Washington DC: New analysis by online marketplace intelligence specialists, YieldSec, commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), has unveiled the disturbing dominance of illegal gambling operations that overshadow America’s legalized betting landscape. YieldSec’s founder and CEO, Ismail Vali, warns of a criminal world thriving online, with shocking findings that illegal gambling commands an overwhelming 71% of online marketplace revenue in the U.S.A, totaling an alarming $40.92 billion in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR).
This illicit theft from the American economy, driven by offshore illegal operators and bolstered by their affiliates, outmaneuvers legal brands, endangering the integrity of commerce, community, and consumer safety across the nation. With close attention paid to fiscal and business spending in an election year, this criminal exposé comes at a pivotal moment for the country and an opportunity to fortify the online marketplace, protect children and community, and regain control of America’s revenue.
Key findings for 2023:
- Illegal gambling comprises 71% of online marketplace revenue ($40.92 billion GGR).
- 2 offshore jurisdictions host more illegal U.S.-targeting operators than the total number of legal operators in the U.S.
- The top illegal operator in the U.S. holds a larger market share than the top 3 U.S. legal brands combined.
- There are 860 illegal operators actively targeting the U.S.
- 84% of U.S.-facing affiliates promote illegal operators.
- 41% of U.S.-facing affiliates promote both legal and illegal operators.
- Only 16% of U.S.-facing affiliates promote legal and licensed brands.
- Only 11% (103) of online operators targeting the U.S. are legal, licensed, and regulated in the U.S. generating 29% of marketplace revenue ($16.88 billion GGR).
Vali emphasizes, “These aren’t petty criminals; these are sophisticated operations stealing from our communities, eroding the fabric of American commerce and posing significant risk to our children. Crime only begets more crime, and these gangsters are operating in broad daylight, exploiting the digital sphere to infiltrate and monetize every corner of the online gambling marketplace.”
Nearly six years after states gained the ability to legalize and regulate online sports betting, Vali stresses the need for strategic action advocating for a culture of monitoring, policing and enforcing across audience and their activity with online gambling products. “Wherever audiences find content promoting illegal gambling and engage with it, across search, sites, apps and social media, there is an ability for illegal operators to monetize their reality. This is precisely the point of the constant monitoring that YieldSec advocates for and performs. The only solution to optimizing the marketplace opportunity for legal brands, state tax revenues, responsible gaming and a safe consumer environment is to monitor the online audience, detect their activity, police and remove illegal content, including ads, and effectively enforce the law.” Vali concludes.
About YieldSec:
YieldSec is a technical intelligence platform that helps monitor, police, enforce, and optimize the total marketplace for legal stakeholder clients across online betting, gaming, and lottery activity. The innovative technology, processes and team behind YieldSec produce data, analysis and recommended actions that help support their legal stakeholder clients to deliver optimized online futures which also benefit the ecosystem of commerce, community and consumers. When consumers want to bet on sports, casino or lottery online, they should find fair, safe and legal online betting and gambling in every regulated marketplace. Today, many of the sites and apps that consumers find are not legal, licensed or safe. YieldSec’s mission and work for clients helps to change this status quo and move the needle against crime and towards legal business that benefits local commerce and communities.
Contact: yasmine@tassles.co.uk
Info@yieldsec.com
