News

The Children’s Commissioner for England – the non-departmental public body that is responsible for protecting and promoting the rights of children, has joined the fight against video gaming’s in-game items, also known as loot boxes. The organisation harshly criticised the Government’s decision not to suspend harmful microtransactions and noted such a decision puts children in danger. As Casino Guardian reported earlier, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced that, for the time being, loot boxes will not be banned in the UK. The body announced that instead…

TAB New Zealand, the current sports betting sector monopoly, has revealed that it is trying to convince the country’s Government to overturn gambling legislation that will prevent local consumers from placing bets on novelty markets. John Williams, general of marketing and customer experience at TAB New Zealand, said in an interview for the local media website Stuff that the monopoly is currently participating in a legislative process that could eventually result in more relaxed gambling legislation. Mr Williams further shared that the country’s sports betting monopoly hopes to start taking…

New South Wales (NSW) is set to roll out a trial of cashless slots gambling, as local officials are willing to see whether the measure can help the reduction of money laundering and problem gambling in the state. The newest initiative to introduce cashless gaming terminals in the state will be carried out by West Group’s Newcastle club. The program is set to start in August and will include several hundred players. According to reports, it will implement a specialized digital wallet that is aimed at helping with the prevention…

On Sunday, July 17th, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) issued a press release to urge online gaming operators to invest more efforts in order to ensure safe and responsible gambling. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries also called for companies to take action and stop offering in-game items known as “loot boxes” in video games to children without specific parental consent. According to Ms Dorries, in-game purchases must be unavailable to children and young people in the UK unless they are specifically approved by a parent or a…

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) unveiled the new industry regulations for BetStop, the soon-to-be-launched registry for self-exclusion from gambling. The communications watchdog said yesterday it hopes the nationwide self-exclusion programme would serve as a powerful support mechanism for residents looking to change their betting habits. The BetStop initiative will enable Aussie gamblers to restrict themselves from wagering on all locally licensed online and mobile betting platforms, including those for sports and horse race wagering. Residents who feel their gambling has started to become problematic will be able to…

The representative body of clubs in the state of New South Wales (NSW) – ClubsNSW – has released a draft Gaming Code of Practice aimed at establishing an independent panel to determine if a certain exclusion was appropriate or not. The suggested panel would determine the actual length of the suspension. Under the proposed measure, a designated responsible gambling officer would be appointed to every club across the state. Employees of NSW clubs would also be given advanced training that would help them recognise signs of gambling addiction. Such indicators…

The largest gambling charity organisation in the UK – GambleAware – has recently published a new study regarding gambling harm and stigmatising language. According to data included in the study, discrimination against players who find it hard to control their gambling discourages them from looking for professional help. The results of the study called “Building Knowledge of Stigma Related to Gambling and Gambling Harms in Great Britain” were published a few days ago, after the research process was completed by Dr Anne Stangl, Mariana Siapka, and Triantafyllos Pliakas, who analysed…

It has been more than 2 years and a half since the Government won the last general election in the UK. At this time, the politicians made a commitment to update local gambling legislation in order to bring the country’s laws into the digital age. So far, a massive amount of work has been done not only by the Government but also by campaigners, academics, clinicians, parliamentarians, and even the gambling industry in order for a new, evidence-based gambling policy aimed at improving the UK gambling regulatory framework and tackling…

The top-flight clubs in the English Premier League (EPL) have delayed a vote on the proposed voluntary suspension of gambling sponsorship agreements after the minister responsible for the country’s gambling industry filed his resignation. According to media reports, on July 7th, the Premier League sent emails to the 20 top-flight clubs to inform them that a deadline to provide their support for the proposed reform had been scrapped. Club executives have revealed that instead, the proposals are set to be discussed at a shareholder meeting scheduled for July 26th. As…

A recently held meeting saw the boss of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee violently confront the CEO of the UK regulatory body over claims of insufficient transparency and effectiveness of the watchdog. The meetings took place late last week and involved a debate between Andrew Rhodes, the CEO of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), and Julian Knight, the chair of the DCMS. At the time, the executive director of the UK gambling regulator, John Tanner, also took part in the discussion, which was held after the country’s…