With less than a week to go until the industry’s biggest names descend on Betting on Sports America – Digital, we’ve been catching up with Stephen Aupy – VP of Strategic Partnerships at Gamban – to discuss some of the changes in the US market and why regulators must prioritise safer gambling.
Ahead of the event, he told us about why player protection must form an integral part of a state’s legislation as more begin to open their doors to the prospect of a legalised betting industry.
What are you looking forward to at the Betting on Sports America – Digital?
We are very happy to be participating in BOSA this year, it will be very interesting to see the growth of remote gambling in the US especially throughout this very uncertain period. It appears Covid has acted as a catalyst for the spread of remote gambling across US states. We are mostly interested in Betting in Society.
Viewing the US through a European lens is most certainly intriguing as while online gambling has become ingrained in our cultural fabric, the integration of remote gambling in the US is in its comparatively early stages. As we are pioneers of Player Protection I am very happy to be part of the conversation regarding Responsible Gambling. While remote gambling is often promoted as an exciting form of entertainment, it is very important to share insight on how it should be responsibly regulated.
It is vital that the various state governments who adopt remote gambling not only understand how much it brings to the economy from a revenue standpoint but equally understand how detrimental remote gaming can be to society if there are no secure safety nets in place to protect the public through the adoption of effective tools and processes.
What would be your biggest bit of advice for betting and gaming businesses trying to mitigate the impact of COVID-19?
I would advise every entity in this space to always look at ways to innovate. Operators in the New Jersey market are a prime example of growth in such a bleak climate having become the third largest jurisdiction in the world for online casinos and having set federal wagering records over the last 3 months in a row.
What are you promoting at Betting on Sports America – Digital?
We are global leaders in player protection with our award winning blocking solution. Gamban blocks access to online gambling sites and apps including the unregulated black market influence. We aid in gambling cessation for persons that are struggling to control their online gambling behaviours.
As it stands in the US, a problem gambler can self-exclude from online gambling sites and apps from one operator brand and then continue to harm themselves online with the same brand in another jurisdiction. Gamban is currently the only effective tool in the US that delivers effective, robust interstate self exclusion.
We intend to showcase our solution with all key stakeholders to the gambling ecosystem of the US that encompasses regulators, operators, treatment service providers and financial institutions. As I touched on previously if this is not taken seriously remote gambling will start to affect society in the US in a negative way that is extremely harmful to the population.
What industry innovation will capture the most attention in 2020?
I am extremely thankful to be playing a key role in the best and most innovative solution that has been introduced to the remote gambling world in many years. This year Beanstalk, the creators of Gamban, have entered into a partnership with customer journey specialists ‘A Game Above’ to bring Yield Sec to the remote gambling world. Yield Sec is a technical and advisory solution for government and regulators that caters to one essential across regulated online betting and gaming markets: YieldSec is the first effective tool to help regulators and government to monitor, police and enforce the licensed, regulated marketplace for betting and gaming, by removing black-market influence and instability.
For government and regulators, adopting Yield Sec as a solution allows them to successfully focus upon the regulatory challenge and balancing player protection and stolen tax yield, without interference from illicit, black market operators.
We are the first solution in the remote gaming world that can tackle the black market head on and recover taxation for all governments around the globe which is very important in this very strange period of uncertainty through the global pandemic.
Which operator has impressed you the most in 2020?
I have been impressed with the way GVC had introduced itself to the US market. The GVC Trust under the leadership of Martin Lycka, Bill Pascrell III and Amani Toomer has sought to place a major emphasis on responsible gaming, sporting integrity and gambling regulation. Global brands like GVC understand the importance of introducing Safer Gambling as this is vital if online gambling is to become politically and commercially sustainable.
What partnership has stood out in the past 12 months?
As I have previously touched on the Yield Sec partnership between Gamban and A Game Above. The Yield Sec offering will act as the catalyst to even the ratio of the online regulated gambling market place against the black market unregulated influence. As it stands globally only roughly around a quarter of online gambling is currently regulated, Yield Sec will clean up the remote gambling world drastically bringing effective player protection and a protected market place.
Which parts of the conference agenda have caught your eye?
I have a keen interest in the Regulatory Roundup. It is startling that the US federally does not acknowledge gambling addiction to be a mental health disorder like the rest of the world. As we work with regulators around the world I am always keen to hear what is happening in the regulatory frameworks across various global markets, every country has its own stance or personality relative to regulation which always piques my interest.