Author: Daniel Williams

As the coronavirus crisis shutdown for entertainment and gambling venues continues across Australia, the Office of Responsible Gambling in New South Wales has urged people to stay away from unlicensed online casinos. The government agency issued a warning about the risks of playing at illegal offshore gambling sites, citing poor customer protections and a lack of regulatory compliance. The media release was published on 30 April by the Office of Responsible Gambling (ORG) in New South Wales, which sits within the Better Regulation Division of the Department of Customer Service.…

UK gambling and betting firms are in line for massive tax refunds worth millions of pounds in the following months, a Swansea MP has warned, referring to the landmark legal victory of two bookmakers against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Earlier this month, Betfred and Rank Group won a long-running battle against the tax authority over the VAT (value-added tax) they had paid on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) prior to 2013. The two bookmakers are now set to receive compensation worth millions of pounds, which could have dire consequences for…

One of the leading Australian jockeys, Ben Melham, could face a minimum suspension of two years in case the gambling allegations against him are upheld. The only way for him to avoid such a ban is to manage to present some mitigating circumstances to the racing authorities to make them reduce the suspension. The 32-year-old Melham, a top jockey in the country, will be allowed to take part in competitions until the Victoria Racing Tribunal hears his case unless more proof is provided. Despite the coronavirus crisis and the followed…

A charity organisation focused on working with gambling addicts has called on some of the largest gambling companies to immediately roll out mandatory maximum deport and spending limits on their websites until the coronavirus lockdown is on. The charity, called Problem Gambling Ireland, has addressed the chief executive officers of Ladbrokes, Paddy Power Betfair, BoyleSports and other gambling operators and urged them to take proactive measures over fears that online gambling could continue rising in popularity at a time when brick-and-mortar betting outlets are shut due to Covid-19 pandemic. The…

On April 23rd, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) has announced two ongoing key initiatives as part of its engagement to make sure that gambling advertising in the country remains responsible. It issued a warning to all gambling operators that offer their services on the territory of the UK to be particularly cautious when advertising esports betting, as it could potentially be found appealing by young audiences. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has confirmed that the CAP has undertaken thorough measures associated with the esports betting sector in order to…

The peak organization of poker machines clubs and operators in Australia’s New South Wales has filed a suit against a former employee who exposed an alarming money laundering problem earlier this year. Troy Stolz is accused of breaching a confidentiality agreement he signed while working for the association. ClubsNSW, a trade organization representing nearly 1,200 RSL, sporting and other clubs in the state, is now suing Troy Stolz for giving an internal ClubsNSW board document to independent Federal MP Andrew Wilkie. The news was reported this week by ABC News,…

Nigel Huddleston, the UK sports minister, has called for the largest betting operators in the country to make sure they accompany their adverts with “safer gambling” messages to protect customers. In a letter sent to the chief executive officers of Flutter Entertainment, GVC Holdings, William Hill, bet365 and SkyBet, the sports minister called for them to go beyond the measures proposed by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) in the 10-point pledge, which it has recently unveiled and which was earmarked as “weak” by Members of Parliament. The British Government…

Last week, British mortgage lenders issued a warning over the risk associated with local problem gamblers at a time when a credit card ban on gambling services has already been deployed in the country. A campaign group of several mortgage lenders has warned that the suspension implemented by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) on credit card use for gambling purposes could pose a significant risk to them in case British banks do not manage to confront the rising problem gambling rates in the country. According to campaigners, the ban that…

The gambling sector in Australia has responded to the country’s measures to fight Covid-19 pandemic with massive closures of its casinos, pubs and clubs. The shutdown has seen 194,000 poker machines in the country stop operation, with neither the venues nor the machines hosted there being expected to reopen in the near future. Apart from that, the massive closures mean that the 15-25% of Australian residents who use poker machines will not be able to access the terminals during the lockdown, with the pokies set to lose approximately AU$7.5 billion…

The popular poker machines hosted in bars and hotels across New Zealand have not been operational for several weeks as authorities ordered the closing of thousands of businesses to curb the current coronavirus epidemic. Along with the direct impact on the economy, however, the measures may negatively affect the local communities in a surprising way. Contributions from gambling have stopped and charities and communities across the country are expected to lose millions of dollars. Every year, gaming societies provide more than $300 million in funding for New Zealand’s communities. The…