
Underdog Fantasy (Underdog) has announced that the company will be making a second investment into its GuardDog fund to help provide funding to the Game Safety Institute (GSI).
GSI’s mission is to build wider product intelligence platforms to more accurately assess risk for each game type and develop opportunities to better educate players and showcase tools to help control their 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,” GSI Co-Founder Sarah Ramanauskas said.
“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.”
In 2023, Underdog made an initial $1m investment in the GuardDog innovation fund, and the fund’s partnership with GSI represents its second investment since inception. In addition, GuardDog also provides funded companies with access to mentorship and consultation from responsible gaming experts.
“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,” Underdog VP of Responsible Gaming Adam Warrington said.
“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.”
On August 27, Underdog also announced that veteran NFL reporter, James Palmer, would be joining the company as its first sports reporter. Palmer will also host the 89 podcast with Steve Smith Sr.