The European Gaming & Betting Association (EGBA) is the premier trade association for the European online gambling industry. Their mission is “to promote fair competition for European online gaming operators and freedom of choice for consumers throughout Europe”. The organization fights on behalf of this mission against excessive restrictions imposed by governments on the industry or those who are trying to maintain state monopolies on gaming. They do advocate regulation but on a fair, non-discriminatory manner.

The EGBA has a list of technical standards that all members must adhere to. These standards are based on nine fundamental principles that emphasize consumer protection. Following these principles ensures that member groups are adhering to the highest standards of socially responsible practice. These principles are enforced through an annual assessment process so that compliance is fully documented and proven.

The Nine Fundamental Principles:
1. Promote responsible gaming and betting – members must provide customers with information regarding the possible risks of online gambling and provide links to qualified help
2. Know your customer and prevent underage gaming and betting – there must be a clear message of underage play on the home page and members must carry out random checks of customers to make sure there are no underage players whatsoever
3. Zero tolerance of fraudulent and criminal behavior – members must have anti-money laundering policies in place and enforced; they must document and verify any changes to a customer’s name and/or banking information
4. Protect customer privacy and safeguard information – all members must have a clearly posted privacy policy and must do whatever they can to protect the customer’s personal and financial information
5. Prompt and accurate customer payments – members must pay when requested providing the transactions are all documented; customers may only have one account and must have at least name, age and address as well as a unique username and password
6. Rigorous independent assessment of product fairness and randomness – there must be a product testing policy in place that ensures all games and software are working correctly; testing must be done both internally and externally
7. Ethical and responsible marketing – members must not target the underage in their advertising and all adverts must contain factual information; members must not spam themselves or allow their affiliates or any third party to spam
8. Commitment to customer satisfaction and support – all members must have readily available customer support around the clock, 24/7; they must provide for an independent third party in the event of a dispute
9. Responsible practices underpinned by a secure, safe and reliable environment – members must have a license form a European licensing authority; they must be audited annually by an external firm; a third party must be able to assess compliance with EGBA standards on an annual basis