Author: Daniel Williams

The UK Gambling Commission revealed that according to new data released on May 19th, no increase in the number of complaints about unlawful gambling websites was registered during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown in the country. The data shows that there has been no increase in the reports to the gambling regulatory body since March 23rd. According to records, there were a total of 12 complaints regarding nine gambling websites in March 2020, while in April there were 11 complaints regarding 11 gambling websites. The number of reports has remained stable…

According to recent research, the gambling addiction rates in the UK may be much higher than the regulators have previously thought. Furthermore, the research has also raised a red flag that almost 50% of the people who suffer from problem gambling are not getting any help to deal with the problem. In a survey that was initiated by the charity organisation GambleAware, YouGov concluded that up to 2.7% of British adult citizens, which represents almost 1.4 million people, can be categorised as problem gamblers. However, some experts have expressed doubts…

The former striker of Arsenal FC Nicklas Bendtner has revealed that he gambled away a staggering amount of £5.4 million on poker during his early days of the English Premier League (EPL) club. The ex forward of the football club has confessed that he was hooked on the game of poker at the time. Bendtner revealed some details about his addiction on his Danish reality TV show, which he took part in alongside his girlfriend, Philine Roepstorff. As revealed by the ex-Arsenal striker, he used to blow large sums of…

Today, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has confirmed the release of a new education and support programme as part of its efforts to raise the awareness of safer gambling on the territory of the UK. The programme, worth £10 million, is developed in collaboration between GamCare and YGAM and is aimed at raising the awareness of young individuals between 11 and 19 years of addictive behaviours, problem gambling and possible negative effects gambling addiction could have on their lives. The programme is part of the Safer Gambling Commitments package…

A presenter of BBC Sport has been warned over the alleged promotion of a sports betting operator on social media without openly acknowledging that she has a commercial relationship with the bookmaker. The presenter also continued to do so after being warned that she was violating advertising rules. The Olympic hockey gold medallist Sam Quek is a paid ambassador for Footie5, which is a gambling prediction game on a weekly basis that provides customers with the chance to wager on matches. Last year, Ms Quek started using her Twitter account…

Campaigners have claimed that almost 4% of Wales residents are at risk of being affected by gambling’s negative effects, so free help should be provided during the nationwide lockdown for those who suffer from gambling addiction. Everyone has been affected by the impact of the coronavirus lockdown in the UK, but campaigners say that people battling “hidden addictions” are the ones who most struggle to deal with the negative effects of the social distancing measures. Gambling addictions have been considered part of the so-called “hidden addictions” because people are often…

A trend showing that sports betting has registered a decline in the last few months but problem gamblers in the UK are spending more funds and time online has been found concerning and fuelled calls for stricter regulatory action. The latest findings of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) show that regular gamblers have become more oriented to betting online during the coronavirus lockdown. At a time when sports events have been basically absent and there were no sports betting options available for British customers, people in the UK started betting…

The Irish Republican Party Fianna Fáil is calling for the Government to urgently tackle the existing gambling legislation that it has described as “dysfunctional” and claimed it to be clearing the path to online gambling addiction. Limerick TD Niall Collins explained that currently, online gambling in the country remains widely unregulated and requires urgent action from the Government, as the latter must guarantee the safety of local people. Mr Collins reminded that thousands of people have had their lives and the lives of their families destroyed due to their inability…

A leading anti-gambling campaigner claims that online gambling companies have been pushed by greed when targeting bored young Australian male citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic. Tim Costello, a representative of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, has once again called for the Federal Government to suspend online gambling advertising at a time when local residents have been spending more than they normally do on online gambling sites. According to reports, the coronavirus shutdown that forced retail gambling companies to cease their operations during the Covid-19 crisis has ended up with a…

According to a recent report compiled by the Government’s Health Promotion Agency and the market research company Nielsen, 50% of New Zealand’s gamblers have participated in less gambling activities than usual during the coronavirus lockdown. A total of 1,190 New Zealanders over the age of 18 took part in the survey, with 461 (representing 39%) of them confirming to have taken part in some form of gambling since the implementation of the coronavirus lockdown and social isolation measures that were rolled out by the country’s Government in March. According to…