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Michael Connolly, ex-chief casino officer of Western Australia, has appointed his own attorney to represent him during the Royal Commission into the allegations against Crown Resorts. Mr Connolly resigned from his position as chief casino officer earlier this year after word spread about his contacts with members of the gambling operator’s staff. The former casino officer presently occupies the position of deputy director general of the Department of Local Government, Sport, and Cultural Industries. Attorney Nicholas Malone from the Perth-based Pragma Lawyers will represent him before West Australia’s Royal Commission.…

Lobbyists have told the Seanad that commercial gambling companies, including bookmakers, must be suspended from what they called “piggybacking” and must not be allowed to draw profit from the National Lottery by permitting bets on its draws’ outcome. Barry Ward, a Fine Gael Senator, spoke to the Seanad, saying that almost one-third (28%) of every €1 spent on products of the National Lottery is donated to good causes but individual players are actually not protected from spending too much money on a daily basis or gambling for too long on…

The lobby group that represents local clubs is set to withdraw its legal bid aimed at forcing the gambling regulator of New South Wales (NSW) to provide it with information retrieved from a whistleblower who raised some concerns regarding possible money laundering violations carried out through so-called pokies. Earlier in 2021, the organisation called ClubsNSW issued a subpoena to the gambling watchdog, Liquor and Gaming NSW, as part of its efforts to get more details the regulatory body had received from the whistleblower Troy Stolz, a former anti-money laundering compliance…

No players under the age of 18 would be able to access the games offered by the UK National Lottery as of the following week. The National Lottery is set to raise the minimum age for playing its games as part of its efforts to tackle gambling addiction rates in the country. The change will basically prevent 16- and 17-year-olds from purchasing lottery tickets and accessing any lottery games as of April 22nd, although they will be able to claim prizes for scratchcards and lottery tickets purchased before this date.…

A new study has found that very young children as young as four years old are making gaming payments online although technology companies have claimed they are not dangerous for underage individuals, especially so young. The research was held among 2,000 parents and found that 12% had seen their children in pre-school age spend money on online games in spite of being so young. A local organisation that supports British parents, called Internet Matters, shared that there were often games that do not require money to play and are tagged…

The losses generated by Victorian residents to online bookmakers rose to hundreds of millions of dollars during the coronavirus lockdown, with the figures rising up to 35% on the levels registered before the pandemic. Over AU$1.4 billion were lost by the residents of Victoria on online gambling and sports betting during the second half of 2020. The figure represented an AU$375-million increase on the same period a year earlier during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, while an extensive four-month lockdown forcing retail gambling venues to remain shut for…

The investigation of the Western Australia’s Royal Commission into Crown Perth is set to check the gambling industry’s regulation in the state. A short public hearing of the Perth Casino Royal Commission took place on April 12th, ahead of other hearings that are set to be held next month. Neville Owen, the former WA Supreme Court judge, is the Chair of the Royal Commission that is investigating the Australian casino giant. At the beginning of the week, Justice Owen officially opened the proceedings against Crown Resort’s gambling venue in Perth,…

The New Zealand lender Kiwibank has decided to provide its customers with the chance to voluntarily block gambling transactions as part of its efforts to help the Government tackle increasing online gambling rates. For the time being, it is the first bank in the country to offer such a block that is known to have helped some people take control of their compulsive gambling habits. Before making an announcement of the decision to offer the voluntary gambling transaction block, Kiwibank said it saw an increase in customers’ spending was registered…

According to new data provided by researchers and associated with federal pandemic payments, the Northern Territory of Australia saw local gamblers boosted their poker machine losses to a record amount of money following the coronavirus pandemic outbreak and the subsequent shutdowns last year. Reports show that the clubs, hotels and two casinos in the Northern Territory were ordered to switch off all of their poker machines in the period from March 23rd to June 5th, 2020 to respond to the public health emergency related to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, once…

Gambling operators, which have been enjoying a profit increase during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, have left the National Health Service (NHS) to deal with gambling addiction, the head of the mental health service in England said. The mental health director for NHS England, Claire Murdoch, explained that it was time for gambling companies to face a mandatory tax that could be used as funding for more problem gambling treatment services in the country. The official of the National Health Service criticised the voluntary system that provided the gambling sector with…