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The Auckland District Court decided to send a bankrupt local citizen, who gambled over NZ$20 million at the casino and lost more than NZ$1.5 million, to prison for the next three years. Judge Russell Collins sentenced Li Dong Xie, who works as a builder, to a total of three years and four months’ imprisonment on ten charges under the Insolvency Act 2006. The 50-year-old man, who is also known by the names Lidong Xie, Solomon Xie and Frank Xie, was taken to custody when trying to board a flight to…

The UK gambling industry has grown enormously over the past decade but that has come at a price, as gambling addiction rates, too, seem to have been on the rise. Stories about people who have destroyed their lives and the lives of loved ones emerge regularly across media outlets to raise awareness that there still has so much more to be done by everyone involved in an industry that has entertainment as its primary goal, but that entertainment is oftentimes replaced by personal tragedies of different scope and intensity. On…

Discussions of the Japanese Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill will probably start in the local House of Councillors as early as next week. According to media reports, the upper chamber in the Japanese Parliament would not start discussions on the new casino expansion bill before next week, which basically means that the extension of the ongoing parliamentary session would be inevitable, as it is normally set to close on June 20th. Initially, media reports said that the discussions of the casino gambling bill in the upper house could begin by the…

The Government of New South Wales is to impose a 10% tax on all online gambling wagers next week, at the time when the state budget is set to be presented by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet. The new point-of-consumption tax is set to be officially rolled out in the state from January 1st, 2022. The new levy is pretty similar to the 8% one which was imposed on online bookmakers by the state of Victoria. The latter also unveiled a new point-of-consumption tax which was introduced in the state’s budget in…

GambleAware, the leading UK charity committed to minimising gambling-related harm, has revealed that a new 3-year agreement with GamCare has been reached. Under the agreement, which is set to cover the period from 2018 to 2021, GambleAware is to fund the National Gambling Helpline as well as a nationwide network of treatment services for UK adult residents who have been dealing with problem gambling behaviour. Back in November 2017, GamCare, an organisation aimed at prevention and treatment of gambling addiction in the UK, revealed that it managed to ink an…

A teenage boy from the UK is expected to become the first patient in the country who is to be officially diagnosed as an Internet gaming addict. In addition, a young girl has entered rehab due to her worrying behaviour associated with the “Fortnite” video game. Before getting addicted to online gaming, the teenager who lives in North London was captain for the rugby and cricket teams of his county. After becoming hooked on Internet gaming, the boy even refused to leave his own home. His mother shared her concerns,…

Leading UK gambling industry experts called for stricter measures to be taken in terms of online gambling operators and social media companies which products could have a negative impact on young individuals in the country. According to experts, such firms should be imposed a legal “duty of care” in order to make sure that they are engaged in minors’ protection from possible problem gambling behaviour which could occur as a result from the increased number of gambling ads. Data accumulated by local charitable organisations, doctors and academics specialising in the…

A Perth resident had lost over AU$50,000 from her and her boyfriend’s personal and business accounts in one year only. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the woman’s boyfriend found out about her addiction after having a relationship with her for four years. However, it is not her who he blames, but Crown Casino, the operator which literally did nothing to prevent the massive amount of money from being spent. The woman, then aged 30, made a confession to her partner that she suffered from a serious gambling addiction in…

Three Shropshire villages will see a lottery-funded scheme launch a number of projects aimed at helping individuals from different age groups. A total of £1 million was granted to the Big Local Three Parishes programme by the National Lottery, with the money set to be invested in various initiatives that would help the local community. The above-mentioned programme, which consists of the three villages of St Martins, Gobowen and Weston Rhyn and the surrounding countryside, is one of the 149 such enterprises on the territory of the UK, Nick Heard,…

Expectedly, the latest crackdown imposed by the UK Government on controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) has raised some questions related not only to the machines but also to the consequences of the Government’s measures which are to be faced by the entire industry. The Campaign for Fairer Gambling, a campaign which has called the competent authorities to take all necessary measures and stop FOBTs to prevent gambling-related harm from happening to local customers, has backed the decision of the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) to slash the maximum…