The reason APAT wouldn"t get involved in something like this is the size of the investment required. If there are say 50 people receiving staking at .50/1 cash games, what sort of "bankroll" would APAT need to provide to get those players going? £1,000 each for starters? That"s £50,000 invested with no guarantee of any return (although you"d hope there"d be some).
The main reason why APAT would not get involved at the moment in offering staking or allowing players to stake each other through the forum is purely due to a lack of control. The last thing we want is for a player to get grimmed and for it to have happened on the APAT forum (although we don"t want anyone to get grimmed on any forum either).
Blonde put in place a 300 post rule for their staking threads. I believe that this monitored, to try to ensure it is used by known players and therefore there is a level of trust within the transaction.
The new SAS scheme is fantastic, but it also has a control in place in that you must first prove yourself by playing a number of hands and then your stats are reviewed before joining the scheme. Your daily cash is then controlled which reduces the chances of Blonde getting stung.
All of this requires administrative time. Blonde have staff members who can do this, making them an ideal place for this scheme to be rolled out.
I don"t believe the size of investment would come into the discussion.