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According to some gambling industry sources, the Independent Member of Parliament Andrew Wilkie had turned from a soldier to spy over the years. He had monitored the Australian gambling sector in his sights for more than a decade now, but the industry had also observed him. Mr Wilkie first entered his direct confrontation with the Australian Government in 2003 at the time when he raised a red flag in the flawed intelligence case for the Iraq War. Although he has not been new to such confrontations, he admitted that he…

Following the increased reports of British politicians receiving a great variety of incentives to lobby in favour of the country’s gambling sector, long-time anti-gambling campaigner Matt Zarb-Cousin criticised the Members of Parliament who have preferred to take care of their own comfort and accepted the gifts of the gambling companies in return for becoming their voice in Parliament. After the decision of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Government to liberalise the UK gambling laws in 2005, things in the local gambling sector inevitably changed. At the time when a more relaxed…

The planned reforms regarding controversial poker machines, also known as “pokies”, have been turned into law in the state of Tasmania, but anti-gambling campaigners claim that the local authorities had missed a once-in-a-generation opportunity to impose stricter measures to reduce gambling-related harm. Tasmania was the first state in Australia that opened a casino venue back in 1973, and since then it has turned into a place where the political influence of the gambling lobby is huge. In November, Tasmania’s upper house passed a bill regarding poker machines but anti-gambling advocates…

Recently, it has been confirmed that a large number of Northern Ireland customers who have been affected by the collapse of Football Index will not get any money back from the country’s gambling regulatory body. As Casino Guardian reported, customers of the gambling company lost millions of pounds after Football Index – an operator offering a football stock market service – went into administration in March 2021. The online gambling platform provided its users with the chance to buy and trade “shares” in real football players and get dividends according…

British psychiatrists have warned of a surprising increase in the problem gambling rates among players over the age of 65 that has started after the biggest increase registered in the online gambling industry since before the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) analysis of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) data, a further 620,000 people over the age of 65 are gambling online at least once a month in comparison to the ones in 2019. This is a larger increase than any other age group gambling…

After a survey showed high levels of opposition to stricter checks on the amounts that British customers are allowed to spend, the Chief Executive Officer of the UK gambling industry’s trade body, Michael Dugher, has called on the Government to pay attention to local gamblers over the rising concerns that these checks could push gamblers towards the black market. Mr Dugher issued a warning to local policymakers following a survey from the horse racing broadcaster Racing TV, which showed that so-called affordability checks are facing strong opposition. As Casino Guardian…

Aristocrat Leisure has been planning a massive AU$5-billion acquisition that is set to get the operator involved in real money gaming (RMG) – a controversial type of online gambling activity that is currently illegal on the territory of Australia. According to one of the most dignified gambling experts in the country, Dr Charles Livingstone, real money gaming is already easily accessible for local customers. Furthermore, it offers them high-speed gambling with literally no betting limits. Dr Livingstone, who is also an associate professor at the Monash University’s School of Public…

The New South Wales (NSW) Crime Commission has unveiled a dedicated investigation into money laundering via the poker machines available in the state. The crime-fighting agency in NSW will use its powers to examine allegations that local pokies have been used as laundromats to wash great amounts of dirty funds. Commissioner Michael Barnes has confirmed that the agency has engaged itself in the investigation and called for academics, whistleblowers, past or current employees of clubs and pubs and regular members of the public to make submissions to the probe, called…

Philip Crawford, chairman of the major gambling regulatory body in the state of New South Wales (NSW), has recently called for a thorough investigation of some suspected money laundering activities that have allegedly been taking place inside local non-gaming venues. Reportedly, slot machines would facilitate the money laundering activities in question. For some time, NSW is being considered a destination with a flourishing poker machine market. Currently, the state hosts a total of 95,000 pokies, with the majority of them being situated in hotels, pubs, clubs and other non-gaming venues…

The gambling losses in Tasmania have been subject to a significant increase in 2020/2021 as state authorities imposed some restrictions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, while the JobSeeker payment was also allocated. The overall losses on electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and Keno at local clubs and buns surged by almost 50% in comparison to the year before, when the Tasmanian economy suffered the hardest blow of the coronavirus pandemic. According to figures provided by Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission, the local residents’ losses on club- and pub-based pokies rose from…