Australian Gambler Who Spent Over AU$8 Million on Sports Betting Apps Blames Gambling Operators’ Predatory Practices for His Addiction

Australian Gambler Who Spent Over AU$8 Million on Sports Betting Apps Blames Gambling Operators’ Predatory Practices for His Addiction

An Australian financial planner who blew millions on sports betting apps had his betting account frozen and finally revealed the secret he has been keeping from his family and closest friends for almost four years. Gavin Fineff, a 41-year-old senior financial planner, has been highly respected for his professional skills but his life changed drastically three months ago when he revealed to his family and friends that he had lost a lot of money, some of which was not even his own. The amount that totalled over AU$8 million was…

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GambleAware Calls for UK Banks to Enhance Their Card Blocking Systems to Allow Customers to Suspend Gambling Transactions

GambleAware Calls for UK Banks to Enhance Their Card Blocking Systems to Allow Customers to Suspend Gambling Transactions

A British gambling charity organisation has urged local banks to strengthen their card blocking systems that were unveiled to help and protect individuals, who find it hard to control their gambling. The calls have followed the revelation that 40% of existing accounts do not offer any assistance in this area. The British charity GambleAware, which is engaged with helping problem gamblers in the country, has carried out research that found that only 8 financial companies in the country offered their customers the chance to suspend future payments to gambling websites.…

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Overall Gambling Participation Decreased during the Lockdown, UKGC Reveals

Overall Gambling Participation Decreased during the Lockdown, UKGC Reveals

Yesterday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published more data regarding the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on local customers’ gambling behaviour. The data unveiled covers the two months of full shutdown in April and May 2020 and was gathered by the Covid-19 tracker of YouGov and the biggest online gambling companies that operate in the country. It also builds on information that the UKGC published on May 12th and June 12th, with the gambling regulatory body unveiling updated guidance to gambling companies in May. As revealed by the watchdog, the…

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UK Government Should Not Ban Football Clubs From Signing Gambling Sponsorship Agreements, EFL Says

UK Government Should Not Ban Football Clubs From Signing Gambling Sponsorship Agreements, EFL Says

The English Football League (EFL) has called for the UK Government not to proceed with plans to ban gambling sponsorship agreements amid financial concerns. According to the EFL, such a move could force more clubs to go out of business. Yesterday, a select committee of gambling at the House of Lords published a major report, according to which Premier League football clubs should not be permitted to display betting companies’ logos on their shirts from the next season. Furthermore, the committee believes that the teams below the top flight should…

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UK Needs Stricter Regulation of Online Gambling and Loot Boxes in Video Games, House of Lords Insists

UK Needs Stricter Regulation of Online Gambling and Loot Boxes in Video Games, House of Lords Insists

The Gambling Committee at the House of Lords has called for the UK Government to regulate loot boxes as a form of gambling under the existing gambling legislation and has warned that the change should not be postponed any more. According to the Lords, loot boxes offered in many video games should be classified as “games of chance”. In their report, they insist that if a certain product resembled gambling, it should be regulated as such. If such a classification is made, then loot boxes would be considered a form…

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Cashino Gaming Has Its Bingo Premises Licence Application Rejected by Blackpool’s Council Licensing Panel

Cashino Gaming Has Its Bingo Premises Licence Application Rejected by Blackpool’s Council Licensing Panel

Blackpool’s council licensing panel rejected an application filed by a gambling company that has been willing to get a bingo premises licence for some slot machines on Abingdon Street. Unfortunately for Cashino Gaming, it would not be able to place its Merkur Slots at the abovementioned site as local authorities feared that the bingo premises and the offered gambling option would have a negative impact on vulnerable individuals. The rejection follows another blow that Cashino Gaming has suffered in Blackpool after the planning committee of the city council also refused…

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Anti-Gambling Advocates Claim South Australian Authorities Should Not Have Allowed Poker Machine Reopening

Anti-Gambling Advocates Claim South Australian Authorities Should Not Have Allowed Poker Machine Reopening

Anti-gambling campaigners claim that the reopening of controversial poker machines after over three months of lockdown was a mistake, saying that the authorities missed an opportunity to tackle gambling addiction in South Australia. As of yesterday, phase three of the relaxation of the Government’s restrictions made it possible for pubs to reopen their gaming rooms. Apart from that, the maximum limit on the number of customers inside hotels and bars was also removed, provided patrons did not exceed one person per 2 square metres. The relaxed lockdown measures fuelled some…

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House of Commons’ Committee Criticises the Government and the UKGC for Not Tackling Harmful Gambling Adequately

House of Commons’ Committee Criticises the Government and the UKGC for Not Tackling Harmful Gambling Adequately

A parliamentary committee has warned that the British Government and the country’s gambling regulatory – the UK Gambling Commission – do not understand the harmful effects of gambling and how to minimise them. According to a report issued by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the UKGC have failed to provide proper help to an estimated number of 395,000 gambling addicts in the country and a further 1.8 million individuals who are considered at risk of becoming…

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Effectiveness of the First Gambling Addiction Treatment Application in a Global Scale to Be Tested in New Zealand

Effectiveness of the First Gambling Addiction Treatment Application in a Global Scale to Be Tested in New Zealand

The first application aimed at helping people who want to tackle their gambling habits has been designed in New Zealand. Now, individuals, who feel gambling is no longer fun and has become a problem, are being asked to try the application for 12 weeks as part of a nationwide study aimed at checking whether the application would help them reduce or fully quit their gambling. It was the National Institute for Health Innovation at Auckland University that developed the mobile application, called Manaaki. Deakin University in Australia and the local…

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All-Party Group from Northern Ireland Seeks Counsel on Gambling Reform Inquiry Set to Be Released This Autumn

All-Party Group from Northern Ireland Seeks Counsel on Gambling Reform Inquiry Set to Be Released This Autumn

Some Northern Ireland politicians have addressed their colleagues based in Westminster to seek some guidance at a time when they are rolling out an inquiry that is aimed at establishing a new gambling legislation in the UK province. The Stormont-based APG on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling that has recently been established, revealed that it is to take guidance from Westminster’s Gambling-Related Harm APPG as its inquiry is in progress, with evidence sessions set to start in September 2020. According to the Northern Ireland politicians’ group, the proposals that their…

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