Who's watching.....?

After following a guy's thread about winning a $12.5K package on Carbon and having alot of trouble getting it, I had a question. Who is watching over the gaming sites? Is there an international group or some kind of commission? I know that most (or all ) sites need a license to operate and do so from some of the most exotic locales. Can anyone chime in about what they know?
Thanks!

That's a good question. I know that I've never heard of any such association or group that they can belong to that set any sort of standards. So I'd guess it would just have to be word of mouth and forums like this.

Most all of the sites have some governmental authority that oversees them. The accountability of this authority may be questionable sometimes but it is there.

poker stars - Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission
Full Tilt - The Alderney gambling Control Commission
bodog - Kahnawake Gaming Commission

etc. etc.

Thanks, that's good info to know. Is there any way to find out who/what these commissions are made up of? What they actually do and licensing info? the Kahnawake commission has a pretty good site that talks a little about it's functions. But, not too specific on the who they are?, how do you qualify? etc.

Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission - http://www.gov.im/gambling/
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission - http://www.gamblingcontrol.org/
Kahnawake Gaming Commission - http://www.gamingcommission.ca/

Jillychemung said:

Most all of the sites have some governmental authority that oversees them. The accountability of this authority may be questionable sometimes but it is there.

Poker Stars - Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission
Full Tilt - The Alderney Gambling Control Commission
Bodog - Kahnawake Gaming Commission

etc. etc.

Click to expand...

Just to be clear, the US facing bodog.com which is owned by MMGG is licensed in Kahnawake and here's the licensing info for the remaining bodog brand licensees:

-The European facing bodog.co.uk and the Canadian facing bodog.ca are owned by Bodog Europe and licensed in Antigua: http://www.antiguagaming.gov.ag

-The Asian facing bodog88.com is owned by Haydock Entertainment and licensed in the Philippines: http://www.firstcagayan.com/html/home.php

Please let me know if you have any questions at all,
Becky

Thank you!

Thanks, Becky! I will check out the other two sites today. I guess we may even start to have some representation here, in the US, once the proper laws are passed.

A USA POKER regulated site?

If the USA passes a law to allow USA based online poker sites--that would be great!!! It could possibly change the face of online poker for the better. Until then---I will only play if it's FREE!!!

Yeah Sherbert, I know what you mean. I enjoy playing online and for the most part, find it is pretty fair. But, sometimes you see things that are questionable. Like one player dumping chips to another in a tourney or a player making several "impossible" calls that come on the river, etc. It would be good to know that someone is watching.

In the past, I have written out a complaint or two because the site says "turn in the names of the players and what happened" and they will investigate. But, i never got a response as to what was done, if anything. So, I just decided not to play on that site anymore. Also, there was another site that I deposited to, played for a while then the site closed to all US players and kept my money.

So, for now I deposit small amounts and play alot of freerolls or micro limit games. Eventually, though, i'd like to move up to better stakes. But, only if i feel safe playing.