eCOGRA is a UK-based testing agency that certifies online gambling software. It also runs a free dispute service for players at some casinos. If a casino shows eCOGRA's name, find out what it refers to: a certificate for its games, one of eCOGRA's seals, or access to the dispute service. Only the dispute service helps with a complaint. It does so only if the casino has engaged eCOGRA and the site is on the list in eCOGRA's dispute form.
We read eCOGRA's own pages and its latest report to the Gambling Commission on 11 October 2026. On the same day we read the Gambling Commission's pages on approved dispute services, the Curaçao Gaming Authority's list of certificate holders and Anjouan's list of approved dispute services. We haven't used eCOGRA's service, and this isn't a review of it.
What eCOGRA is
eCOGRA says it was established in 2003 and is based in the United Kingdom. It describes itself as "a leading independent and internationally approved testing agency, specialising in the testing, inspection and certification of online gambling software and systems". It started as a self-regulatory body when most online gambling was unregulated. Most of the services it lists now are testing and certification of games, random number generators and platforms, carried out for clients against the rules of the jurisdictions that approve it. By its own count it is approved in 52 jurisdictions, among them Great Britain, Malta, Ontario, Kahnawake and Curaçao.04
eCOGRA doesn't license casinos. In Great Britain the Gambling Commission lists it as one of eight approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) providers, alongside IBAS, CEDR and others.06
What an eCOGRA logo can mean
The three you're most likely to meet:
What the casino shows | What it means | Does it help with a complaint? |
|---|---|---|
A game or RNG certificate | eCOGRA tested the product "in accordance with applicable jurisdictional requirements" | No. Game fairness is a matter for the regulator |
The eGAP seal for operators ("Safe and Fair") | The operator is certified to eCOGRA's Generally Accepted Practice requirements on "player protection, fair gaming, and responsible operator behaviour" | Yes, subject to the conditions below: eCOGRA offers its dispute mediation to seal holders |
eCOGRA named as the dispute service in the terms | The casino uses eCOGRA as its ADR provider | Yes, subject to the conditions below |
eCOGRA has other marks too. They include software, live-dealer and affiliate seals, and an image that opens monthly return-to-player reports. None of them is a route for your complaint.
The operator seal page promises a lot. Certified operators may display the seal, "indicating to players and other stakeholders that operational systems are secure, monetary deposits are safe and games are fair". It also says players at approved sites get dispute mediation "at no extra charge". We didn't find a public list of seal holders on eCOGRA's site. The nearest thing is the list of sites in its dispute form, described below.03
Who can use eCOGRA's dispute service
eCOGRA's policy says it accepts disputes between players and two kinds of site. The first is registered sites holding a Gambling Commission or Malta Gaming Authority licence; the second is "eCOGRA approved sites". Its ADR page offers mediation to seal holders "and sites that have engaged our services". The service is free to players. Operators pay "a fixed monthly fee". Four conditions apply:0102
The site is on the list. Players "must ensure the site is included on our list of approved websites found on the dispute form". On 11 October 2026 that list held 1,326 entries, or 1,319 distinct names.
You've finished the casino's own complaints process. The form says licensed operators must resolve a complaint, or agree that it can't be resolved, within eight weeks. If it's still unresolved, the form says, the operator "should issue a final letter with a reference number".
It's less than a year since that process ended. eCOGRA "cannot investigate disputes that are older than one year from the end of the operator's internal complaints procedure". The Gambling Commission's entry for eCOGRA counts the year from a different point, when "the dispute arose". It also says eCOGRA may refuse a dispute unless at least two weeks have passed since the problem began.
No one else is handling it. eCOGRA may refuse a dispute that another ADR provider, a regulator or a court is considering or has considered.
What it will and won't look at
eCOGRA takes disputes about "the outcome of a gambling transaction such as game results, betting results, account management, application of bonus offers or misleading terms and conditions".0102
Its dispute form steers three kinds of complaint elsewhere:
Game fairness. A game that "does not pay out as much as it is meant to" is "a regulatory issue". Raise it with the regulator.
Responsible gambling alone. If the complaint is only that the casino acted irresponsibly and there's no breach of contract, it goes to the regulator. eCOGRA considers whether the terms for responsible-gambling tools are clear and fair.
Poor customer service. eCOGRA can't investigate it or award money for it.
How the process runs
Everything is in writing and in English: "eCOGRA will not enter into any verbal communication with the Player at any time." You don't need to attach your emails with the casino at first; eCOGRA asks for them once it accepts the case. If it refuses a dispute, it says it will tell both sides within three weeks.02
Once it has the full case file, eCOGRA sends both sides a "Complete Case File notification". It then updates them at least every 30 days and makes "every effort" to finish within 90 days, longer for highly complex cases. You get a Preliminary Resolution Report and seven days to add evidence. eCOGRA says it will reconsider a final outcome if you send "sufficient new evidence" within 30 days.02
The result is mediation, not a ruling. eCOGRA works from the casino's own terms, and the process "does not restrict a Player's right to bring proceedings against the Operator in any court of competent jurisdiction". eCOGRA "may, at its absolute discretion" consider compensation for "considerable distress or inconvenience". Both sides pay their own costs and must keep the details confidential.02
eCOGRA's policy calls this "non-binding mediation", and the Gambling Commission's entry for eCOGRA agrees: "The outcome is non-binding." The Commission's guidance to operators, though, says it expects ADR "which is binding (if accepted by the customer)" for disputes of up to £10,000. We can't tell from these pages how the two fit together for a particular case.020607
What eCOGRA's own figures show
eCOGRA publishes an annual report on its British disputes. The one covering 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, dated 15 October 2025, gives these figures:05
Received: 911 disputes.
Completed: 411. The other 500 were invalid or discontinued.
Refused because the player hadn't finished the casino's own complaints process first: 361.
Refused because the operator wasn't registered with eCOGRA: 19.
Average time to resolve: 31 days.
Outcome: 82.2% ruled in the operator's favour, 17.8% in the consumer's.
Largest category among valid disputes: deposits and withdrawals, 150.
The timing claims on eCOGRA's own pages don't match each other. The seal page says disputes at approved sites "are generally addressed in less than 48 hours". The policy's 90-day target runs from the case-file notification. The report's 31-day average is for British disputes; neither page says how the 48-hour figure is measured.020305
If your casino is licensed in Curaçao or Anjouan
eCOGRA's policy covers Gambling Commission and Malta licensees and eCOGRA-approved sites. A casino with only a Curaçao or Anjouan licence is covered only if it has engaged eCOGRA and is on the list in the form.02
Neither regulator lists eCOGRA as an approved dispute service:0809
Curaçao. The Curaçao Gaming Authority's list of certificate holders, dated 31 August 2026, names eCOGRA Limited as a test lab, certificate CGA/TSL/2025/03, valid to 18 December 2028. The same list names seven ADR providers, and eCOGRA isn't one of them: Resolvo Curaçao, ADR Curaçao, Cadre, EGIS-FZCO, ABC-ADR, iGamingADR and IBAS.
Anjouan. The regulator's list of approved ADR providers, read 11 October 2026, names four: EGIS ADR, Axion ADR, iGaming ADR and CADRE B.V.
For a casino licensed there, use the approved provider named in its terms or complaints policy. eCOGRA, for one, takes a case only if the site is on its list. Our Curaçao complaints article explains why a finished ADR case can't be restarted with a second provider. Our audit of eight Curaçao casinos' complaint pages shows how rarely they explain the route. For Anjouan, see what an Anjouan licence does when a casino won't pay.
Which operators we track appear on eCOGRA's list
We compared the entries in eCOGRA's dispute form, read 11 October 2026, with the 74 operators BullsRank tracks.01
Same name, ignoring capitals (5): bet365, Betway, Unibet, Betfair and Pinnacle.
Close names, differing by spacing, a letter or an added word:
"Wiliam Hill" and "William Hill Casino Club" (we track William Hill);
"Roll Bit" (Rollbit);
"Nitro Casino" and "Nitro Win" (Nitro);
"Thrills" (Thrill);
"Live Casino" (Livecasino.io).
The list gives names only, with no domains or licence numbers, so a matching name doesn't prove it's the same site or the same licence. Check the casino's own terms. A Gambling Commission licensee has to name its dispute service there.0107
How to file a dispute with eCOGRA
Finish the casino's complaints process and keep its final reply. A Gambling Commission licensee has eight weeks, and eCOGRA's form says an unresolved complaint should end with a final letter and a reference number.
Check that the site is on the list in eCOGRA's dispute form. If the casino holds a Gambling Commission licence, check that its terms name eCOGRA as the dispute service.
Fill in the form on eCOGRA's ADR page with a short, factual summary: dates, amounts, the term you think was misapplied, and the outcome you're asking for.
If eCOGRA refuses the dispute, it says it will tell you within three weeks. Once the case file is complete, expect updates at least every 30 days.
If you disagree with the outcome, you can still go to court. eCOGRA says it will reconsider if you send sufficient new evidence within 30 days.
Before you get that far, our guide to what to do when a casino is refusing to pay lists what to save.
What we couldn't check
Whether a seal on a casino site is current. We found no public list of seal holders on eCOGRA's site.
Who is behind each name on the dispute list. The list prints names only.
Disputes outside Britain. eCOGRA's report covers British disputes; we have no figures for the rest.
Malta. eCOGRA says the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority approved it as an ADR entity. We didn't read the authority's own list.
