A Game Above, has teamed up with Beanstalk to launch a new solution to help combat illegal gambling.
The experience marketing agency, A Game Above, has partnered with Beanstalk, the company behind the self-exclusion system Gamban, for a joint venture to launch Yield Sec, a new solution to help regulators combat illegal gambling.
What is Yield Sec?
Yield Sec will operate as a technical and advisory tool that allows regulatory bodies to monitor, police and enforce their betting and gambling markets. The tool will have access to a real-time database of illegal, black market gambling site, which A Game Above said is the largest list of its type in the world. Users will be able to create and update their own operator blacklists using the software.
A Game Above also said that Yield Sec will provide player protection solutions in the sense that it helps force unlicensed gambling sites out of legal markets. This means that minors and those struggling with problem gambling will not be able to access these sites.
Steen Madsen, CEO of A Game Above, said: “The operation of a sustainable marketplace, with cared-for customers and practically excluded minors and at-risk audiences, whilst raising valuable taxation revenues for society, predictably, is the perfect way to support our shared mission across A Game Above and Beanstalk: the customer experience.
“Player protection and the operation of a sustainable, responsible industry, onshore and subject to regulation, are, in our view, simply facets of the customer experience, overall.”
Jack Symons, Co-Founder and Director of Beanstalk, said: “After an intensive period of research and development, we’re pleased to be announcing the launch of Yield Sec. Across most markets today, those at risk of gambling-related harm do not know where to effectively turn when facing a problem.
“Escaping a spiral of continued, compulsive play is almost impossible when no gambling cessation helpline or tool has historically worked to effectively exclude the black market. Yield Sec will achieve this and provide for meaningful player protection. Caring for the vulnerable is ineffective if we only place conditions upon licensed operators but then leave the unregulated black market openly available.”
The illegal gambling market is still a problem
The developers of the solution said that an effective black-market monitoring tool is needed during a time of disruption across the industry, especially when regulatory bodies and governments are trying to strike a balance between player protection and taxation.
This is highlighted by new research from the American Gaming Association (AGA) published last week, that revealed that more than half of the consumers who bet with unlicensed operators in the US did not know they gambled illegally.
Based on the findings, the AGA said it would commit to enhanced education initiatives and programs to help consumers improve their knowledge of legal gambling options.
Bill Pascrell, III,President, North America for A Game Above, said: “For governments and regulators, Yield Sec is a tool for our time and the sustainable future of regulated online betting and gaming.
“Despite the loss of nearly all professional sport over the COVID-19 crisis, it is clear that black-market betting and gaming sites and apps benefited enormously – at no other point in history have we seen the broad presence and availability of so many unlicensed, unregulated offerings, none of which pay any tax, protect any players or provide for those at risk.
“In targeting regulated territories, these black-market operators are effectively stealing taxpayers’ money and avoiding the contributions that licensed, responsible operators make to good causes and the prevention of gambling-related harm.”
