Author: Daniel Williams

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published its “Gambling Regulation in a Digital Age” document on April 8th, which is a detailed roadmap of the regulator’s corporate strategy for the next three years. It focuses on a range of factors that set out to ensure that the Commission will achieve its goal of securing a “fair, safe, and crime-free” gambling market which prioritises the wider public and consumers themselves. According to Marcus Boyle, Chair of the Gambling Commission, the strategy plan specifically outlines the UKGC’s plans on how it will enforce…

The Plymouth City Council has greenlit plans for a new adult gaming centre that is now set to be housed in the building of a former Betfred betting shop. The unit, which is located in Plymouth’s Embankment Road, has been vacant for several years. In the initial application that argued for the adult gaming centre’s opening, it was stressed that, if approved, the venue would ensure that Plymouth residents would have further employment options in terms of both the fit-out works process and the positions that will be created once…

Charity organisation GambleAware has announced that more than 100,000 individuals across the UK have used its online self-assessment tool since it was first launched in April 2023. The said tool encompasses a range of questions designed to help individuals assess whether their or a loved one’s wagering is characterised by gambling harm indicators. Of the said 100,000 people, every fourth person reached out to a trained advisor after completing the quiz. As highlighted by GambleAware, the aforementioned data coincides with a 20% increase in people gaining access to early intervention…

Back in January, Merkur Slots submitted an application to open a new adult gaming centre in downtown Ayr, and the said project has now been approved by the South Ayrshire Council’s Regulatory Panel. The centre will occupy a currently vacant lot situated in Ayr High Street, and it will be open 24 hours a day. As reported by the Daily Record, the upcoming establishment was met with some criticism from locals, and seven objections were filed. William Hendren cited the fact that Ayr already has plenty of betting shops and…

MintBet is facing scrutiny for committing multiple breaches of its own responsible gambling code of conduct. According to the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), the online bookmaker failed to exercise due diligence and intervene when a client exhibited signs of problem gambling. MintBet was, therefore, handed a fine of AU$100,000. The bettor in question wagered for 35 hours in just over two days and placed a total of 327 bets. This resulted in them suffering a substantial loss of AU$31,149. According to MintBet’s responsible gambling code of conduct,…

As critics have begun scrutinising Newcastle United for going through with Sandro Tonali’s £55 million transfer last July without finding that he was struggling with gambling addiction, the sports website Training Ground Guru (TGG) reached out to former Scotland Yard Detective Neil Whitbread for his insight into how clubs vet players and how Newcastle handled the transfer. Whitbread currently serves as Investigations Manager at the intelligence services firm FACT. According to Whitbread, it would not have been easy for Newcastle to find out that anything was amiss, both in terms…

Emma Louise Mcloughlin reached out to the Irish newspaper Sunday World last week after the Sligo Circuit Court ruled that she is to serve two years in jail starting this July. The verdict was delivered after multiple adjournments, and it concerns theft from the Kilmacowen Community Preschool and Playgroup amounting to over €66,000. According to Ms Mcloughlin, this turn of events was the result of gambling struggles that “got out of control.” Her transgressions were committed between June 2020 and December of the same year, after she started gambling online…

On March 28th, England’s Football Association announced its decision to charge Sandro Tonali, one of Newcastle United’s midfielders, with misconduct. According to the results of the regulator’s investigation, Tonali allegedly wagered on football games a total of 50 times between August 12th, 2023, and October 12th, 2023. Tonali joined Newcastle United in July last year, and the investigation’s results entail he began betting almost immediately after he signed his five-year contract with the club. His struggles with gambling have been an ongoing issue since 2021, however, as revealed by a…

Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) is planning on selling its broadcasting rights to US-facing gambling operators, which would enable the said companies to stream NRL games on their betting platforms. As described by anonymous sources who got in touch with the Sydney Morning Herald, the potential deal includes a package surrounding a revenue share agreement involving odds. Speaking with the Sydney Morning Herald, Matt Tripp, former CEO of BetEasy and current Chairman of the Melbourne Storm club, deemed it essential for the NRL to ensure that sportsbooks will have an…

Paul Edgecliff-Johnson, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment plc (Flutter), has asked the Irish Government to reconsider its stance on introducing a blanket ban on gambling bonuses involving free bets. As reported by The Irish Times, Flutter’s CFO proposed the alternative of regulators overseeing how such initiatives are created and promoted. The Government’s Gambling Regulation Bill concerns many aspects surrounding gambling harm, including the temptation inherent to gambling ads, VIP schemes, complimentary bets, and other such factors, and how they affect those susceptible to problem gambling.…