Author: Daniel Williams

A doctor’s surgery manager has faced a jail sentence for more than three years after misappropriating an amount of almost £700,000 of the National Health Service (NHS) to fuel her gambling addiction. The 44-year-old problem gambler Karen Evans falsified patient records to steal cash which was intended for staff wages, medication and medical supplies and redirect the money to her two bank accounts for a period of 15 months. Then, she spent some of the money to pay her hills, going on holiday, and beauty and hair treatments, but most…

Irish TDs have been negotiating a proposal to ban local bookmakers from allowing players to place bets on so-called “lottery-type games”. According to claims, such games could drain about €110 million every year from the Good Causes funded by the National Lottery. Reportedly, the number of people, who prefer playing these “lottery experience” type games in retail bookmakers’ shops and online, has been on the rise over the last few years. This has been the reason why some Oireachtas Justice Committee TDs, where the new gambling legislation has been for…

Marion Fellows, a Wishaw Member of Parliament, who was one of the supporters of the reduced £2 maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), has claimed that the UK Government must counterbalance the job losses at a local bookmaker. Despite that Ms Fellows still backs the gambling limit cap which was imposed on the controversial machines, she said she was disappointed with the fact that William Hill has revealed plans to close up to 700 shops around the country. For the time being, the company has six betting shops in…

Experts have warned that the reforms of the Irish Gaming Bill which is currently before the country’s Legislature could end up with the slot machines’ maximum stake being boosted 300 times. For more than 50 years, or since the Gaming and Lotteries Act was transformed into law in 1956, the 3% maximum stake for gaming machines has not been changed, not once. The stake, as well as the payout limit of 50 cents, have been considered harshly deviating from current standards and have long faced amusement arcade operators’ criticism, mockery…

A racing market expert has warned that the reforms in the racing industry are set to inflict more harm to the New Zealand’s people and community groups with the pieces of legislation which are aimed at boosting revenue for the dog and horse racing sector. The two changes which have been considered controversial, especially with the Problem Gambling Foundation (PGF), are associated with the introduction of virtual horse racing and the permission given to the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) to operate more pokies in the country. Both of them are…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has announced that Gambling Research Exchange (GREO), an independent research dissemination specialist, will play a key new role that is aimed at supporting the regulator’s National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms. As revealed by the Commission, GREO is set to develop a programme of activity which will mainly back the two priority areas of the regulatory body’s new Strategy – prevention and education, and support and treatment. The programme in question is also set to focus on spreading research, international collaboration and applying research to…

The racing industry of New Zealand is seeking a legislation change to allow it to boost its national share of poker machines to no less than 10% and to also roll out betting on virtual horse races. This happens at a time when local sports bodies, community groups and problem gamblers could emerge as the major losers in the second round of racing industry reform which is expected to be officially passed into law at the beginning of 2020. The second round of gambling reform legislation would see two reforms…

A parliamentary committee headed by Lord Grade, an ex-BBC chairman, which is currently investigating and assessing the impact which the gambling industry has issued a call for evidence. The Select Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry is looking through areas such as the Gambling Act of 2005, the relationship between sports and gambling, as well as funding for research, education, prevention and treatment of gambling addiction. The House of Lords’ Committee is asking various questions related to the effectiveness of the existing Gambling Act, the…

According to the register of businesses kept by the Office for National Statistics, more gambling businesses started operation in Nottinghamshire in 2018, despite rising concerns about increased gambling participation and problem gambling rates. The information in the register shows that there were around 105 gambling businesses in the area in 2018, with this marking an increase from the 100 gambling operations which existed there in 100 a year earlier. Still, in spite of the short-term increase, the Office for National Statistics revealed there was actually a decline in the number…

A recent report which New Zealand’s Ministry of Health funded has revealed that gambling among youth in the Pacific region could be described as a social activity which takes place mostly with their friend and family members. According to the research results, over 50% of the 17-year-old participants in the survey said that their parents placed bets. One in five felt anxiety or worry about the gambling habits of a family member, while one in nine had faced at least one house problem originating from the gambling habits of a…