Author: Daniel Williams

According to figures revealed by the State Government of Australia, Townsville players have bet almost AU$1.5 million on pokies in 2017. The total amount of AU$1,423,568 which local players spent on poker machines last year marked an increase in comparison to the amount spent a year earlier, with the residents of the coastal city losing approximately AU$100 million on the machines. As revealed by the country’s State Government, in 2017 Townsville gamblers lost an overall of AU$97,195,541. In comparison, back in 2016 they lost an amount of AU$95,771,972. The findings…

The Church of England has urged the UK Government to reduce gambling adverts at a time when voices have been raised in the industry, sharing concerns that children and young individuals in the country are being targeted with messages that make betting look like a normal everyday activity. According to campaigners, all gambling adverts aired before the 9:00 PM watershed have to be banned. Recently, the Church of England became one of the opponents of aggressive gambling advertising campaigns used by some operators and called for more serious measures to…

The beginning of the week saw the 2018 regular Diet session start in Japan, with the country’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calling for the political parties to pay attention at a number of issues of great national importance. As Casino Guardian reported, the ordinary session started on Monday, with a number of political goals for the legislature to be considered, including a possible revision of the country’s Constitution that could lead to the first Japanese referendum, the Prime Minister’s “work-style reform” and the country’s gambling sector, especially in terms of…

HM Treasury has shared concerns about the expected reduction of maximum stakes allowed at fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in the country. According to the Treasury, the upcoming crackdown on the machines is to end up with a sharp decline in the funds or financial reserves of public organisations aimed at helping local residents who suffer from gambling addictions. This week, the discussions of the possible clampdown on fixed-odds betting terminals are becoming more and more heated, considering the recently-appointed Culture Secretary Matthew Hancock has backed the smallest possible new maximum…

The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies has carried out a research for the Independent Gambling Authority, the South Australian gambling regulator responsible for monitoring and control on casinos, gaming machines, sports betting and commercial lotteries. The study was especially aimed to check on the automatic alerts which are activated after players had spent several hours gaming. As reported by The Advertiser, the study was especially focused on the timing and response rate of such alerts in the period from 2015 to the first three months of 2017. According to…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has been pleased to see a new report posted by the independent charities network Citizens Advice, which is aimed to raise the awareness of the causes and impacts of problem gambling in the UK. In its report, released yesterday, the charity network has called the local Government to take advantage of its powers to raise the mandatory levy on betting operators, which would require from them to make larger payments to deal with gambling-related harm. Citizens Advice insists that betting companies must not be left…

It seems that the Tasmanian gambling landscape is turning into a heated arena of discussions and struggle for power advantage. The two casinos of the state have seen many employees trying to win a pay rise at a time when Federal Group, the local gambling giant, has put Labor Party’s poker machines policy under fire. Reportedly, the two casinos in the Tasmania – Hobart-located Wrest Point Casino and the Launceston Country Club have seen some of their staff members decide against the operator’s latest offer to boost their salaries with…

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has warned the UK Government about the effects that crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) could inflict to UK racing industry and wider economy. The Authority made a submission to the consultation on betting-shop gaming machines started by the Government several months ago. Yesterday, a spokesman for the regulatory authority for horse racing in the UK commented on the possibility of the maximum stake allowed at fixed-odds betting machines to be slashed from £100 to £2 under the new Culture Secretary Matthew Hancock. Making a…

The 2018 regular Diet session in Japan was finally scheduled to start today, following several months of difficulties related to snap election, delayed legislative process and opposition changeovers. The process, which is to take place over the following five month, is to see local lawmakers have discussions on a number of bills with great national importance for the first time since the previous ordinary session closed in June 2017. There was supposed to be a fall session of the Japanese legislature in September, but Shinzo Abe, the country’s Prime Minister…

The UK Government is set to slash the maximum stake allowed on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2 in order to protect local gambling addicts by tackling possible gambling-related harm. The Sunday Times reported that according to an official close to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport despite the fact that no official decision has been made, a maximum stake of £2 was very likely to be announced. In addition, such an amendment to the current status quo is believed to be backed by the newly-appointed Culture…