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Councillors from Derry have backed changes to Northern Ireland’s gambling legislation, saying that laws need to be updated in order to provide better protection to the most vulnerable members of society, who suffer from problem gambling and mental health issues associated with it. The most recent meeting of the Health and Community Committee of the Derry City & Strabane District Council saw calls for the committee members to take into consideration a potential response to the Department for Communities (DfC) consultation on Northern Ireland’s gambling legislation. For the time being,…

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which is the governing body representing about 90% of the UK gambling and betting sector, has praised the Government for its decision to provide some financial relief thanks to the so-called Covid-10 Package. The standards body welcomed the confirmation that its members will be eligible to qualify for “a business rates holiday” like other businesses operating in the retail, entertainment and leisure sector. About a week ago, the BGC had urged the UK Government to include the gambling industry in the scheme, after the…

British gamblers are getting more oriented from sports betting to much riskier online gambling services, such as online casino and slot machines amid the ongoing restrictions aimed at limiting the further spread of coronavirus infection. This trend has been confirmed yesterday by one of the largest online gambling operators, 888 Holdings, which explained that it had been affected by the current lockdown of the industry and the cancellation and postponement of most major sports events. As Casino Guardian has already explained, 888 Holdings has shared that the measures requiring social…

British Members of Parliament have expressed concern that local gamblers are being lured into making riskier wagers at a time when there is basically no mainstream sport because of spreading coronavirus infection and social distancing measures. In the light of some evidence that British punters are being encouraged to make riskier bets, MPs called for online gambling companies to adopt a temporary betting limit of £50 on a daily basis during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. As Casino Guardian has already reported, all mainstream sports competitions, including the Grand National and…

This week, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a notice to local residents to warn them to be careful about suspicious emails or SMS that claim to be sent from online gambling operators, offering individuals to take advantage of special credit or in-game bonuses. Fiona Cameron, a member of ACMA, explained that the Authority has identified an increase in reports regarding such emails and SMS scams that aim at luring local customers into following links by using attractive offers of free spins, in-game extras or free credit.…

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has called on the UK Government to support the gambling sector’s efforts to mitigate the negative impact that the spread of coronavirus has been having on their businesses. Yesterday, the BGC urged the Government to provide emergency help to save a large number of jobs in the gambling industry that has been suffering a great deal as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. One of the top priorities set by the Betting and Gaming Council is emergency assistance on employment costs. The gambling industry…

Lloyds Banking Group, which is one of the largest ones in the UK, has announced that they are to now provide customers of Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds with access to Gamban, a special gambling-blocking software. The move is part of the banking group’s efforts to ensure maximum protection for vulnerable customers of British high-street banks. The Gamban gambling-blocking software would be available through mobile banking applications of all customers of the banks and would provide people with the chance to suspend all transactions to gambling websites. Lloyds Banking…

According to a recommendation that has recently been made by a parliamentary cross-party committee, the Federal Government in Australia should make more efforts to adopt an obligatory age-verification system for all websites offering gambling and pornography content. As Casino Guardian reported last week, the recommendation has been made after the committee revealed some inquiry findings released in February 2020 in the report called “Protecting the Age of Innocence”. The report’s authors have explained that a large number of people, particularly parents, were concerned about underage access to gambling and pornography…

The NHS Northern Gambling Service has established a new gambling addiction clinic based in Manchester as part of its efforts to help more people who are suffering from problem gambling in the northern part of the country. The new base of the service is in Salford Quays. It is set to serve North Wales, the northern midlands and the North West of England. It will host several specialists, including a senior mental health nurse, a consultant psychiatrist, a consultant psychologist and clinical psychologist, who will take care of people who…

This week, a Federal Government committee recommended that Australia should see a mandatory online age verification for local residents who want to access certain adult-only content on the Internet. As part of the controversial proposal aimed at maximising the protection for underage individuals, an interesting suggestion regarding controversial loot boxes was made into the same report. The truth is that most media put the suggestion about age verification at adults-only website into the spotlight, but apart from that, the “Protecting the Age of Innocence” committee was also empowered to investigate…