The number of university graduates turning to careers in the casino industry has increased by 200 per cent over the past 12 months, according to research.

Hundreds of graduates are re-training as croupiers and hostesses amid unprecedented competition for work and looming cuts in the public sector.

Many graduated with first-class degrees in medicine, law, architecture and veterinary science, but were unable to land professional or managerial jobs.

The opportunity of an immediate start in the burgeoning gaming is, they say, a ”no brainer” given the impact of the recession on graduate recruitment.

The figures were released this week by the London Academy of Gaming following months of bleak reports on the graduate job market.

The Academy guarantees a job within the casino sector to those who enrol (subject to a successful interview) on their five-week croupier training courses, with a money back guarantee of the ‘job placement fees’.

Spokesperson Karen Taylor said becoming a croupier has become “highly attractive” to suitable graduates keen to avoid the dole queue.

She said: “We are receiving more and more applications from graduates for our croupier courses and considering how bleak the economic climate is right now, that’s not surprising. We have received an overwhelming response of over 700 enquiries over the last eight weeks.

“Working in a casino may not be seen as a traditional graduate-level position, but it does require high standards of customer relations, grooming, calculus and the student being in receipt of a Personal Functional Licence (which the academy will assist all there students with). In return they are offered a good salary.

“For many graduates it’s a perfect career move. Aside from the good money and flexible hours, there is potential for moving up the career ladder and working abroad.”

Figures released earlier this month showed that one in three graduates is on the dole or working in stopgap jobs such as stacking shelves or pouring pints.

Nearly 20,000 of last year’s graduates – one in ten 10 – were unemployed six months after leaving university, up from eight per cent in 2008.

A further 50,000 failed to land graduate-level posts and resorted to roles for which they are likely to be over-qualified, working as secretaries, waiters, bar staff and factory employees.

Only 40 per cent managed to land professional or managerial jobs, with the remainder studying a higher degree full-time, working abroad or describing themselves as ‘unavailable for work’, possibly because of gap years.

”The impact of the proposed cuts could be sufficient to have a profound effect on the labour market for new graduates,” said Charlie Ball, of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit

”It is possible that the next four years could be the toughest for new graduates ever.”

The Academy, based in Islington, central London, was founded by Karen Taylor, Steve Alexander & Domenic Versace. The croupier training course costs £1,750 plus an additional £200 for the job placement fee which will be returned if they cannot place you in employment, Karen said “up to now we have never had to return the £200 as we have placed every candidate”. Candidates are trained to the highest standard required by London casinos in American Roulette, Blackjack and 3 Card Poker.

They also have to successfully complete a “Table Test” in a London Casino before receiving their qualification.

No formal qualifications are needed, but trainees must have “reasonable” mental arithmetic skills and ”impeccable grooming”.

Koby Ko, 27, graduated from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, last year.

She said: “I am currently in my final week of the croupier training course at London Academy of Gaming, This course is amazing, they not only taught me to become a croupier but also taught me about casino security, and customer service.

“I felt that my degree in ‘Hospitality Management’ wasn’t enough to get into the hospitality industry, by becoming a croupier, would not only give me a career for life but give me very good management prospects within these large UK casino groups”

Though the average starting wage of a croupier is £16,000 to £18,000 per annum plus tips – Karen says there is “serious potential” for extra income through generous tips.

“Some of our ex-students receive over £500 in tips per month after big wins at the table,” she added.

There is always chance for promotion for ambitious employees in the casino industry which is encouraged by management.

More information: visit www.londongaming.co.uk or call 0845 056 8521

Fair Gaming Advocate’s latest report shows that disputes per accredited operator remain impressively low.

The independent player protection and standards body eCOGRA has released its latest report on remote gambling disputes handled by the organisation’s Fair Gaming Advocate, showing remarkably low levels of player disputes at online gambling sites (Dispute Statistics) bearing the eCOGRA Safe and Fair seal of accreditation.

Online gambling sites bearing the seal are the subject to constant monitoring and annual inspections and reviews by the London-based non-profit organisation, now in its seventh year of operations. One of the requirements for accreditation is an operator’s commitment to work with eCOGRA in the event of player disputes.

Fair Gaming Advocate Tex Rees reports that over the first half of 2010 there were a total of 376 complaints submitted to eCOGRA, 33 of which were at non-accredited operations over which eCOGRA has no influence, and therefore cannot mediate. A further 56 of the complaints were declared invalid due to insufficient detail, irrelevance, abuse or anonymous origin.

The remaining 287 disputes – 76 percent of the total received – were resolved by the Fair Gaming Advocate normally within 48 hours, with 47 percent settled in favour of the player.

“These numbers are similar, and in fact compare favourably with last year’s numbers, despite the fact that eCOGRA now has 11 more accredited venues than last year,” Rees reports. “We have actually seen a decrease in dispute mediation requests.

“We can attribute a portion of this drop in disputes to the fact that we have now been working with many of the Seal operations for several years and as a consequence a number of policies and procedures have been developed that translate to less cause for disputes. Our operators are also better equipped and motivated to deal with disputes at the operator level, which results in eCOGRA receiving fewer complaints.”

Rees detailed Cash-in (43 percent), Bonus issues (21 percent) and Locked Accounts (21 percent) as the principal causes for dispute, with the number of cash-in complaints easing from last year’s 51 percent.

“We dealt with an average of 11.03 disputes a week in the first half of 2010,” Rees revealed, adding that this represented an average dispute rate per Seal operation per month of 0.34 disputes – slightly lower than last year’s 0.37 disputes.

“This level of performance is satisfactory and well within the standards we have set for our operators,” she commented. “Viewed against the very high number of transactions these well established, tier one online gambling venues experience on a daily basis, the number of disputes continues to be remarkably low.”

Coral, the sports betting brand of Gala Coral Group, has joined forces with online betting and gaming software specialist, Geneity, as part of a multi-million pound investment to further enhance customer experience across its retail, online and telebetting channels.

Geneity’s cutting-edge ‘GenBet’ sportsbetting platform has successfully been integrated into Coral’s existing account management system allowing its customers the possibility to use a single account, across online, mobile, retail and telebet channels. GenBet’s ‘single point of data receipt’ allows Coral to offer consistent betting opportunities across all channels so customers can use whichever channel they prefer for each sport or event, making their Coral experience a seamless and enjoyable one.

Geneity’s software also powers Coral’s recently relaunched website, which now features enhanced Live Betting functionality allowing the bookmaker to manage live events more efficiently while offering customers both a richer experience and more in-play betting options. Unique personalisation of preferred markets is an additional key feature.

Damian Cope, Chief Information Officer of Gala Coral Group, said: "Our objective was to replace our previous system with a solution that provided our customers with a first class, multi-channel, sports betting product. We also needed to ensure that the new product provided the necessary flexibility to allow Gala Coral’s expert internal odds compilers and trading team to rapidly react to events and create new betting opportunities across our 1,600 betting shops, via telebetting and online/mobile. Working closely with the hugely experienced team from Geneity we succeeded in creating a solution that was right for both our customers and our employees alike."

He added: "We have already received significant positive feedback from our customers regarding the specific enhancements that are now being offered on Coral.co.uk thanks to the new GenBet Platform. We’re looking forward to working closer with Geneity in the future on further enhancing the betting experience of our customers."

Will Slater, Managing Director of Geneity said: "We’re proud Coral chose GenBet as the basis for their next generation multi-channel betting platform. The success of the project was made possible by close collaboration and making use of the significant expertise residing in both companies, we look forward to the continued growth of this relationship and the ongoing development of the GenBet platform"

GamblingIn.co.uk is a popular internet portal used as a one stop shop for online gambling fans; in particular fans from the UK. Being UK specific allows for the edge they require to offer members the best, most up-to-date and beneficial information pertinent to their online play. This site is now eCOGRA approved offering additional support, benefit and security for both hardcore and fun seeking gamblers.

eCOGRA is a player protection, industry standards based organisation, they operate out of London and are a non-profit organisation. The aim of this organisation is to perfect frameworks for best practice in operation and other areas of concern for consumers. They are a consumer protection service and sites certified under the seal of eCOGRA have met and adhered to highly specific criteria.

The chief aim of eCOGRA is to certify gambling sites and subsidiary operations which comply with the maximum standards of responsible and fair gambling. They are also tasked with auditing for fairness which expands its scope of service to professional management and superior operating standards. They currently have 70 leading online gambling operators, 145 online gambling sites, and 25 leading software companies that they work with on an ongoing basis. The eCOGRA Safe and Fair seal ensures continuous monitoring at the highest industry levels. Services include:

• Operators’ Safe and Fair Seal
• Certified Software Seal
• Payout and RNG Reviews
• Accredited Testing Agency and Independent Auditor
• Affiliate Trust Seal
• Reputable Portals Seal
• Quality Assurance

GamblingIn.co.uk is a premier portal for UK gambling offering access to special bonuses, reviews, news, and technology updates regarding UK online casinos, poker rooms, bingo halls and sports betting sites.

Spending in excess of £700 million per annum is taking place at UK online gambling sites. This figure is expected to grow to as much as £1.6 billion during 2010 and gambling sites are giving away a great deal of money to secure favourable custom.

Membership of GamblingIn.co.uk guarantees only the best referrals of online gambling sites – a sure fire way to ensure the best possible UK online gambling experience. Although GamblingIn.co.uk is not responsible for the actions of these sites, their recent eCOGRA approval means they may be used with absolute confidence and that every site advertised is reputable as well as meets the very best standards.

Live dealer provider Evolution Gaming, which has offices in London, Malta and Stockholm and high tech Internet video-streaming studio facilities in Latvia, has become one of the first in its sector to achieve the high standards required for the eCOGRA Certified Live Dealer Seal.

The company is an acknowledged leader in its sector, and counts many major European Internet gambling operators among its clients, including 888, Bet-At-Home, Expekt, Gala Coral Group, Ladbrokes, PaddyPower, Party Gaming and Unibet.

Explaining the significance of the Certified Live Dealer Seal, eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge said this week that the relevant eGAP or international best practice standards required had been specifically designed for the distinct nature of live dealer operations, in which live games are streamed over the Internet in real time from casino studio environments managed by pitbosses and staffed by croupiers.

"The genre differs from the more common and purely software-powered online casino concept in that it features live staff using real gambling devices and tables," said Beveridge. "This requires a very specific set of operating standards and requirements to ensure absolutely fair, safe and independent gaming in which both hardware and software systems are reviewed.

"Along with our usual tests for problem gambling and dispute facilities, we also look at anti-money laundering systems, staff training, operator probity, player information security, staff access to sensitive areas, the retention of video recordings of all sessions, collusion controls and overall game statistical performance on the roulette, baccarat and blackjack games offered."

Chartered Accountant Gareth Muirhead, who spent several days in Riga, Latvia conducting the review, said that his compliance plan had included the examination of both return-to-player and RNG elements, and ensuring that eCOGRA’s Total Gaming Transaction Review system was securely in place, continuously monitoring all gaming activity.

"Evolution Gaming operates a very tight ship, and the cooperation of chief operating officer Svante Liljevall and the technical and operational staff in Riga was outstanding," Muirhead wrote in his report to the Independent Directors controlling the issue of eCOGRA seals.

Congratulating the management and staff in Riga on achieving the eCOGRA accreditation, Evolution Gaming chief executive officer Jens von Bahr said: "As a company we have always tried to lead rather than follow, and I am delighted that you have been successful in satisfying a tough but very practical set of international best practice standards.

"This can only boost our confidence in the commercial arena, knowing we are among the first to successfully put our technology, systems and people to this type of rigorous test."