Author: Daniel Williams

The non-governmental charity organisation GambleAware published a special landmark report, revealing that gambling addictions cost the UK over £100 million on an annual basis. According to further details, only gambling-related “secondary” mental health services currently cost the country an amount between £30 million and £110 million per year. The figure includes various health programmes such as gambling addiction treatment and counselling. About 620,000 individuals who suffer from problem gambling behaviour have taken advantage of the programmes, but other costs, such as A&E admissions associated with gambling issues are not included…

The organisers of ICE Totally Gaming 2017 have officially confirmed that an eSports seminar which is to be included as part of the learning programme of the event. The industry’s largest trading show is to take place at London’s ExCel Centre from February 7th to February 9th, 2017, offering a great programme and learning options. eSports seminar is one of the 15 free events that are to take place within the ICE Totally Gaming’s schedule in 2017. Registrations for gaming professionals and everyone related to the business-to-business gaming activities are…

The non-ministerial department of the UK Government Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed it has planned the implementation of new rules in regards to free bets, discounted betting and freeplays. The department, which is responsible for taxes collection, state support payments and regulatory regimes administration, explained that the new piece of legislation is to be included in the Finance Bill 2017. The changes in tax legislation are expected to come into effect from accounting periods starting on/after August 1st, 2017. The addition of new legislative rules comes as part…

Television has grown into an important advertising medium for UK-facing gambling operators, as figures posted earlier this year indicated. Although many believe that the television era is drawing toward a conclusion giving room to the Internet and other, more innovative channels, facts and figures still show otherwise. Investment in clever, mischievous, and sometimes scandalous gambling commercials has increased over the past several years, as reported by The Guardian. The newspaper commissioned a study into the amounts spent on gambling TV ads between 2012 and 2015. Measurement firm Nielsen compiled the…

Members of legislative bodies from the UK are to share their opinions, ideas and perspectives related to legalised gaming with their colleagues from the US. This is to happen at a special cross-continent exchange forum that involves the participation of both gaming lawmakers’ organisations. The National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS for short) is to kick off on January 6th, 2017 and is to be through two days later – on January 8th, 2017. The Winter Meeting of the Council is to be held at the Hotel Valley…

Today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suggested harsher sanctions to be imposed on companies that sell “contract for difference” (CFD) products to retail customers. The UK watchdog believes that such measures would be beneficial in terms of customers protection, especially considering the fact that sometimes retail customers do not properly understand CFD products. The Executive Director of Strategy and Competition division at the FCA Christopher Wooland shared that the FCA had been concerned about the constantly increasing number of retail customers who did not understand CFD products adequately. He explained…

The organisers of the largest event in the gaming industry – the 2017 ICE Totally Gaming trade show – have revealed that a new and expanded area will open in order for them to meet the specific demands of the land-based bingo sector. So, Charion Events that to date organise the ICE Totally Gaming trade show, explained that its team has worked in collaboration with The Bingo Association in order to design a marketing and networking space that would be dedicated exclusively to bingo. The Managing Director of Clarion Events’…

Gambling has grown into a thriving industry in the United Kingdom, as the Gambling Commission’s latest market report showed. A total of £13.6 billion was generated in gross gambling yield (GGY) between April 2015 and March 2016. This places the local market among the largest regulated ones in the world. According to the most recent industry report, online gambling has turned into the dominant segment, accounting for one-third of all proceeds generated during the above-defined period. Yield from online gambling options totalled £4.5 billion. Although retail gambling may have lost,…

A new research programme has been released by the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB) as part of the latter’s decision to set out its priorities for a research that is planned to be carried out in the period from April 2017 to March 2019. Back in April 2016, the Research Commissioning and Governance Procedure was published, and now the RGSB is aimed at creating a research brief of its projects. The new research programme would provide more details on various questions, as well as on the very context of the…

When it comes to casino, betting and gaming, problem gambling behaviour has been one of the scourges of the contemporary gambling industry not only in the UK, but globally as well. Problem gambling affects players of different gender, age and social status, and is characterised with the constant urge to gamble continuously regardless of the eventual negative consequences that may occur. For a few years now, the UK Government, regulatory authorities and non-governmental organisations have been focused on reducing the harmful effects of gambling activities in the country. At the…