Author: Daniel Williams

A new survey released by the Department of Health found that 1 in 10 children are gambling illegally on scratchcards, lottery tickets, dog- or horse-racing. The research also found that two-thirds of the Irish nation gambles, with 4 in 10 people gamble on a regular basis. Furthermore, 1 in 50 young Irish men being described as a gambling addict. As revealed by the Health Research Board, 2.9% of men aged 25 to 34, as well as 1.9% of men aged 18 to 24 could be described as problem gamblers. According…

The UK Labour Party is expected to propose a thorough examination of the current online gambling law in order to check how efficient new restrictions on betting and gambling prevention are. Today, the Deputy Leader of the party, Tom Watson, will give a speech to outline plans for tackling inefficient regulation regarding online gambling. Mr Watson will talk about the 2005 Gambling Act and how it is not fit for expanding digitalisation in the British gambling market. What the Labour’s Deputy Leader claims, is that the main piece of legislation…

According to the latest figures published by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the reputation of the sector related to fairness continued to become worse with the wider public. The major regulatory body of the local gambling industry has recently issued a report regarding gambling participation in 2018, revealing that only 30% of the participants considered gambling a fair activity that can be trusted. The figure represented a 3% decline from the previous year, and more than 18% drop in comparison to the result a decade ago. Furthermore, the report also…

When it comes to promoting gambling services in New Zealand, gambling marketing through sports betting and sports sponsorship agreements has become widely accepted. A number of major sporting codes, including Softball New Zealand, netball, basketball, tennis and rugby, have been heavily funded by TAB, one of the largest gambling and betting brands in Australia and New Zealand. The practice, however, has been considered controversial, especially at a time when gambling engagement rates mark considerable growth in the country. Hāpai Te Hauora, the Māori public health organisation, has acknowledged the important…

For the time being Ireland is at one of the top places of gambling engagement rates in the world. Local betting shops employ over 6,000 people, with another 1,000 who currently work for online gambling operators. Apart from that, the country’s gambling industry offers a great variety of operations. Fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) could be easily accessed at local betting shops, casinos are open 24 hours a day, and horse racing has become a favourite pastime for Irish people. Online gambling has also spread in popularity among young people between…

Wirral has seen a new service introduced, which is set to help local betting shop staff and volunteers more easily recognise the signs of problem gambling and gambling-related harm. The Gambling Support Service was officially rolled out by Citizens Advice Wirral as part of the latter’s efforts to take a “public health approach” to the matter. Frontline employees of a number of gambling operators will be taught by a special trainer how to easily identify whether a customer is at risk of gambling-related harm. Betting shop staff will also be…

Yesterday, the Minister for Sport and Civil Society, Mims Davies, confirmed that the UK Government intends to boost the age limit for playing the National Lottery due to growing concerns over the constantly increasing number of children who get hooked on gambling. Currently, the minimum legal age which is necessary for a person to gamble is 18 years but the National Lottery has been an exception, with a minimum age of 16 required. As explained by Ms Davies in an interview with The House magazine, the new measures are to…

Today, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is launching a consultation regarding the use of credit cards in online gambling. The consultation is to also be set on the gaming machines as part of the watchdog’s latest attempt to improve regulation of the sector. A third issue, regarding the possible provision of free gambling blocking software to customers of online gambling sites. The consultation has come after the commission’s enforcement of strict age verification checks and free-to-play-games’ limits earlier in February. It is to be open for a period of three…

New reports have revealed that about one-fifth of the overall National Lottery contribution to good causes in 2018 was received by London – an amount which is nearly ten times larger than the amount received by Birmingham. According to recently revealed data, an overall amount of £277.9 million was given as a contribution to good causes by the National Lottery. The UK capital got a massive £56.5-million portion of this amount, unlike other regions, which were granted far less from the money. The East part of England, for example, received…

In 2018, Queensland citizens lost a massive amount of AU$6 million a day, which means their losses are worth the staggering AU$4,572 every minute, to poker machines situated in local hotels and clubs. The state hit a record high, with its total losses being estimated to AU$2.4 billion in 2018, with the data going back to 2004. According to Tim Costello, the director of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, losses kept rising due to the fact that poker machines, also known as pokies, were getting more and more addictive. Mr…