Happy Ape

About Happy Ape

“As a trade organisation we are trying to work together with our regulator because we feel that we have a shared interest of getting a good legal market. And of course we’re talking to politicians to do something about putting illegal operators on notice. I think it is really positive at the moment in the Netherlands that the operators have really teamed up,” Petra continues.

Notably, she says competing with each other is not important at the moment, as working to fight the black market serves a bigger purpose.

Finally, after four years in the hot seat, is Petra still enjoying the job? “Absolutely. It’s challenging, it feels like you’re playing in the Champions League sometimes because a lot is asked of the people in the sector. You’ve got responsible gambling, anti-money laundering and, at the same time, you have to offer a fun experience. But it’s nice to be challenged,” she concludes.

How to play Happy Ape

Geolocation services, which are typically purchased through third-party vendors, are used by sportsbook operators to ensure that their clients are placing wagers from jurisdictions in which sports wagering is legal.

“During prosecution, the Examiner did not apply the material prior art or straightforward combinations presented here, which render every challenged claim obvious,” according to a DraftKings filing with the patent office.

Citing U.S. code, the gaming company is pushing for an inter parties review while requesting that the board find the 18 claims in question “unpatentable.”

What is Happy Ape?

Much of the onus for the increasing black market is put on increasingly restrictive policies enforced by regulators across the licensed sector.

Taking a deeper look at these restrictive driving black market activity, up to 46% of the markets covered in the report enforced “significant advertising restrictions” on the regulated market, including in Belgium, Bulgaria, Coratia, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain.

Additionally the report cited taxing consumers (in 29% of the 28 markets covered), and banned products (14%), were also propelling growth in illegal gambling. A lack of choice, due to monopolies in place in five markets has also driven the rise.