Document ID: GM-PROTO-v1.2 | Effective: 2026-01-25 | Protocol Status: ACTIVE STANDARD | As-of: N/A (Protocol Document; As-of applies per EvidencePack / Index Output)

GamingMarkets Protocol v1.2: Hard Audit Methodology

Standard operating procedure for global evidence-based verification of executive power in the regulated iGaming economy.

1. Scope & Evidence Standard

This protocol defines the Hard Audit method used to rank executive power based on public primary-source evidence.
The output is a defensible record of liability and control.

Admissible Evidence (Primary Sources Only)

Evidence Type	Acceptance Rule
Regulator Registry / Official Register	Must be an official regulator domain or official government publication (gazette/registry/authorized list). Must identify entity + authorization context.
Audited Issuer Filings	Audited annual filings only (SEC 10-K, SEC 20-F, audited exchange annual reports). Period must be explicit.
Statute / Regulation	Official legislative source only (Act/Decree/Gazette). Must support statutory gate or licensing authority.
Forbidden (Fail)	YouTube, trade blogs, PR-only claims, investor decks, unaudited metrics, 10-Q/quarterlies (unless Interim* Track is explicitly enabled).

Fail-Closed Rule (LOCKED)
If a required primary-source document cannot be located, the value is treated as not verified. No estimates are substituted.

2. RFS — Regulatory Footprint Score

Definition: Quantifies exposure to regulatory oversight using Weighted Jurisdiction Units (WJU) for operators and market depth for regulators.

Tier-1 Jurisdiction Set (Lock)

Code	Tier-1 Body / Framework	Proof Requirement
UK	UKGC remote gambling operating licences (GB)	UKGC public register / official publication
NJ	NJDGE + NJCCC (iGaming + OSB authorizations)	Official NJ regulator publications/lists
PA	PGCB interactive gaming + sports wagering authorizations	PGCB official approvals / lists
NV	NGCB/NGC gaming licences (Nevada)	NGCB/NGC official records
ON	AGCO registration + iGO market participation (Ontario)	AGCO registry + iGO official list
IT	ADM concessions/licences (Italy)	ADM official concession/licence records
ES	DGOJ general licences (Spain)	DGOJ official licence listings
DE	GGL authorizations (GlüStV)	GGL official authorizations
FR	ANJ framework + state exclusive rights where applicable (FDJ/PMU)	ANJ official publications + statutory sources for exclusivity

Tier-2 Jurisdiction Set (Criteria Lock — Fail-Closed)

Criterion	Acceptance Rule
Statutory Licensing	Law/regulation empowers a sovereign body to license/authorize/revoke.
Public Register	Official authorization mechanism visible to the public.
Fiscal Reporting	Official publication of GGR, taxes, levies, or fees.
Enforcement Visibility	Documented enforcement: blocking, sanctions, or fines.

Jurisdiction Weighting (Lock)

Tier Status	Weight	Count Rule
Tier-1	1.0	Count only with Tier-1 proof above.
Tier-2	0.5	Count only if all 4 Tier-2 criteria pass.
Grey/Offshore	0.0	Excluded from count.

WJU Definition (Operator) — Jurisdiction Unit (Lock)

Rule	Definition
Jurisdiction Unit	1 unit = 1 verified jurisdiction where the entity holds at least one admissible authorization under the Tier rules. Multiple licences/verticals inside the same jurisdiction do NOT add units unless the protocol version explicitly introduces a Vertical-Unit layer.
Entity Scope	Units are counted at the audited legal entity level (Entity_ID). Subsidiaries are excluded unless a Sub-Entity Carve-out rule passes (Section 8).
Time Lock	Unit eligibility is evaluated as-of the EvidencePack AsOf date. If the register does not disclose validity status, the entry cannot be LOCKED (remains VERIFIED/DRAFT depending on completeness).

RFS Population (Regulator) — Authorized Operators Count (Lock)

Field	Locked Definition
#authorized_operators	Count of operators listed on the regulator’s official public authorization list/register for the regulated activity scope used by this Index (online/interactive where applicable). If no public list exists, RFS(Regulator) cannot be LOCKED.
Activity Scope	Must be explicitly declared per EvidencePack (e.g., “remote/online only” or “all regulated operators”). Mixing scopes across regulators is forbidden within the same EvidencePack.

Algorithm (Operator):
WJU = Σ (Jurisdiction Unit × Tier Weight)
RFS = MIN( 100, ( WJU ÷ 35 ) × 100 )

Algorithm (Regulator):
RFS = MIN( 100, ( #authorized_operators ÷ 100 ) × 100 )

3. VVT — Verified Volume Tally

Definition: Measures verified throughput using audited annual filings and official fiscal publications.

Admissible VVT Sources (Audited Only — Lock)

Source Class	Accepted	Forbidden (unless Interim* track)
Issuer (Public)	SEC 10-K, SEC 20-F, audited exchange annual reports (audited financial statements)	10-Q, trading updates, investor decks, press releases
Regulator	Official fiscal publications (GGR/taxes/levies) from official regulator/government sources	Unofficial summaries / media estimates

VVT Input Selection (Line-Item Dictionary — Lock)

Class	Primary Line-Item (Order of Preference)	Fail-Closed Condition
Issuer (OP/INF/PAY/AFF/CAP)	(1) Audited “Gaming / Betting / iGaming revenue” line-item or segment total, if explicitly disclosed in audited statements; else (2) Audited “Revenue” (total) from the annual audited financial statements.	If neither is available in an audited annual filing for the reporting year used, VVT cannot be LOCKED.
Regulator / Government Fiscal	(1) Official “GGR” (or equivalent taxable gaming revenue) as labeled by the authority; else (2) Official gaming tax/levy receipts ONLY if GGR is not published and the authority explicitly ties receipts to the regulated activity scope.	If no official fiscal publication exists for the AsOf/reporting year used, VVT cannot be LOCKED.

No Line-Item Shopping
The chosen line-item label must be recorded verbatim in QA fields. Changing a line-item selection is a methodology change and requires a version bump + changelog entry.

FX Normalization Policy (Lock)

Normalization (Locked Direction):
FX_RATE = Foreign Currency per 1 USD (annual average)
USD = Local Value ÷ FX_RATE

Primary: IRS Yearly Average (when available) | Fallback: Federal Reserve annual average (G.5A) when IRS is unavailable for the reporting year

VVT Algorithm (Cap Locked):
VVT = MIN( 100, ( VVT_USD ÷ 2.5B ) × 100 )

Freeze Rule
Once an entry is audited using IRS or Fed FX for a specific reporting year, that FX source is frozen for that entry.
Any backfill requires a version bump + changelog.

4. ICT — Institutional Criticality Tally

Definition: Scores systemic dependence on the executive seat using a closed, reproducible rulebook.

ICT Rulebook (Locked)

Component	Score Range	Evidence Requirement
A) Seat	0–40	40 = CODM / Principal Executive Officer / statutory signing authority proven. 20 = CEO/Chair title only.
B) Gate Power	0–40	40 = Exclusive gate proven (statutory monopoly / explicit exclusivity language). 20 = partnership without exclusivity. 0 = none.
C) Dependency	0–20	20 = quantified reliance (mandated reporting / audited throughput / primary provider count). 10 = qualitative only.

Algorithm:
ICT = MIN( 100, A + B + C )

5. Evidence Pack Architecture

EvidencePack Object (Schema Lock — v1.2)

OBJECT: EvidencePack
{
  “EvidencePack_ID”: “GM-EVP-YYYY-XXXX”,
  “Methodology”: “v1.2”,
  “AsOf”: “YYYY-MM-DD (Latest Publication Date Used)”,
  “Seat”: {
    “Name”: “Person Legal Name”,
    “Title”: “CEO|Chair|Director|Commissioner|…”,
    “Seat_Status”: “PERMANENT|INTERIM|ACTING”,
    “Entity_Legal”: “Legal Entity Name”,
    “Entity_ID”: “LEI|CompanyNumber|RegulatorCode (Fail-Closed)”,
    “Verified_Source_URL”: “https://official-source.example/…”,
    “Verified_Source_Publisher”: “Regulator|Government|SEC|Exchange”
  },
  “FX_Source”: “IRS|FED|N/A”,
  “Extracted”: {
    “RFS_input”: “…”,
    “VVT_input”: “…”,
    “VVT_line_item_label”: “verbatim label”,
    “ICT_triggers”: “…”
  },
  “Outputs”: { “RFS”: 0-100, “VVT”: 0-100, “ICT”: 0-100, “Score”: 0-100 },
  “Last_Verified”: “YYYY-MM-DD”,
  “Evidence_Items”: [
    { “type”,”url”,”publisher”,”publication_date”,”hash”,”hash_basis”,”hash_normalization_id”,”extraction_snippet” }
  ],
  “Status”: “DRAFT|VERIFIED|LOCKED”
}

Status Governance (Fail-Closed)
DRAFT: missing seat proof URL OR missing Seat Status/Title OR missing Entity_ID.
VERIFIED: seat proven + at least one admissible source supports each numeric output (RFS/VVT/ICT).
LOCKED: VERIFIED + all QA fields complete + hash recorded + FX source frozen (where applicable). No mixed-source arithmetic.

6. Publication Output: Top 100 Index Table (Schema Lock)

The public ranking table is a strict rendering of EvidencePack outputs. No field may be inferred. Any missing mandatory field forces
Status = DRAFT and disqualifies the row from LOCKED.

Mandatory Public Fields (Fail-Closed)

Field	Type	Lock Rule
Rank	INT (1–100)	Unique within list. No gaps only if list is complete; otherwise allow missing ranks but never duplicate.
Name	STRING	Must match the seat proof source.
Title / Seat	STRING	Mandatory. Examples: CEO, Chair, Director, Commissioner.
Seat Status	ENUM	PERMANENT \| INTERIM \| ACTING. Must be disclosed if stated in the primary source.
Entity (Legal)	STRING	Must match audited filings/statute/regulator identity.
Entity ID	STRING	LEI \| Company Number \| Regulator Code. Mandatory to prevent duplication/M&A ambiguity.
Class	ENUM	OP \| REG \| INF \| LOT \| DATA \| GEO \| KYC \| LAB \| AFF \| PAY \| CAP (dictionary locked).
Strategic Base	STRING	Descriptive label; cannot contradict evidence.
RFS	INT (0–100)	Must be computed per v1.2 rules and supported by admissible evidence items.
VVT	INT (0–100)	Audited-only unless Interim* Track; FX source must be recorded/frozen.
ICT	INT (0–100)	Must be supported by seat proof + gate/dependency evidence triggers.
Score	INT (0–100)	Numeric only. Never contains status text.
Status	ENUM	DRAFT \| VERIFIED \| LOCKED.
Verified Source	URL	Mandatory primary seat proof URL (official domain only).
Last Verified	DATE (YYYY-MM-DD)	Must equal the latest publication_date used in the EvidencePack.
EvidencePack ID	STRING	Mandatory link between public row and evidence record.

Metric Availability & Score Publication (Fail-Closed)

Rule	Lock Condition
Score Publication	Score is published ONLY if RFS, VVT, and ICT are all present (numeric 0–100) and each is supported by admissible evidence in the EvidencePack.
Missing Metric	If any metric is missing or non-computable, the row remains DRAFT; Score must be blank (not 0), and the entry cannot be LOCKED.

Score Algorithm (Locked):
SCORE = ROUND_HALF_UP( ( RFS + VVT + ICT ) ÷ 3 )

Rounding rule: halves round up (half-up), to nearest integer.

Hard Rule: Status ≠ Score
Status is the audit state (DRAFT/VERIFIED/LOCKED). Score is numeric only (0–100). Any mixing is invalid output.

7. Disclaimer & Correction Policy

GamingMarkets publishes only evidence-backed records under the Hard Audit Protocol. Any correction requires a primary-source delta and triggers a version bump + changelog.
Disputed data points: [email protected].

8. Entity Identity & Seat Governance

Fail-closed identity rules for Top 100. Prevents duplication and M&A ambiguity.

Non-Duplication Rule (M&A-Proof)

Scenario	Audit Rule
Joint Venture (JV)	Distinct only if verified independent CEO + independent audited reporting (or explicit audited carve-out disclosure).
Merger / Acquisition	Post-completion: only surviving legal entity eligible. Pre-completion: distinct seats until official Effective Date.
Holding vs Operating (CAP carve-in)	Holding companies excluded by default. CAP-class eligible only if control is proven: >50% equity OR explicit board/management control.

Seat Hierarchy (Principal Rule)

Default: only CEO, Chair, or Statutory Head may represent an entity.
Exception requires Sub-Entity Carve-out: independent P&L accountability + independent regulatory licensing + admissible reporting track.

Interim / Acting Disclosure (Fail-Closed)
If the primary source states Interim or Acting, the public row must carry that Seat Status. No normalization to “permanent”.

9. Advanced Registries & Reporting Tracks

Interim* Track (Strict Disclosure)

Interim* Protocol (STRICT DISCLOSURE)
10-Q filings, trading updates, and unaudited prelims permitted ONLY under Interim* Track.
– Must be marked with asterisk (*).
– Mixing Interim and Audited values inside a single metric is Forbidden.

Classification Registry (Dictionary Lock)

Code	Definition & Entry Criteria (Fail-Closed)
OP	Real-money operator (B2C). Requires verified Tier-1/Tier-2 authorization.
REG	Statutory regulator/licensing authority. Requires legislative mandate + public mechanism.
INF	Infrastructure/B2B. Requires quantified dependency by OP entities.
LOT	Lottery sovereign/operator. Requires statutory exclusivity + fiscal reporting.
DATA	Data-rights / integrity gate. Requires exclusivity language in primary source.
GEO	Geo/location compliance gate. Requires regulator/market-critical dependency evidence.
KYC	ID/KYC/AML gate. Requires regulator-linked compliance dependency evidence.
LAB	Testing/certification lab. Requires regulator-facing footprint evidence.
AFF	Affiliate/traffic sovereign. Requires audited revenue + reach metric.
PAY	Payments/FinTech. Requires audited throughput + regulated gaming exposure.
CAP	Capital sponsor. Requires >50% equity OR board control via primary sources.

10. Caps Governance & Tie-Break Logic

Tie-Break Hierarchy (Locked Priority):
1. Statutory Gate Power | 2. Exclusive Contract Gate | 3. CODM Status | 4. RFS Depth | 5. Uncapped VVT_USD

Caps Review Policy
Caps are reviewed annually on Jan 1. Universal and fixed per version.

11. Reproducibility & QA Fields

EVIDENCE QA FIELDS (v1.2 Mandatory)
– Publication_Date: ISO-8601.
– Extracted_Value: Raw numeric value.
– Line_Item_Name: Exact label (e.g., “GGR”).
– FX_Rate: Rate applied (if relevant).
– Document_Hash: SHA-256 of file (PDF) OR normalized snapshot (HTML).
– Hash_Basis: “file-bytes” | “html-snapshot:vX”.
– Hash_Normalization_ID: required when hash basis is html-snapshot (identifies normalization function/version).
– EvidencePack_ID: Must be present in public output for traceability.

Hash Normalization (Lock)
For html-snapshot hashing, the snapshot must be a stored, immutable capture of the rendered HTML (not a live URL fetch).
Normalization rules must be applied before hashing: remove scripts, remove tracking query parameters, collapse whitespace, and freeze dynamic timestamps.
The exact normalization function/version identifier must be recorded in the EvidencePack (“hash_basis” extended: “html-snapshot:vX”).

12. Versioning & Changelog (Mandatory)

CHANGELOG ENTRY (Fail-Closed)
{
  “version_from”: “v1.x”,
  “version_to”: “v1.y”,
  “date”: “YYYY-MM-DD”,
  “reason”: “methodology|data-correction|evidence-backfill”,
  “affected_evidencepacks”: [“GM-EVP-…”],
  “delta_summary”: “what changed (no estimates)”,
  “new_primary_sources”: [“https://…”]
}

No version bump = no backfill. No changelog = cannot claim LOCKED.