Author: Olivia Cole

Woolworths, the Australian supermarket and grocery store chain, is once again in the centre of investigations over allegations that its pubs’ staff members have illegally offered free drinks to poker machine players to make them stay and play longer. For the time being, the offering of free or discounted alcohol in order to induce gambling is a criminal offence. According to the claims of a whistleblower, pubs’ staff were instructed not only to offer the enticements to players but were also taught how to cover up the practice. The New…

British gambling giant Paddy Power Betfair has been hit by a massive tax bill worth £49 million (€55 million) in Greece and Germany. The gambling operator confirmed that the demands for the cash payments have originated from legacy tax assessment in the two European counties. It also shared plans to mount a legal challenge against the authorities which imposed the bills relating to Germany-based Betfair Exchange and the company’s paddypower.com online business in Greece. The group wrote in a statement that it strongly opposes the basis of the two assessments…

Victoria state authorities are being encouraged to consider making massive changes in the local betting industry by giving permission to more companies to start operating retail betting shops. The British bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair that currently owns the local betting operator Sportsbet, claims that the stiff rivalry in the quite popular online betting sector has provided customers with a large choice of services, and guarantees not only regular upgrades of the offering but also better wagering experience for punters. According to the Sportsbet brand, the same benefits could logically be…

Gambling operators that would like to open new gambling venues in Glasgow areas where levels of suicide and depression have been higher will have to prove that have policies which would help them tackle possible gambling-related harm. The new gambling policy unveiled by Glasgow authorities is set to help people in areas where gambling has turned into a problem for individuals and communities. The proposal report states that the city’s board will require from gambling operators and applicants for gambling venues’ operating licenses to be extra careful when it comes…

British bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral, which was acquired by GVC Holdings in March 2018, is reportedly encouraging its betting outlet staff to help as many customers sign up for an online account with the brand in case they do not want to be among the ones set to lose their jobs. According to letters circulated among employees, which were seen by The Guardian, the gambling operator intends to shut down up to 1,000 of its betting shops over the next 18 to 24 months. Currently, the company has about 3,500 betting…

South Ribble Council has rolled out a new crackdown on gambling after members of the Council’s licensing committee shared their concerns about the rising number of problem gamblers in the region. The Chair of the Licensing Act Committee at South Ribble Council, Barbara Nathan, explained that despite the fact that some gambling issues required nationwide changes rather than action on a local level, the Council was remaining focused on keeping gambling-related harm away from South Ribble residents. Ms Nathan further shared that the ongoing gambling crisis is “crippling” bank balances…

Questions regarding Spain’s possible appetite for Gibraltar have once again been raised after it used the word “colony” about the British Overseas Territory in an EU document on proposed legislation for free movement. The document, which has allegedly angered the British embassy in Brussels, states that “Gibraltar is a colony of the British crown”. As a result, an official protest against the inappropriate language used by Spain was filed by Britain’s permanent representative with the European Union, Sir Tim Barrow. The wording of the document, however, made the UK representatives…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued a warning to the gambling operators regarding the use of non-disclosure clauses in their settlements which could end up preventing people from reporting irregularities to the local regulators. The concerns about the so-called gagging orders emerged after a number of incidents of consumers who received large sums of money in return to their consent not to talk to the competent regulatory body. Now the UKGC issued an “industry warning notice” to inform the industry that it was familiar with the aforementioned non-disclosure clauses…

A new organisation is calling for attention towards gambling, insisting that gambling is just another form of a major public health issue. The Gambling Health Alliance (GHA), which has been established in partnership between the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and GambleAware, is aimed at raising public’s awareness about possible harm that could be inflicted by gambling across the UK. The Alliance is to also insist that local lawmakers should be more proactive in order to tackle constantly increasing problem gambling rates. CHARGE 2018 is here! Cambridge Health Alliance…

Dublin-based bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair has reportedly held merger talks with the Canadian gaming and online gambling operator Stars Group late in 2018. The Sunday Times revealed that the merger negotiations were held “late last year” without sharing where the information originated from. Despite the fact that the newspaper reported that the talks are no longer taking place, a possible merger of the two companies would have created a betting giant with a total estimated worth of €8.7 billion (more than $10 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Such…