eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance - commonly known as eCOGRA - has officially formed an alliance with the well respected Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta (LGA).  The alliance between the two organizations is in the form of an agreement upon a series of measures that would further protect player rights at approved eCOGRA online casinos and gaming sites.

Both eCOGRA and the LGA are highly regarded in the world of online gambling by both casinos and players alike.  eCOGRA has set the standard in gaming fairness, as well as the proper enforcement code for meeting that standard.  The "Play it Safe Seal" is a hard earned credential that eCOGRA awards to online casino sites after they have met a series of tests and inspections that include software and security compliance.  The LGA is likewise responsible for insuring that online gaming sites meet a strict standard of protocol before awarding their gaming license permitting online casinos to operate gaming servers from Malta itself.

After the LGA had set out on a mission to search for the best testing modes possible, they inevitably reached eCOGRA, who now will be working with the LGA to designate a common set of principles that both groups use to gauge the fairness of online casinos.  Although the finest details of the agreement still need to be fleshed out, it is known that the LGA will not require that eCOGRA approved casino and gaming sites who use software being subjected to ongoing fairness tests by eCOGRA will not be required to undergo further tests by LGA authorities.  Still, these sites will be inspected and reviewed in all other relevant areas including player protection and ethical operations.

In addition to unified software standards, the two groups will be cooperating more in regards to player/casino disputes.  By putting both the LGA's dispute officer and eCOGRA's dispute mediation service on the same page when disputes arise, the two gaming bodies believe they will be able to hear the disputes more fairly and to resolve them in an acceptable time frame, which in the grand scheme of things, is yet another point for mainstreaming online casino regulation.