With ICE 2023 just days away, Lottery Daily spoke to Ismail Vali, Founder and CEO of Yield Sec, about what he has planned for the show at ExCel London on 7-9 February.
Vali is a veteran of more than 20 years in the gaming industry and has now turned his attention to tackling the threat posed by the black market, with the launch of Yield Sec’s actionable intelligence platform for governments, regulators, legal operators and suppliers, media platforms and law enforcement.
Lottery Daily: With the event returning to its full size and February slot following last year’s slightly-muted April affair, what are you looking forward to most at this year’s ICE?
Ismail Vali: ICE provides an opportunity to network with leading operators from around the globe. This presents Yield Sec with the chance to discuss directly with decision makers precisely how, why and where they are losing revenue to black market operators.
Yield Sec uses proprietary algorithms that help us to secure the market, increasing revenue for operators following jurisdictional rulings and correcting illegal practices that are currently going unchecked. This directly impacts all aspects of the industry from a consumer level, right through to a loss of taxation for the government, and this all starts with networking at events like ICE.
LD: Do you think the industry is in better shape now because of the challenges previously faced?
IV: As a result of many land-based casinos and betting shops closing down during the pandemic, new customers have turned to online betting to continue to engage with gambling content.
These new players are less experienced and knowledgeable about the marketplace and have increasingly been lured into using criminal black-market operators. This has seen an increase in the number of black-market operators, especially following multiple new players betting on recent sporting events like the World Cup, and has been detrimental to the industry as a whole.
LD: What do you intend to showcase at ICE London 2023?
IV: Yield Sec will be giving keynote speeches throughout the event and delivering insight into how the company maps the gambling industry’s digital landscape – and the benefits and challenges for operators confronting the black market.
On Monday 6th February, 2pm at ICE Vox, I will discuss ‘Perception versus reality: tackling gaming’s biggest threat – the illegal black market’. Additionally, Yield Sec will be providing a broader understanding of illegal operators and showcasing the tools and approaches available to better tackle the ever-present black market threat during the event.