Author: Daniel Williams

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed that it decided to ban a type of investment that has been considered similar to gambling. As of January 2021, crypto derivatives will no longer be sold to British customers because of the risk of what the FCA described as unexpected and sudden losses. The financial regulatory body of the UK shared that consumers were at risk of being affected by such losses from investments on certain financial products based on the price of some cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. According to the watchdog, the…

Gambling on so-called poker machines in Queensland has reached a record high since venues offering the electronic gambling terminals reopened, according to data revealed by the Liquor and Gaming regulatory body. The watchdog shared that local residents spent almost AU$293 million in July on the pokies, with the customer spending in the following months since then being similar. The massive increase in their spending seems even more serious when the amount of AU$293 million is compared to the AU$161 million spent on pokies across the state of Queensland in February…

The state of New South Wales (NSW) is set to fully move to cashless pokies. Apart from that, players will be required to sign in for a special gambling card issued by the Government as part of what has been described as the most significant gaming reform in the history of the state. The aforementioned changes will basically mean that local gamblers will be required to register to the service and pre-load money to the Government-issued card that would operate pretty much like the NSW’s cashless Opal cards that are…

Recently, Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) published the results of a study, according to which problem gambling behaviour can deteriorate cases of intimate partner violence (IPV). A revealed by the organisation, the study that was headed by the Central Queensland University’s professor Nerilee Hing involved 116 interviews with women who experienced violence that was linked to their own gambling habits, women who experienced violence associated with their male partner’s gambling habits, men who had used gambling-related violence against a female partner of theirs, as well as with…

The Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, will oversee the much-expected review of the country’s Gambling Act of 2005 along with his advisors. According to sources, close to the Prime Minister, Mr Johnson is now adjusting the plans for the review. Reportedly, the review of the existing gambling legislation is to be led by the Prime Ministers and his advisors. At the time when it made its election promises, the Conservative Party pledged there would be a reform of the industry. Now, The Guardian has reported that Mr Johnson,…

Gambling operators will have to guarantee that their high-roller customers are spending sustainably under new guidance that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) issued to clean up the existing malpractice of so-called “VIP schemes”. The major regulatory body of the UK has introduced new guidance aimed at companies that had repeatedly failed to protect high-spending or high-value customers, who are also known as VIP customers. Such players are often offered various incentives such as bonuses, gifts, special treatment and hospitality in an effort to keep them gambling. Now, following extensive consultation…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has joined forces with Facebook to issue more specific guidance focused on putting some restrictions on the number of gambling-related ads that could be accessed by users on the social network. The newly-unveiled guidance provides in-depth information about the different ways in which the settings and safety tools of Facebook can be adjusted within every customer account so that users are given the chance to control what they can and cannot see in their Newsfeed. As the main gambling regulator of the UK revealed, issuing…

The parents of a young problem gambler, who took his own life in 2017 by jumping off the building in Vietnam, have said that the authorities are not interested in knowing the reasons why a 24-year-old man hooked on licensed gambling products committed suicide. The parents of the young problem gambler had insisted on the UK Government being investigated for liability on its part for gambling sector regulation and whether their son was warned about the possible risks that could occur as a result of gambling. As revealed by The…

Results of a recently-held consultation show that there are many supporters of the idea of an autonomous gambling regulation for Northern Ireland. The consultation on gambling laws that was held by the Department for Communities in the period between December and February resulted in almost 400 responses. The Minister for Communities in Northern Ireland Deirdre Hargey is expected to make a statement in the upcoming weeks. It is supposed to outline the future steps of the government towards an independent gambling regulation. Unlike the United Kingdom, where gambling is regulated…

Today, the UK Government published a call for evidence on the impact that video games’ loot boxes have on consumers as part of its monitoring on the in-game items and the raising concerns that such features may lead to problem gambling behaviour. As Casino Guardian has previously reported, loot boxes are special items provided in video games that could be purchased with either virtual or real currency and provide video game players with the chance to get virtual items at random. These items could be used by customers to make…