Author: Olivia Cole

Questions regarding Spain’s possible appetite for Gibraltar have once again been raised after it used the word “colony” about the British Overseas Territory in an EU document on proposed legislation for free movement. The document, which has allegedly angered the British embassy in Brussels, states that “Gibraltar is a colony of the British crown”. As a result, an official protest against the inappropriate language used by Spain was filed by Britain’s permanent representative with the European Union, Sir Tim Barrow. The wording of the document, however, made the UK representatives…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued a warning to the gambling operators regarding the use of non-disclosure clauses in their settlements which could end up preventing people from reporting irregularities to the local regulators. The concerns about the so-called gagging orders emerged after a number of incidents of consumers who received large sums of money in return to their consent not to talk to the competent regulatory body. Now the UKGC issued an “industry warning notice” to inform the industry that it was familiar with the aforementioned non-disclosure clauses…

A new organisation is calling for attention towards gambling, insisting that gambling is just another form of a major public health issue. The Gambling Health Alliance (GHA), which has been established in partnership between the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and GambleAware, is aimed at raising public’s awareness about possible harm that could be inflicted by gambling across the UK. The Alliance is to also insist that local lawmakers should be more proactive in order to tackle constantly increasing problem gambling rates. CHARGE 2018 is here! Cambridge Health Alliance…

Dublin-based bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair has reportedly held merger talks with the Canadian gaming and online gambling operator Stars Group late in 2018. The Sunday Times revealed that the merger negotiations were held “late last year” without sharing where the information originated from. Despite the fact that the newspaper reported that the talks are no longer taking place, a possible merger of the two companies would have created a betting giant with a total estimated worth of €8.7 billion (more than $10 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Such…

Tasmanian authorities imposed an AU$31,800 fine to a local gambling operator which had allegedly been sending an email regarding a loyalty program upgrade to customers who had been suspended from gambling. The Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission decided to impose a total of 13 penalty measures and letters of censure to UBET TAS, with the monetary fine being the most serious of them. The Commission reviewed the issue and issued the penalties between July and October, as part of its efforts to impose a crackdown on operators and venues which…

Yesterday, the Governments of the UK and Gibraltar inked an agreement under which the primacy of the Gibraltar Government, Parliament and competent authorities in the Brexit process is highlighted. The agreement, called a Concordat, has been signed as a package of documents which are set to bring more clarity to the context in which the UK Withdrawal Agreement’s implementation has been concluded between the two governments. It was signed by Fabian Picardo, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar and David Lidington, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and alleged de…

According to recent correspondence between the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) and a Belfast Councillor, a number of bookmakers in Northern Ireland will reduce the maximum stakes allowed on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). Both William Hill and Paddy Power have decided to slash the betting stakes on the controversial machines which have been blamed for spreading gambling addictions among local residents. The decision of the gambling operators came after councillor John Kyle urged bookmakers to follow another betting company – Ladbrokes – which has previously revealed that it would voluntary…

William Hill, one of the largest British bookmakers, has confirmed that it may have to close up to 900 of its high-street betting shops because of the recent crackdown on gambling operations in the country. The company revealed that the stricter regulatory regime on gambling would probably make many of its shops unprofitable, so about 40% of its 2,300 betting outlets in the UK could be shut. The number of stores to be eventually closed would probably depend on the overall impact which the new regulations would have on customer…

For some time now, Brexit is looming over the fate of all aspects of the British economy. Despite the fact that its future is getting vaguer by the day, a so-called “hard” Brexit could turn out to be the only option for the country to leave the European Union (EU) on March 29th, 2019. At the time when Brexit was officially announced, it became clear that it would affect the entire economy of the UK, with the local gambling industry being no exception. For the time being, gambling services are…

For some time now, British gambling operators have been facing considerable difficulties due to a tighter regulatory regime. Some of them tried to oppose the UK Government’s measures and even claimed that the crackdown imposed on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) would make them close some of their high-street betting outlets and fire some of their employees. There has been a gleam of hope for British gambling companies that overseas operations could help them offset the negative impact that projected shop closures and reduced maximum FOBT stakes are expected to bring.…