News

Gambling operators will be forced to provide additional funding for problem gambling research, prevention and treatment by making payments of about £100 million a year to the National Health Service (NHS). This new requirement is set to replace the system of voluntary contributions that has been available for quite some time. Online casino and sports betting operators are set to pay a mandatory levy worth 1% of what they win from punters – a move that has been welcomed by anti-gambling campaigners and health experts across the country. Brick-and-mortar casinos…

The first GambleAware Week held under the lead of Premier Chris Minns’ Labour Government is set to focus on the actual cost gambling has on the community, as well as on the record amount of AU$100 million that local lawmakers invested in harm minimisation. This year’s GambleAware Week is starting today under the theme “What’s gambling costing you?”, which aims to encourage people to consider not only the monetary costs of gambling but see the bigger picture and the practice’s negative impact on society. Not all gambling costs can be…

Punters will still be given the opportunity to use their credit cards to purchase lottery tickets, although some anti-gambling organisations seeking a gambling sector overhaul have strongly objected to that. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, credit cards are set to be suspended for wagering online. However, a parliamentary report has made a recommendation that an exemption for lottery games should be made, citing the relatively lower harm that is normally associated with lotteries and Keno games. A Senate committee was exploring whether local lawmakers should include other harmful interactive…

Poker machine losses rose to a high in the state of Tasmania in 2022/2023, with anti-gambling campaigners claiming that is the perfect time for the state to introduce some new measures aimed at reducing the harms associated with problem gambling and gambling-related harm. According to some recent data prepared by Monash University’s Gambling and Social Determinants Unit for the Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR), the residents of Tasmania lost a total of AU$189.6 million on pokies over the 2022/2023 financial year. The figure represents a 10.5% growth in comparison to…

Irish politicians have been approached by gambling industry lobbyists multiple times so far in 2023 over the country’s long-awaited gambling legislation overhaul that is expected to pass through all stages of the Parliament (the Oireachtas) in the next few months. According to some experts who analysed the Lobbying Register, there were over 60 entries of lobbying associated with the country’s Gambling Regulation Bill so far this year. Data have shown that approximately 50% of this overall outreach has involved direct lobbying of the Irish minister of state, James Browne, who…

Damion Flower, jailed drug kingpin and racing tycoon, has made a daring move that could push the highest court in the country to reduce his almost three-decade prison sentence for importing drugs worth AU$70 million into Australia. As reported by the Daily Telegraph, the legal representatives of Mr Flower have approached the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal with a notice of intention to appeal his 28-year imprisonment sentence that was imposed on the former racing tycoon in 2022, following his guilty plea to smuggling 228 kilograms of cocaine into the…

New guidance has noted that Brits who visit their doctors should be asked about their gambling habits in the same way they face questions about alcohol consumption and smoking. The National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) explained that people who visit the doctor’s office for their anxiety, depression, or thoughts of self-harm in relation to addiction may be at risk of facing gambling-related harm. NICE further noted that health experts should discuss the implementation of some tools or blocking software to help limit their patients’ online gambling habits. The chief…

In an important move to strengthen the country’s digital gambling sector anti-money laundering (AML) regulation, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has restricted online sportsbook operators from accepting wagers from unverified users. The move has been unveiled as part of the latest effort of the regulatory body to consolidate the country’s safeguards against money laundering. Under the new rules, betting operators that hold an operating licence in Australia will now have to require all online customers to verify themselves before they are allowed to place bets. Non-complying consumers…

A new study cited by the Christian Institute found that local media during the English Premier League’s (EPL) opening weekend were flooded by gambling-related adverts. Research commissioned by 5 News found that British viewers of the Premier League were literally bombarded with thousands of gambling messages across TV and radio sports news, selected match coverage, and social media channels between August 11th and 14th, 2023. As a result, the Christian Institute scolded the gambling review of the UK Government for its failure to tackle much-expanded gambling advertising. Experts from the…