Casinomeister Displaying The Disputes

Published: Friday, December 15, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

DISPLAYING THE ONLINE CASINO DISPUTES

Transparency important for disputes mediator Bailey

Bryan Bailey, the owner and webmaster of online gambling portal Casinomeister.com has introduced a new feature to his site that enables players and operators alike to see for themselves the disputes that he has under mediation, who is involved and how they were resolved or otherwise concluded.

Since 2001 Bailey has made dispute resolution an integral part of his offering, becoming involved free-of-charge on behalf of players who were being ignored when they had legitimate complaints. By using his wide range of industry contacts the webmaster was able to sort out misunderstandings and put questionable operators - and players - on the right track to resolution and more responsible behaviour.

The disputes load grew with the industry, and Casinomeister soon introduced a special "Pitch A Bitch" page to handle the volume.

"Casinomeister's mission is to provide information and post complaints to help eradicate fraud," says Bailey, who advocates a balanced and fair approach for both casinos and players. "Our "Pitch a Bitch" section was developed so that the free flow of information, both good and bad, would protect the consumer in legitimate cases."

The webmaster gives both sides the opportunity to present their perspective on disputes, but is scathing in his criticism if the complaint proves to be false of fraudulent, or if the operator does not communicate or have a fair justification for decisions against players.

Because the Casinomeister site has a significant readership, his independent mediations and 10 years experience in the industry ensure that negotiations have clout and are mostly successful.

This week, Bailey took the "PAB" information to another level by publishing the disputes he has dealt with in recent months so that these can be studied by both industry people and players. It immediately showed that Bailey, who is a one-man-band in this area, has plenty of action on the go.

In November he handled 62 issues, and December has already produced a crop of 15. He will shortly be publishing October's disputes, too.

Writing in his newsletter, the webmaster says that his perception is that disputes are increasing.

"It's alarming," he writes. "Some people consider Casinomeister to be a good place to get the "pulse" of the industry - if this is the case, then we need a paramedic! I used to have casinos lining up wanting to get on board as Casinomeister "Accredited Casinos", now they seem to be lining up to get into the "rogue section".

"Please don't get me wrong, I absolutely hate roguing casinos. It sucks - but I feel obligated to my visitors and Casinomeister members to let them know what's up in online casinoland.

"What is really bothering me is that we are seeing more instances of confiscated winnings, locked accounts, and accusations of bonus abuse. What ever happened to "pay the player - then lock the accounts" of unwanted "bonus players"? This was a mantra for respectable casinos, but it seems to be thrown to the wayside post UIGEA.

"I really hope that operators consider their role in this industry as a long term commitment to respectability. And I hope that they stay on a firm path of treating players with respect and fairness. To treat players with contempt will undoubtedly have negative consequences in the future."

Readers can view the disputes section at Casinomeister.com