Company Reports

The largest poker machine venue operator in Australia – the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH Group) – which majority stakeholder is the supermarket and grocery store chain Woolworths is still being part of a local government offensive which is focused on opposing the anti-pokies campaign of Tim Costello’s Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR). The supermarket giant’s pubs and pokies division is now embarking on what could be described as an unprecedented push to get the approval of councils in the state of Victoria at a time when the region…

Crown Casino Melbourne has faced a ban from providing their patrons with special plastic picks to bypass rules regarding poker machines, as the use of such picks could lead to an increase of gambling-related harm. The decision of the Victorian gambling regulator came after in 2017 some whistleblowers reported that thhandingCasino staff members were handing out plastic picks, which even had the Crown brand, used to the casino patrons which allowed them to jam poker machine buttons and to have continuous gameplay. Under the rules implemented by the Victorian gambling…

New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has made its first prosecution under the nation’s Gambling Act. A mananger of a local gambling venue has become the first person in the country who is charged for their failure to identify a problem gambler. So far, the DIA has not disclosed the gambling venue where the person worked but revealed that the manager of the gambling venue has been charged for failing to take reasonable measures in order to identify a problem gambler. The charge was announced by Chris Thornborough, who…

The British gambling operator William Hill has asked the landlords of its premises to cut the company’s rents value by half in order to help it offset the negative impact of the upcoming crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). As first revealed by Property Week, William Hill sent an open letter addressed to about 2,000 landlords, asking them to reduce their rents with immediate effect, in order to help the gambling giant avoid the closure of up to 900 of its betting shops. For the time being, the betting operator…

The Australian Greens have criticised the Coalition’s decision to make the cashless welfare card available to everyone on income management in the country’s Northern Territory. Today, Paul Fletcher, the family and social services minister revealed that 22,500 people who are currently on income management will start using the cashless debit card instead of the BasicsCard from January 2020. The BasicsCard, which is currently available, allows the recipients to use 50% of the received welfare at certain stores only. In comparison, the new cashless debit card will allow 80% of the…

The executive team of William Hill US has confirmed that the gambling giant’s local unit has made a $50,000 donation to the Council of Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ) to fund a campaign which is set to support problem gamblers. The CCGNJ has been seeking to expand its capacities related to problem gambling awareness and treatment, especially at a time when it introduces its first sports betting parlours. The initiative is now related to the production of an educational video about gambling addiction and its harmful effect on affected…

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has inked a partnership agreement with a gambling operator in spite of previously saying that it was to review its sponsorship deals with bookmakers following growing concerns regarding the constantly increasing problem gambling among local residents. Last August, a spokesman for the FAI said in an interview for The Times that the Association is reviewing all aspects of its links to gambling operators’ sponsorship deals. The review was initiated after Ireland’s president Michael D Higgins had urged local gambling regulators to ban gambling advertising…

The last few years have seen a massive increase in popularity of gambling in Ireland – a trend which has made various charity organisations and anti-gambling campaigners try to raise the awareness of people about the possible gambling-related harm which could be inflicted. Data released by Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners show that 32 licences were handed for local gaming machines every day in 2018. Such gaming machines, which are pretty much like regular slot machines, have become extremely popular among Irish residents over the past year but have been claimed dangerous…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has lifted the curtain on the closure BetBright and its controversial decision to void outstanding bets with an estimated payout which could have amounted to £1 million. The major gambling regulatory body in the UK explained that the decision to void large bets was not a bad one actually, because the online gambling operator’s customers would have received no money back in case that the company had gone into liquidation. The UKGC made another disclosure regarding the proceeds of £15 million received as a result…

A TV advert of the global gambling operator Sky Bet was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for being socially irresponsible. Two individuals have filed complaints against the ad seen on August 30th, 2018, which was promoting the company’s “Request a Bet” service. The TV advert featured Jeff Stelling, a popular football presenter, who encouraged viewers to bet with Sky Bet by challenging them to “spark” their sports brains. According to complainants, the advert was irresponsible because it implied that a person could become a successful gambler if they…