Nobody is as serious about business as the people actually running businesses. While the world may encounter the occasional crook that gives honest and legitimate entities a bad name, they're still too few and far between to matter in the long run.

In the business of online gambling, seven of the top online gaming operators have set up a union to show their commitment to promoting fair competition and raising awareness within the gambling industry. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) is comprised of members from the bwin Group, Unibet, PartyGaming, Expekt, bet-at-home, digibet, and Interwetten.

Recently, the EGBA has been fighting anti-online gambling legislation throughout Europe. Although it is the rights of the individual countries to decide the legislation based on what is best for society, the EGBA feels that, using free market principles of which all citizens are entitled, responsible adults should be able to make up their own minds about gaming. Moreover, as licensed members, regulated by the EU, companies should retain the right to make their own decisions as well.

So long as associations like the EGBA remain above-board and continue to offer fair gaming and detailed information on the possible ills of gambling addiction, the group collectively feels that no one should have a right to interfere with gambling from the outside, especially when such measures may cause those seeking gambling entertainment to venture into unsafe and uncharted territories, thus creating far more problems.

With the EGBA, through their stance, online gaming is tightly controlled. The group takes all required measures to ensure that age stipulations are met, and that all those participating in online gambling are fully aware of the risks involved.

The mission of the EGBA is clear. They're working to promote fair competition for European online gaming operators, as well as freedom of choice for the millions of consumers throughout the continent. The EGBA is committed to demonstrating an exemplary level of both social and corporate responsibility, and they lend full support to the development of regulatory regimes that are non-discriminatory.

The standards put in place by the EGBA are second to none. They offer online gaming and betting activities in the most secure and reliable environment on the web. Apart from what they offer the many players in Europe, the EGBA is also very strict with how its own members and affiliates act.

They work to ensure that all members operate in exact accordance with the regulatory standards set by the group. All sites operating within the group are subject to monitoring. Logging all information from the sites also helps to get rid of criminal behavior such as money laundering and cheating activities from both staff and players alike.

In total, the EGBA operates on 9 solid principles, all designed and implemented with the sole purpose of promoting clean gaming. All members of the group must have the necessary license to operate within the EU, and all players are subject to prove their age and location. All together, these measures have made EGBA's member sites the safest on the web.