Author: Daniel Williams

Despite the fact that pachinko has long been one of the favourite pastimes for Japanese people and the industry has been flourishing, with a literally mind-blowing amount of money being spent on the game by local gamblers every year, business is quieter these days. Once full of energy and life, the pachinko parlours now see a decline, ageing clientèle and stricter regulation. It was only recently when Japan finally opened the door to casino gambling as part of so-called integrated casino resorts. Some have claimed that the expansion of the…

Irish bookmakers have described the proposal of President Michael D Higgins for further measures to restrict gambling advertising in sports as impractical. The Chair of the Irish Bookmakers Association (IBA), Sharon Byrne, explained that the sector has already taken steps to tackle the problem and take care of problem gambling rates and possible gambling-related harm that could be inflicted on local residents. She shared that most people normally took gambling as a form of leisure and pastime activity, but there as still a small percentage of players who could encounter…

A spokesman of the Salvation Army has revealed that an amount exceeding AU$55.7 million has been lost on the poker machines available in Ballarat over the 2017/2018 fiscal year, which eventually left many families extremely poor. Craig Wood, a Salvation Army Captain, shared that there were families which had lost literally everything to poker machines in the city. Mr. Wood further added that it was high time for some measures to be taken in order to reduce the negative impact that those machines had on vulnerable people, and especially children.…

President Michael D Higgins shared his concerns with sports gambling issues in the country and called for the authorities to make sure that gambling platforms keep their advertising campaigns away from sports. Speaking at the All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Cork and Limerick, he explained that he was very worried as far as gambling in sport is concerned. He also told RTÉ Radio that he would do everything possible to deny gambling operators any access to advertising in sports at all. President Higgins also referred to his recent visit to a…

The losses generated by the residents of the Australian state of Victoria on pokies continue to rise despite the fact that the poker machines’ number is being reduced. Local citizens lost approximately AU$2.7 billion on poker machines over the last fiscal year, reaching a record high in a decade, with latest figures showing that players in some of the poorest communities across the state generating the largest losses. According to information revealed by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR), the last financial year has seen the largest…

A mind-blowing amount seems to be spent by Japanese gamblers on an annual basis on pachinko, as the vertical pinball-like slot machines are known. Each year, local citizens spend approximately $200 billion on the game, with the amount being 30 times larger than the annual gambling revenue generated by Las Vegas casino industry, Business Insider reports. Despite the fact that most gambling activities are suspended in Japan, pachinko is still operating in a legal grey area in the country and is currently one of the most popular forms of gambling.…

South Tyneside Council has launched a consultation to find out more about local people’s opinions on a new gambling policy on public health that is expected to be rolled out across the borough. For the time being, it is the South Tyneside Council which is responsible for issuing operating licenses for all premises used for offering gambling services, including racing tracks, bingo halls, as well as clubs and pubs offering gaming machines. In addition, under the Gambling Act of 2005, local councils must take care of a number of objectives,…

The mayors of five key councils in the state of Victoria which have actively been part of the process of dealing with problem gambling are joining a group that has urged for a reform brought in the regulation of local poker machines ahead of the upcoming state election. The group headed by Tim Costello, The Alliance for Gambling Reform, was joined by the mayors of Whittlesea, Moreland, Yarra, Wyndham and Darebin who will back its 2018 election platform. Mr. Costello welcomed the commitment of the five councils’ mayors to the…

Only a couple of days after Japan’s Diet passed a bill legalizing opening of so-called integrated casino resorts, a Kyodo News poll showed that almost two-thirds of the survey’s respondents opposed the new piece of legislation due to concerns that the gambling expansion could end up seeing an increase in local crime and problem gambling rates. The poll was conducted over the telephone in the weekend and showed that a total of 64.8% of the participants in the research do not approve of the so-called Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill set…

On Thursday afternoon, the ruling coalition in Japan – the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito – managed to pass a casino resort bill through the Cabinet Committee of the House of Councillors, Jiji Press reports. The Government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now determined to have the long-awaited bill finally enacted at the upper house session on Friday, in order to have the proposed piece of legislation passed until the end of the session which has already been prolonged. The current Diet session was first due to close on…