Underdog Fantasy has announced the establishment of GuardDog, an investment initiative focused on promoting innovation in responsible gaming.

Underdog has committed an initial $1m to support early-stage startups dedicated to developing solutions addressing problem gaming and improving responsible gaming practices.

The fund plans to identify and invest in startups that contribute to responsible operations for real-money gaming operators and encourage responsible gaming behaviour among players.

GuardDog will allocate investments to companies to focus on improving safety within fantasy sports, betting and real-money gaming.

Jeremy Levine, founder and co-CEO of Underdog, highlighted the objective of GuardDog: "We intend to spur innovation to help companies that help people play the games they love — including all our games on Underdog — responsibly."

This initiative follows Underdog's recent achievement of securing $35m in Series B funding. This funding has enabled Underdog to expand into licensed sports betting products and hire more than 100 new employees.

Brianne Doura-Schawohl, a prominent advocate for responsible gaming, shared her thoughts on the initiative: "I'm incredibly excited to partner with Underdog to identify and execute opportunities to drive innovation and measurable outcomes in responsible gaming."

Underdog has also sponsored Champion Gaming Group's football statistics and analytics site, Football Outsider, to further promote responsible gaming practices in the industry.

Underdog's GuardDog initiative aligns with the broader industry's focus on responsible gaming innovation. For example, ProgressPlay recently integrated responsible gambling automation and tools into its platform.

ProgressPlay's CEO, Itai Loewenstein, emphasised the importance of responsible gaming: "Every conversation today begins and ends with regulation. We are delighted with the innovation muscle of our team who have been able to introduce new levels of capability beyond regulatory standards."