Ecogra – Unibet Group’s ‘Regulatory Audit Partner’

With the increasing number of governments opting for the regulation of internet gambling, the regulatory auditing and testing agency eCOGRA has an opportunity to provide compliance and audit services to major international companies seeking national licensing.

A diverse and often complicated matrix of national regulatory requirements which has emerged in Europe, created an operator demand for independent specialist auditing and testing with the expertise and resources.

Identifying this professional need one of the major international groups in the industry, Unibet, earlier this year constructed a Request for Proposal (RFP) and invited a number of top testing agencies to bid for the account by describing in detail the qualifications of professional staff, how such a project should be approached, the timeframe, and at what cost.

Among Unibet’s requirements is the ability to conduct audits in accordance with the IAASB (International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board) Auditing Standards, as well as according to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard.

The objective of the RFP was to select a strategic partner capable with high quality and cost-efficient servicing of the regulatory compliance needs of the entire Group and to ensure the jurisdiction requirements where Unibet companies are licensed are properly identified, implemented and externally audited.

The player protection and standards body eCOGRA was commenced in Denmark, where the agency performed compliance reviews for over a quarter of the Danish licensees following an assessment by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to extend eCOGRA&s ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation to cover all 5 Danish certification categories.

Andrew Beveridge, the chief executive of eCOGRA, welcomed the challenge of becoming Unibet Group’s ‘Regulatory Audit Partner& and expressing the satisfaction said:

“Unibet is an industry leader in terms of promoting responsible gambling and player protection, and demonstrating the highest levels of regulatory compliance, and therefore we are very pleased to be appointed the Group&s Regulatory Audit Partner.”

General Counsel for the Unibet Group Ewout Keuleers said that the Unibet choice of eCOGRA was based upon a proven industry track record and extensive competitive RFP benchmark l.

“We are confident that eCOGRA’s extensive mix of professional Big 4 audit firm, IT and industry experience will enable them to effectively assist us with the diverse spread of regulation and testing principles and methodologies being adopted throughout Europe,” he said.