Author: Olivia Cole

An overwhelming majority of SkyCity Casino workers in Auckland has voted to start strike action against their employer to make the company pay them compensations for working unsociable hours. According to the claims of the employees, it is exactly the night and weekend hours of operation which help the gambling firm generate its major profits. Currently, the Unite Union is the organisation which protects the interests of almost 900 of SkyCity Casino’s workers. Reportedly, 94% of these employees voted to reject the previous offer which the company had made and…

Reportedly, a former employee of Ladbrokes has revealed that the British gambling operator had knowledge about an issue associated with its software systems which ended up with cancelled customers’ bets. As The Guardian revealed, a former employee of the British bookmaker has told the media that the company was actually aware for several months of the problem with its software systems, because of which some customers were able to see unique receipt numbers of bets which the trading department of Ladbrokes had rejected. Such receipts have normally been issued after…

Lawrence Ho and his casino giant Melco Resorts will postpone the full AU$1.76-billion acquisition of James Packers’ share in the Australian gambling company Crown Resorts until after the gambling regulatory body of New South Wales (NSW) completes the ongoing inquiry into the deal and other issues regarding Crown. It is unclear when this will happen, but the takeover could also be fully cancelled in case the regulator rolls out conditions under which the deal between Mr Packer and Lawrence Ho is considered unacceptable. The first part of the 67.9 million…

The UK-based casino operator chain Grosvenor Casinos has revealed its vision for the transformation of a former art deco cinema into a gambling and entertainment facility which is to be open 24 hours a day. The venue, which will be called Pier Nine, is located in Brighton. It is set to see the existing Grosvenor Casino Brighton renovated and transformed into a prosperous leisure, entertainment and gambling site on the city’s seafront area. Currently, the construction of the facility is underway. Grosvenor Casino has already started the transformation process of…

Soon after the revelation that seven on-course betting operators will have the UK gambling regulatory body review their licences, some racing industry officials have asked for clarification regarding age verification measures that would help them prevent underage individuals from gambling. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the seven sports betting companies had permitted a 16-year-old person to place a bet at the latest Royal Ascot which was held in June 2019. Regardless of the fact that so-called “Think 21” policy has been introduced across racecourses nationwide, the sports betting industry…

UK gambling operator Rank Group has unveiled a pre-tax profit decline after suffering slowing sales at its Grosvenor Casinos and reflux in traffic as its Mecca Bingo halls which has started earlier in 2019. The group operating profit for the 2018/19 fiscal year fell by 22% from £50.1 million posted a year ago to £39 million. Still, the company revealed that it has already started to see the results of the measures which it had specially designed to boost its revenues and reduce its expenses, and which it implemented in…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has initiated a review into the online gambling technology provider FSB Technology (UK) Limited because of regulatory concerns. The review is being carried out under s116 of the Gambling Act. As revealed by the gambling regulatory body, FSB Technology has voluntarily suspended the activities on its Blackbet website. This action, however, this would not prevent the company from paying out its customers. The UKGC has called for all customers who have any questions in terms of their accounts to directly contact the operator by sending…

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that a paid-for Facebook advert for Football INDEX – Bet & Trade, seen on May 20th 2019, promoted a gambling application. The advert’s text mentioned the young English professional football player Jadon Sancho, explaining that he was the third most valuable player in the football stockmarket. Also, a list with the names, pictures and “Buy” and “Sell” values of many football players, including Sancho, was displayed. We've published our latest batch of rulings https://t.co/dbGYsX8oPm Amongst this week's cases, we examine claims that a chocolate…

The largest casino company in Australia, Crown Resorts, has revealed a significant full-year profit decline at a time when affluent foreign gamblers, including high-roller players from China, have been backing away from the company by spending less money on the table. The Australian gambling operator revealed that its net profit for the entire year was estimated at AU$401.8 million, while the revenue which foreign high-rollers generated experiences a massive decline of 26.1% to AU$38 billion. The results show that the VIP gambling business of the company continued to shrink, at…

Suncity Group, the largest recruiter of high-roller Chinese gamblers, is downsizing its operations in Australia after facing recent allegations of links to organised crime in the region. The end of the previous week saw the second-biggest casino operator in Australia, Star Entertainment, announce that it had made a mutual decision with Suncity in the last ten days under which VIP rooms inside The Star’s flagship casino in Sydney would be closed. According to sources familiar with the matter, the fixed high-roller room at the Crown Casino Melbourne would also be…