Sports gaming and media company Underdog Sports has announced the next investment from its GuardDog fund, contributing funding to the Game Safety Institute (GSI).
"New RG solutions are complex to develop and deploy," Simo Dragicevic, co-founder of GSI, said in a press release. "They require wide stakeholder engagement, R&D funding, and time. GuardDog is therefore a critical initiative as it supports the most innovative new RG ideas with not only capital, but access to a range of industry expertise. We are delighted to be partnering with Underdog."
In combination with GSI, GuardDog aims to create product intelligence platforms that cover a broader scope and assess risk for game types more accurately. Additionally, the funding will provide better education for players and develop tools to help customers control play.
"The majority of investment and innovation in RG over the past 15 years has been centered on solutions focused on the player. As these initiatives start to mature, we anticipate increased regulatory and industry focus on product safety. A recent survey of major global operators showed that almost all understood the importance of product safety, however only a third are satisfied with their current approach to understanding product risk," commented fellow GSI co-founder Sarah Ramanauskas in the press release.
Underdog's history with responsible gambling
Underdog Sports has committed to responsible gambling in the past. It was the only online gambling operator to support the GRIT Act, a federal act introduced in January 2024 to commit 50% of federal taxes on sports betting to responsible gambling programs. The act was referred to the Subcommittee on Health, and there has been no movement since.
GuardDog was founded in 2023 with a $1 million investment. The announcement marks the second investment GuardDog has made since, but GuardDog extends beyond financial commitments. It also provides funded companies with consultation and mentorship from responsible gambling experts.
Experts tied to GuardDog include former director of the Colorado Division of Gaming Dan Hartman, responsible gaming advocate Brianne Doura-Schawohl, former executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission Sara Tait, and partner at Acies Investments Chris Grove.
"Our clear aim with GuardDog is to support and help scale innovation in responsible gaming, and the Game Safety Institute is precisely the type of partner we look for — imaginative, with a commitment to rigorous testing and research to develop real, actionable solutions to enhance player safety across a wide range of products. We look at RG a little differently: not as a challenge, but as an opportunity necessitating fresh, creative ideas to create a stronger and more responsible ecosystem for operators and players," commented Vice President of Responsible Gaming at Underdog, Adam Warrington, on the new agreement with GSI.
More focus on responsible gaming in the US
The GuardDog fund is just one of many measures US gambling operators and regulators are taking to support responsible gambling. Ahead of the NFL season, the league updated its responsible gambling policy education. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement launched a Responsible Gambling Task Force in June to recommend new measures in the Garden State.
