While some people enjoy gambling, others would prefer to avoid using online gambling sites. The Data Shed, a data services provider, has earned a large contract with Gamstop, a tool that allows consumers to block themselves from certain online gambling sites.This collaboration has resulted in the creation of 10 new jobs at their Leeds headquarters.
The internet gambling industry has been around for nearly two decades, and until the early part of 2018, anyone who wanted to opt-out of online gaming had to contact specific operators. Because the gaming regulation recognised how inconvenient, unproductive, and unwanted this process can be for customers, the industry had to band together to figure out a solution to manage all exclusions effectively from a single spot. As a result, Gamstop was born.
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How Does Gamstop Work?
Before we get into the details of the cooperation, let’s take a look at how Gamstop works. Gamstop enables you to put in place control measures to limit your online gaming activities. Once you’ve signed up for the service, you won’t be able to access gambling websites or apps run by companies based in the United Kingdom for as long as you like. There are other effective blocker options for mobile devices and web-based apps, but GamStop remains the most popular one.
Some gamblers, on the other hand, were able to identify new casinos that did not use Gamstop and continue to play at gaming sites. Users can access the Gamstop platform for free, however, it is only available to consumers in the United Kingdom. Following your registration, you will receive a single email with a summary of your gaming exclusion information. Your self-exclusion could take up to 24 hours to take effect.
After this period has passed, you will be automatically barred from gambling with any UK-licensed online gambling sites. You will be banned from gambling for 6 months, a year, or possibly five years (depending on the selected option).
Data Shed: GamStop’s Partner for Support and Maintenance
Recently, GamStop has recruited Data Shed as a key technology partner to run the scheme following its April 2018 Beta launch. This programme is intended to assist consumers in adding their names to a central exclusion list, making it impossible for them to gamble online – although some gamblers still manage to bypass self-exclusion restrictions as described in this guide provided and written by GamStop customers.
Ideally, whenever a customer registers or logs in to a British-regulated gambling operator at random, the operator must check the exclusion list to ensure that the customer is not on the self-exclusion list. This necessitates the provision of matching consumer records in real time to every licensed operator in the UK.
The goal here is to prevent registered Gamstop members from participating in online gambling. Once the Gamstop system is established as a condition for a license in early 2019, all British licensed online gambling firms will be obliged to follow new restrictions such as participating in it.
What’s in it for GamStop?
Fiona Palmer, the CEO of Gamstop, also added her two cents, stating that the majority of online gamblers do so for fun and within their restrictions. Gamstop, on the other hand, understands that there are a large number of people who require all the assistance they can receive in order to gamble responsibly or stop gambling; as a result, Gamstop was designed to provide a means of assisting such people through self-exclusion.
The CEO went on to say that the company was trying to improve the service it provided to customers and that after meeting with the team at The Data Shed, Gamstop was pleased by their experience and excellent data knowledge.
Challenges that Data Shed faced
According to Ed Thewlis, CCO at Data Shed, the main problem they encountered was building a secure, versatile, and scalable platform that would allow operators to simply check every login and registration against the exclusion record without affecting the performance of the operator services. On big days like The Grand National and Boxing Day, this technique is very important.
Ed went on to say that Data Shed is incredibly proud to be a part of such a good initiative, as well as the platform that they have built to support it. Data shed recently completed a load test and discovered that it could handle 20,000 hits per second, resulting in the conclusion that it is a cost-effective and ultra-secure environment. The company’s next challenge, according to Thewlis, will be to apply its matching algorithm knowledge to better the service to consumers.
Conclusion
Gamstop’s collaboration with The Data Shed, according to Fiona, will give all self-excluded gamblers confidence that their expanded system will be secure and capable of providing the service they require.
Leeds City Council CEO Tom Riordan expressed his delight at the emergence of a new digital business in the city, which will result in the creation of more high-value jobs. He pointed out that Leeds is home to many independent software companies, so it’s only natural that they’re putting their skills to good use on projects like this.
