Author: Daniel Williams

The UK division of Sazka Group – Allwyn – has appointed Dr Mark Griffiths, a psychologist and behavioural addiction specialist, to an advisory board for its takeover offer for the fourth operating licence of the National Lottery. Dr Griffiths will have advisory functions on player protection measures and is set to establish a close relationship not only with Allwyn bid chair Sir Keith Mills but also with other researchers who specialise in studying problem gambling. The company will count on his 34-year experience, during which Dr Griffiths has served as…

In a submission to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the advertising regulator in the UK has noted that the normalisation of gambling came as a consequence of the 2005 Gambling Act and could have been predicted. Submitting its written opinion to the DCMS as part of the consultation on the 2005 Gambling Act, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has explained that the piece of legislation’s duty was to depict gambling advertising that makes potentially dangerous or irresponsible gambling behaviour as normal to the wider public. Within…

A UK High Court judge found that the Irish gambling operator Paddy Power did not really care about a gambling addict who was not able to afford the losses he generated at the time he placed bets with the company. Mr Justice Griffiths said that the bookmaker was aware of the fact that Tony Parente, a businessman, was gambling as if he found it hard to control his gambling habits. The High Court Judge further noted that Paddy Power knew from its own monitoring that Mr Parente suffered from unhealthy…

Earlier today, the Australian anti-money laundering agency announced its decision to expand a due diligence probe into the three largest casino operators in the country, fuelling more pressure on the country’s gambling sector that has already been facing the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the stricter regulatory rules that apply on the sector. After months of investigation into Crown Resorts, the biggest casino company in the country, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) revealed that it started a formal probe into possible breaches of the rules…

Gambling reform supporters have once again called for an acceleration of planned cashless trials after information emerged that the residents of New South Wales lost over AU$2.2 billion to clubs’ and pubs’ poker machines over the first four months of 2021. As announced, almost AU$600 million was lost to so-called pokies in April alone, with the figure representing a 12.58% increase from the one in April 2019. The local gambling regulatory body – the Liquor and Gaming NSW – revealed that pokies in Canterbury-Bankstown saw profits of almost AU$48 million…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has revealed further data regarding the evolvement of the coronavirus lockdown measures that have affected online gambling behaviour in the country. The data provided by the gambling regulatory body reflects the period from March 2020 to April 2021 and covers both land-based and digital gambling operator data, with the brick-and-mortar premises have only been able to start operation only recently, since being forced to cease operation in December. The gambling watchdog said it is not advisable to make comparisons on a year-on-year basis between months…

Supporters of the long-awaited gambling reform were willing to send a message to the UK Government to say that the implementation of stricter control on the sector would bring more benefit to society. In 2020 when a series of proposals for stricter reform of the UK gambling sector was unveiled, the industry did not welcome any of the releases made by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling-Related Harm, the Peers for Gambling Reform and the Social Markets Foundation. Each of the aforementioned organisations unveiled its proposals for new restrictions to…

A large number of gaming room owners in South Australia already deployed facial recognition technology in their venues as part of the efforts to better identify players who have been suspended from gambling. The new technology has already been installed in more than 80% of gambling venues across the state, including South Australian casinos, clubs and pubs. The tech solution has been delivered by Vix Vizion in collaboration with Cradlepoint. Gaming machine licence holders are required to feature a facial recognition system in case they operate premises hosting 30 or…

The founder of The Hope Project and a popular gambling-reform lobbyist, Kate Seselja, changes in the gambling sector have been moving slowly but the good news was that gambling-related harm is seen as a public health issue and the authorities in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is still reviewing the implementation of some measures aimed at minimising poker machine volumes. Ms Seselja has been dealing with addiction to the controversial pokies herself, with the compulsive behaviour almost made her take her own life nine years ago. Ever since she has…

A Member of Parliament known as an anti-gambling campaigner has called for the British free-to-air television channel ITV to stop displaying gambling adverts during the European football championship in June. Ronnie Cowan, who is a vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling-related harm in the House of Commons, explained that some changes had to be made. He further shared that the situation has to be brought to a stage where gambling was not promoted but only tolerated. Mr Cowan expressed his support for anti-gambling campaigners, who suffered a loss…