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Latest reports have shown that the poker machine losses of New South Wales (NSW) residents in six months in 2022 amounted to AU$4.3 billion – a figure that is considerably larger than the overall losses recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic. According to data that was released by the NSW gambling regulatory body earlier this week, the last six months of 2022 saw local punters pouring billions into controversial pokies while lawmakers were considering ways to reform the state’s gambling sector. The data provided by the Liquor and Gaming NSW covers…

The long-awaited UK Government’s White Paper is set to be published by the end of the week, reports claim. Campaigners, who have insisted on making the regulation of the sector fit for the digital age, remain hopeful that the planned reform will include plans for obligatory affordability checks, as well as the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators that would provide additional funding for education, research, prevention and treatment of gambling addiction. They also hope to see stakes for online slot games reduced in a way matching the…

A Blackpool South Member of Parliament, who was filmed while offering to lobby for the gambling industry in return for money, is now facing a second probe by the standards watchdog of the Parliament. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, Scott Benton had the Conservative Party whip suspended earlier in April after undercover footage exposed him to have offered to lobby for the gambling sector in Parliament after being offered a paid advisory role. The undercover footage also revealed that Mr Benton was willing to provide sensitive information to a…

With the long-expected White Paper on gambling expected to be published by the end of the week, British lawmakers once again faced calls to support stricter regulation of the sector and not yield to the strong gambling lobby that has long used its strong political connections to defend the interests of the industry in return to millions of pounds offered as political donations and personal incentives. As mentioned above, the UK Government is expected to finally introduce its White Paper that would roll out reforms to the country’s gambling industry…

A recent survey conducted by the UK research and data analytics firm YouGov revealed most football fans support the ban on gambling sponsorships on shirt fronts that the English Premier League (EPL) introduced of its volition. The survey involved one thousand participants who were all keen fans of various top-tier teams competing in the league. When asked about their opinions on the ban, as many as 77% of the football fans responded they oppose the idea of sports betting and gambling companies displaying their logos on the shirt fronts of…

Former New Zealand cricket player and current head coach of the England Cricket Test team Brendon McCullum has been in hot water in the past few weeks over his involvement with a betting company. Due to his role in a controversial social media post promoting 22Bet, McCullum’s recent actions were reviewed by a cricket governing body. As the former cricket player has dissociated himself from the Cyprus-based betting company, it also has become clear that he was not breaching the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) anti-corruption code. The governing…

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against a paid advertisement published by BetVictor on the social media platform Facebook. The Gibraltar-based gambling firm was found guilty of breaching the CAP Code by featuring images of popular footballers that might appeal to minors. The ad first appeared earlier this year in January and contained images of left-back Jordi Alba Ramos and defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets, both of whom play for the La Liga football club Barcelona. When confronted about the paid ad, the gambling firm responded it had adopted various procedures…

A trade union of workers employed at The Star Sydney, Australia’s second biggest landbased casino, reached out to the Treasurer of New South Wales Mr Daniel Mookhey with an appeal to reconsider a planned gaming tax raise that is about to come into effect this July. The union workers argue the tax increase, which was proposed by the previous state government, could result in hundreds of Star employees losing their jobs. Mr Dario Mujkic, who has been serving as a director of the United Workers Union for over a decade,…

Irish lawmakers are still exploring the opportunity to update the country’s gambling laws and their efforts are now getting the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) full support. Recently, the Department unveiled its Justice Plan 2023, making it clear that it plans to back the new gambling framework of Ireland’s Government. Earlier this year, the DOJ criticised some of the measures included in the legislation. In January, the Department shared its concerns that some of the language in the piece of legislation was too subjective and could eventually provide gambling companies with…

What does another missed deadline mean for the UK Government? Obviously, not much. After the British lawmakers failed to meet another target date for the release of its White Paper on the country’s gambling industry in March, no one really knows what is happening with the final product. So far, there have been multiple rumours on the issues that could be included in the gambling White Paper but the perpetual silence from the Cabinet of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is not doing much to bring clarity to the situation. Recently,…