPsports.com which focuses principally on US sports such as basketball and baseball, and VIPcasinos.com which offers online roulette, blackjack and poker. VIPsports.com has been accepting online bets since 1997 and has grown to be one of the industry leaders in the burgeoning online gaming market.
© Interactive Gaming Council 2000