Author: Olivia Cole

The Ville Resort Casino has made a “not guilty” plea after facing charges of violating the casino laws of the state of Queensland. The Office of Liquor and Gambling Regulation (OLGR) made the charges public in December 2022, several months after a local media hub reported that the Townsville casino has been facilitating alleged illegal junket operations. The programme, aired on Channel 9 in August 2022, claimed that The Ville Resort Casino, which is currently owned by business mogul Chris Morris, paid in cash and loyalty points to an illegal…

Aston Villa F.C. has inked a three-year sponsorship agreement with a controversial gambling company that was dropped as a partner by Norwich City F.C. over some gambling adverts that have been found sexually provocative. As a result of the deal, logos for the online casino operator BK8 seem likely to appear on Aston Villa’s club kits, despite the ongoing considerations and discussions in the English Premier League (EPL) in terms of the adoption of a voluntary betting ban on football shirt fronts. Aston Villa F.C. has not provided detailed information…

SkyCity Adelaide assisted a close relative of a major statesman to move millions of dollars out of China through VIP customer accounts. In some documents filed by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) to the Federal Court of Australia (FCA) in December 2022, it was revealed that the casino customer gambled over AU$61 million at the baccarat tables of the Australian casino. Throughout the governmental agency’s filing, the individual is referred to only as “Customer 11”. However, sources familiar with the matter have reported that the Australian authorities…

The UK gambling sector has warned that it would redirect about 25% of the funds expected to go to a non-profit organisation working to tackle the harms caused by gambling. Previously, the four biggest members of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) have promised to use GambleAware as the main commissioner of any funds the British gambling industry’s trade body provided to deal with the harm caused by the sector. Reportedly, some sources at the charity organisation said that the Betting and Gaming Council has recently informed GambleAware that in…

The multi-billionaire owner of one of the most popular British gambling operators – bet365 – has once again collected a massive annual pay and dividends. Denise Coates’ annual salary, which amounted to more than £260 million in 2022, has been estimated as one of the largest-ever pay awards on a global scale, although it remains a lot lower than the record-breaking £471 million she collected back in 2020. The company’s records say that she received just over £1 million for every working day of the year, although the overall sum…

Camelot’s technology partner has revived the legal battle for control of the UK National Lottery that seemed to have been brought to an end when Camelot agreed to the Czech Republic-based Allwyn gaming group’s takeover offer in November 2022. Now, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is taken to court under European human rights laws by International Game Technology (IGT), which argues that the British gambling regulatory body’s decision to grant Allwyn the fourth operating permit for the National Lottery had cost it “marketable goodwill”. If the court sides with the…

The Football League (FL) and English Premier League (EPL) are facing increasing criticism lately, as professional sports franchises in football are being forced to cut their ties with gambling and sports betting companies. Reportedly, the gambling branding has been described as “honey traps” that seek to lure young football fans into spending money on the services offered by gambling and sportsbook operators. The latest criticism faced by some of the major football leagues in the UK has been triggered by reports that no less than eight professional football clubs are…

Australian businessman and investor James Packer has reached a settlement of a long-time legal dispute with a former security guard who claimed that the mogul threatened and assaulted him at Crown Casino on January 1st, 2016. The former employee of the casino, Iskandar Chaban, has also identified his then-employer, MSS Security, and Crown Resorts as defendants in a civil lawsuit filed in Victoria’s Supreme Court in 2020. However, the legal action was resolved on a “no-admissions basis” only a day before it was scheduled to go to trial in November…

Aquis Entertainment is no longer part of the casino industry after the completion of the sale of its only casino property, Casino Canberra. Earlier today, the group made an official announcement to inform that the casino property was taken over by Iris CC Holdings with an effective date of January 1st, 2023. Aquis Entertainment received a completion payment worth a total of AU$60.5 million, including the deposit paid by the buyer at the time when the deal was signed. As the company revealed, deal completion adjustments are expected to be…