Yaspa, a leading fintech specializing in payments and identity solutions, today announces it has become a founding member of the newly launched AI Research Hub (AiR Hub) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) International Gaming Institute (IGI). This collaboration underscores Yaspa’s commitment to integrating next-generation financial technology with academic research to foster a safer, more sustainable gambling environment.
The UNLV International Gaming Institute (IGI) established the AiR Hub to advance the industry’s understanding of the impacts, risks, and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence. Co-founded by Kasra Ghaharian, IGI Director of Research, and industry veteran Simo Dragicevic, the initiative serves as a collaborative ecosystem designed to accelerate the adoption of trusted, responsible AI across the global gaming sector.
Yaspa joins a prestigious group of founding members, including Aristocrat, Evoke Plc, Playtech Plc, and the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA). This diverse coalition is tasked with ensuring that AI development in the sector is grounded in cross-disciplinary expertise.
AiR Hub’s flagship project is the “State of AI in Gaming” report, a first-of-its-kind annual study indexing company AI maturity, as well as tracking regulatory and policy developments. Through this and related projects, AiR Hub seeks to drive innovation and help ensure AI-driven systems are governed appropriately within this highly regulated industry.
As a founding member, Yaspa brings its in-house AI expertise to guide the Hub’s research initiatives, drawing from its experience in developing the technology behind its Intelligent Payments platform and proprietary machine learning categorizer. To support this mission, Max Collinge, Yaspa’s Vice President of Product, will join the AiR Hub Advisory Panel. Collectively, panel members help steer the Hub’s initiatives, ensuring they maintain deep industry relevance.
“Joining AiR Hub as a founding member reflects Yaspa’s commitment to leveraging the synergy between AI and open banking data to drive a more sustainable gambling ecosystem,” said Max Collinge.
“By utilizing deep financial insights through AI-driven analysis, we can deliver significantly better outcomes for players and operators alike. I am personally thrilled to join the Advisory Panel to help shape this next phase of collaboration and ensure research leads to practical, responsible innovation.”
Kasra Ghaharian, Director of Research, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, International Gaming Institute, commented,
“Fintech and AI are two of the most transformative technologies in the world today, and their impact on the gaming industry will undoubtedly continue to be profound. The richness of this data provides intriguing potential across the value chain, particularly regarding consumer protection and compliance. I am excited to see how we can help drive thought leadership for the industry at the intersection of these two technologies.”
Simo Dragicevic, IGI Adjunct Fellow, said,
“Yaspa is building the industry’s open banking orchestration layer for player insights and risk assessment. Their expertise in payments, technology and risk will add significant value to the AiR Hub Advisory Panel and we look forward to collaborating with Yaspa as we execute our mission to develop the industry’s ecosystem for collaborative AI research.”
Industry Perspective
The formation of UNLV’s AI Research Hub represents a significant step toward structured governance of artificial intelligence applications in gambling. As AI technologies proliferate across operator platforms from player behavior analysis to fraud detection the need for academic oversight and industry collaboration has intensified.
Yaspa’s participation brings a critical fintech dimension to the consortium. The company’s focus on open banking data integration with AI-driven analysis addresses a growing regulatory priority: using financial transaction patterns to identify at-risk gambling behavior before it escalates. This approach aligns with emerging regulatory expectations in markets like the UK, where operators face increasing pressure to demonstrate effective affordability assessments and consumer protection measures.
The AiR Hub’s flagship “State of AI in Gaming” report will likely become an important benchmark for regulators evaluating operator AI maturity levels. With founding members including major suppliers Aristocrat and Playtech alongside operators represented through Evoke and advocacy groups like ROGA, the initiative positions itself as a comprehensive industry resource. The collaboration between payments technology providers like Yaspa and established gaming entities signals recognition that responsible AI adoption requires expertise spanning multiple disciplines within the gaming value chain.
