Author: Olivia Cole

The third-largest operator of poker machines on the territory of Australia – the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH), property by Woolworths, has faced an AU$172,000 fine following some findings that the company had been offering free alcohol to gamblers without permission. Apart from that, two of the Group’s hotels situated on the Northern Rivers were suspended from operating their poker machines for a fortnight. The Liquor and Gaming NSW inspected over 50 ALH venues in New South Wales (NSW) and found that two of the ALH venues – the…

All brands that are property of GVC Holdings, including Ladbrokes, Coral and Betdaq, are set to be subject to closer review from the group that has been willing to minimise all unnecessary expenses. Such a review, which can turn into a major restructuring process, seems to have already begun, as GVC Holdings revealed that it stopped working in collaboration with the affiliate marketing company Oddschecker as of July 9th. The two companies are parting ways, with the gambling group confirming that its affiliate deal with Oddschecker will not be renewed.…

Bosses of Gold Coast casinos shared that they are targetting domestic high-roller customers, while Chinese VIP casino patrons, also known as “whales”, are not expected to come back to the Australian casino market for another year. On July 3rd, the Star Gold Coast casino resumed operations of its gambling floors and its staff had their hands full. Another customer influx is expected on July 10th, when the Queensland border reopens and interstate visitors will be able to enter the state, except for Victorian residents, as the state of Victoria is…

Australian sports betting operator PlayUp has revealed that it is willing to set foot on the US sports betting market. The company also shared that it has already guaranteed itself access to the lucrative market in several jurisdictions across the US. As confirmed by PlayUp, the firm intends to offer sports betting services across the US states that have made online sports betting legal. Last year, after the acquisition of five different sports betting platforms based in Australia, the local gambling group merged them under the international PlayUp Sports Betting…

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has issued a formal warning to casino operator SkyCity after an investigation found that the company breached the Gambling Act by advertising its casino in Malta before the coronavirus lockdown took place. According to reports, the gambling company reached its casino customers via email in March, only days before the country unveiled alert level 4, to inform them that the online casino run by SkyCity Malta was operating as normal. After a customer of the casino filed a complaint, a month-long probe into the…

A few days ago, the British gambling giant Rank Group published its latest market update, confirming that its Mecca bingo clubs in England were to open as of July 4th. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the brand has made a decision to resume operations at the gambling venues following the Government’s policy to ease the Covid-19 shutdown measures for local businesses, allowing them to restart operation. Under the latest phase of the measures’ relaxation, museums, cinemas, pubs, restaurants, hotels and bingo halls have been allowed to reopen following a…

Bookmakers in Scotland have warned that they would be forced to close some of their betting shops and lay off staff members because of the strict restrictions that were imposed on them by the local Government. Currently, Scottish betting shops are banned from switching on their gaming machines and are forbidden to broadcast live racing, with these restrictions found concerning, as they may force many of them permanently shut operations. Now, local bookmakers have warned the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, that the restrictions unveiled by the Scottish Government…

The financial regulatory body of the UK is facing criticism that is has ignored reports, according to which a payment processor operator was facilitating transactions to online gambling sites through fake e-commerce sites. As reported by The Times, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was warned in 2019 that the payment processor Wirecard was linked to a website network for what was described as transaction laundering masked under offering commercial goods but actually processing money transactions for online gambling companies across Europe and some that even offered their services to US…

UK gambling giant William Hill has revealed a decision to merge its domestic retail and online units, which the Managing Director of its retail division, Nicola Frampton, set to depart the company at a time the latter is preparing for some changes that would hopefully make it fitter for the gambling sector in 2021. As it was revealed, William Hill is set to merge its retail and online divisions in the UK, with the move scheduled to take effect in September 2020. The British bookmaker also shared that some job…

UK gambling giant Rank Group revealed that 36 of its Mecca Bingo venues are set to reopen in England as of July 4th as part of the Government’s policy to gradually relax the coronavirus lockdown measures for local businesses. Now, restaurants, pubs, museums, cinemas, hotels and bingo halls would be allowed to reopen their doors after more than three months of closure because of the Covid-19 outbreak. In accordance with the public safety measures unveiled by the UK Government, Rank Group has shared that it is to initiate phased reopening…