Author: Daniel Williams

A senior minister from the Liberal Party in New South Wales (NSW) has spoken for the first time about how he was literally forced out of a powerful Australian gambling lobby group’s portfolio and has urged the competent authorities to initiate an investigation into the group’s influence over the local Government. In an interview with Four Corners, Minister Victor Dominello shared that ClubsNSW – the trade group for the local gambling industry – has been pretty much the equivalent of “the gun lobby” in the US, confessing that poker machines,…

A new poll has shown that almost 80% of British punters are concerned that further restrictions on the betting and gambling sector are likely to push consumers to unsafe online gambling platforms that operate on the unregulated black market. According to new research that was carried out by YouGov for the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), 79% of local gamblers believe it was likely for the restrictions to result in people moving to unregulated websites where there are no limits for customers. At the same time, 70% of British gamblers…

The gambling sector has provided about 150 free tickets to shows, sporting events, and hospitality to politicians from the Federal Government since the 2019 elections. The findings have triggered some concerns regarding the potential for conflict of interest among transparency advocates across Australia. As revealed by some analysts of the interest registers of the Parliament by transparency organisation Open Politics, the majority of free gifts have been granted by Tabcorp, which is currently the largest sportsbook operator on the territory of the country. Other businesses operating in the sector, such…

The financial crime regulator in Australia has rolled out a second specialist unit as a response to the rising threat of money laundering in the local gambling industry, which has been recognised as a high risk by people with knowledge of the situation. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) confirmed the establishment of the new unit at the Regulating the Game conference that took place in Sydney earlier this week. At the time, the financial crime watchdog warned that it had found evidence of serious non-compliance with the…

The independent Member of Parliament Andrew Wilkie has called for the competent authorities that they should adopt higher fines for sports betting operators that violate their licence conditions. According to him, the fines are currently so low that they actually sent the wrong message to the local gambling sector which is worth about AU$50 billion. As Casino Guardian already reported, Ladbrokes recently suffered a monetary penalty of almost AU$80,000 for its failure to limit damages caused by a problem gambler who stole millions of dollars from his clients and friends…

Fans of the Australian Football League (AFL) are calling for a nationwide ban on gambling adverts at stadiums and on television channels. The move followed a major finding of the second yearly AFL Fans Association (AFLFA) survey, which found that nearly half (47%) of the almost 3,000 research respondents pointed out gambling advertising when asked to share all their concerns from a list. The results of the survey showed that gambling advertising has surpassed rule changes and has become the most common concern for supporters of the Australian Football League.…

Children in the state of Victoria are exposed to a large number of gambling ads as sports betting operators have been literally bombarding local TV channels with an average of over 900 adverts per day, as reported by the state’s official adviser on gambling-related harm. According to a report issued by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF), as a result, Victorian children and young adults have started associating gambling with sport. The discussion paper released a week ago states that a decision to put some restrictions on gambling advertising during…

Brentford player Ivan Toney has pleaded guilty to a large number of charges of violating the Football Association’s gambling rules. Now, the player is expected to face a long ban from football before the end of the ongoing 2022/2023 season. Toney, who is 26 years old, has pleaded guilty in response to a large number of the 262 charges that were officially by the Football Association in December 2022 but is rejecting others. Reportedly, a disciplinary hearing at the FA is set to imminently be held. The impending ban of…

Earlier this week, the trade body representing the licensed gambling sector in the UK – the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) – confirmed some figures provided by the country’s gambling regulatory body, according to which problem gambling rates in the country have fallen reaching 0.2% in 2022. In the previous year, 2021, the gambling addiction rates in the UK were 0.3%. According to the research, the decline in the aforementioned figure means that the problem gambling levels in the country are currently below international standards. The reported figures confirm that…

Last year, thanks to a federal government investigation of online gambling, advocacy groups, gambling companies, and people who were affected by gambling addiction were requested to give their opinion on the ways the gambling sector in Australia was regulated. Ever since the gambling industry has been going through thorough assessments, one of the biggest issues concerning the regulation of the sector has been the effectiveness of interventions combating problem gambling and whether they have been implemented responsibly. The public hearings in Canberra resumed on Tuesday, with several politicians, researchers as…