eCOGRA is a management owned company that was incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2003 with the purpose of establishing and improving operational standards and player safety requirements in the online gambling industry. Since then, eCOGRA has established itself as one of the industry’s leading testing and certification laboratories and acts as a regulatory audit partner to over 100 multi-jurisdictional operators, software providers and other relevant service providers. The organisation is the latest to make the transition from visitor to exhibitor. CEO Shaun McCallaghan explains what success will look like in London.
What is it about ICE London that makes the event so important?
ICE is widely recognised throughout the industry as the one show that cannot be missed and eCOGRA has been present as a visitor at every edition for the past 15 years. We’ll be exhibiting for the first time in 2019, which is a very exciting prospect for our senior management and business development team that will be representing eCOGRA.
In layman’s terms, can you explain the business proposition and what success looks like?
Our objective is to engage with industry players that operate across multiple licensing jurisdictions, which take compliance seriously – this includes many organisations that are typically present at ICE. ICE represents a unique opportunity for us to have face-to-face contact with many of our existing clients present at the show from all over the world. We are looking forward to reflecting on activities from the past year and better understanding our clients’ future plans. We are also expecting to create greater awareness of our organisation amongst new market entrants, as ICE is so well attended by the industry.
Which gaming sectors and jurisdictions are you targeting and why?
We are focused only on online gambling, which has enabled us to become highly specialised and experienced in all aspects of regulatory compliance in this sector of the industry. The jurisdictions we target are those that require the services of independent and professional auditors and testing laboratories for the technical certification of licensees. We are also firmly committed to servicing our clients in each of the regulated markets where they choose to license their online gambling products.
Why 2019? What was the impetus for your company to exhibit at ICE London at this time?
Due to continuous growth within our company and the significant number of our staff attending ICE, in order for us to manage back-to-back client meetings, it really just made sense for us to get a dedicated visible space which ensures that we have a working environment that is conducive to comfortable and productive meetings.
What sets you apart: is anyone else doing anything similar to your knowledge?
Since we focus only on online gambling, we consider ourselves experts in this particular field. We are able to offer the most comprehensive suite of auditing services that an operator or software supplier licensed across multiple highly regulated jurisdictions would typically require. eCOGRA is the only testing laboratory that is authorised to offer operators and service providers accredited ISO/IEC 27001 certifications for Information Security Management Systems. We are also the only laboratory that is approved to provide Alternative Dispute Resolution services as required by operators licensed in Great Britain and Malta.
As a first time exhibitor, what are you most looking forward to?
We are looking forward to being able to offer a comfortable meeting place for our existing clients and we’re excited about engaging with new people who are simply interested in what we do. We also expect our first-time experience of exhibiting will provide us with a great opportunity to see how we can enhance our presence at future ICE shows.
eCOGRA is exhibiting at ICE London (5-7 February, ExCeL London, UK) on stand N1-120.
To register for ICE London, the world’s biggest and most international gaming technology event, visit: icelondon.uk.com
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Shaun McCallaghan, CEO, eCOGRA
