MONTREAL, Oct. 8, 2015 /CNW/ - Amaya Inc. (Nasdaq:
AYA, TSX: AYA) ("Amaya"), the world's largest publicly traded real
money online gaming company and owner of the daily fantasy sports
("DFS") brand StarsDraft, has provided the following comment
regarding the lack of regulation of DFS in the United States:
The recent incidents involving the practices of certain leading
companies in DFS demonstrate that the current self-regulatory
practices have fallen short and that the industry is in need of
stricter state regulation similar to existing regulatory and
consumer protection measures to which other gaming activities and
their operators are subject.
Amaya and StarsDraft fully support, and are launching active
efforts to work with state regulators to enact legislation
regarding, the adoption of state regulations that safeguard players
and the implementation of related controls to ensure all operators
are held to a high standard of consumer protection and business
integrity.
Amaya is one of the most licensed online gaming companies in the
world and has a longstanding history of working responsibly and in
partnership with regulators around the globe. Since Amaya entered
the DFS category earlier this year, it has brought regulated gaming
best practices to StarsDraft's already responsible business
operations, including segregating player funds from operational
funds and ensuring stringent controls that meet the demands of our
compliance, audit and security departments. In addition to "know
your customer", age and location verification, these controls
include strictly monitoring, recording and restricting access to
sensitive information and data, and will include the implementation
of encryption schemes for all line-up data in upcoming
contests.
Amaya and StarsDraft have not only implemented a policy of
suspending employee participation in competitor DFS contests, but
continue to work towards instituting a framework and process that
restricts access to competitive and sensitive data and creates an
auditable trail if and when access to that data is required through
the normal course of business. Additionally, Amaya and StarsDraft
continuously review, revise and update their Terms and Conditions
to address these matters, among others, and have restricted access
to its contests by individuals that may have data, or access to
data, that could infringe on contest integrity.
Consumer and player protection is and will remain of paramount
importance to Amaya and StarsDraft. Beyond its current audit,
compliance and security controls, Amaya's StarsDraft DFS platform
strives to lead the industry using innovative features geared
towards casual sports fans. Amaya and StarsDraft are committed to
providing a fun, fair and engaging DFS experience for all
customers, including through explicitly forbidding the use of
professional automated scripts and bots in its contests.
StarsDraft also provides a "Bankroll Builder" program, which
allows users to learn more about DFS in a risk-free environment,
and offer a suite of anonymous head-to-head competitions, which
ensures that users are playing against other sports fans in
randomized matchups of skill.
ABOUT AMAYA
Amaya is a leading provider of
technology-based solutions, products and services in the global
gaming and interactive entertainment industries. Amaya owns gaming
and related consumer businesses and brands
including PokerStars, Full Tilt,
StarsDraft, the European Poker
Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin
American Poker Tour and the Asia Pacific Poker
Tour. These brands have more than 95 million cumulative
registered customers globally and collectively form the largest
poker business in the world, comprising online poker games and
tournaments, live poker competitions, branded poker rooms in
popular casinos in major cities around the world, and poker
programming created for television and online audiences. Amaya,
through certain of these brands, also offers non-poker gaming
products, including casino, sportsbook and daily fantasy sports.
Amaya has various gaming and gaming-related licenses or approvals
throughout the world, including from the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, Estonia, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland, Romania, the Isle of
Man, Malta, the state of
Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the province of Quebec in Canada, and the State of New Jersey in the United States.
SOURCE Amaya Inc.