British independent research company Talisma has conducted an audit of 100 UK online casino sites in October 2007, a year after its first audit of this kind. The recent audit has revealed a noticeable improvement in a key factor: Customer Service.

The Talisma Customer Service Audit for 2007 main findings, other than the quoted bottom line that states "significant improvement" in customer service levels, is as follows:

• Score: The average score of sites checked was up from 54 to 61, out of a maximum score of 100. The score is higher than online retailers and broadband providers, at 51 and 54 respectively.
• Answering Calls: more calls were being answered, up from 60 to 74 percent this year.
• Chit-Chat: a considerable 42 percent of websites provided support via online chat.
• On the Mark: chat sessions and emails scored a perfect 100 in accuracy of the information provided.
On the downside, some results showed the service still lacks on several issues:

• DIY: there was a lack of self-help tools, amassing greater load on the call and email services.
• Personalize it: phone calls lacked personalization, at a mere 8 percent. Emails and chats have been personal, however.
• History: no unified interaction history records were kept, confusing matters when contacting both email and call centers, for example.

Conclusion
These finding were enough to impress vice president international operations at Talisma, Jon McNerney, who was nonetheless clear on the further progress and work still needed for the industry to become efficient. McNerney said: "While it is encouraging that the UK online gambling sector has significantly improved customer service in 2007 there is still huge scope for improvement."

With the Gambling Act in place, the competition as great as ever and the volume of visitors considerable and more, customer service is expected to continue its upward climb. See you next year with the next audit released.