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Gambling operators are set to face tougher regulations and heavier fines as the United Kingdom Gambling Commission has issued a new three-year strategy that aims at reducing gambling-related harm. The regulator has also urged operators to comply with the existing rules after a report revealed multiple violations of the consumer protection guidelines. Last week, the Gambling Commission announced it would be taking stronger measures to combat problem gambling. In its three-year National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms, launched April 25, it states it would be taking a “public health approach”…

Earlier this month, on April 8th, Ministers pledged that the UK is set to feature the strictest Internet laws on a global scale. The revelations have been made at a time when the British Government is unveiling a new piece of legislation set to protect children online. The Government has reported its willingness to impose a duty of care on underage individuals, so the White Paper of digital harms was officially unveiled, concluding that the technology giants which operate on the territory of the country are not capable of regulating…

Earlier this month, new data provided by the Australian market research company Roy Morgan showed a significant decline in the number of local adult residents who gamble. Only ten years earlier, in December 2008, almost two-thirds of the Australian adult population gambled – 64.7% of the individuals who were at the time 18 or older, or 10.5 million people. In comparison, 47.9%, or 9.3 million, of the Australian population gambled in December 2018. The downward trend continues from December 2017, when research data showed that 50.1% (9.5 million) of Australians…

The investigation of Racing NSW, the regulatory body for thoroughbred racing in the state of New South Wales, into Sally Snow, an ex-trading manager at Tabcorp, and her spouse, has spread to include Unibet’s local head of bookmaking. According to media reports, the phone and laptop of Phil Moyes, who has been with the gambling operator since 2012, had been willingly provided to the investigators by Mr Moyes himself as part of an investigation into the Snow family and their relationship with the prominent gambler Steve Fletcher. Both the phone…

A problem gambler who spent £125,000 while playing with the LeoVegas and Casino online casinos claims that both operators had not only turned a blind eye to her addiction but had also offered her bonuses to make her bet more. The 42-year-old woman, who used to work as an accountant, has been receiving professional help after using nine credit cards to gamble. Her losses include an overnight spree which cost her £54,000 at a time when one of the gambling websites allowed her to place bets amounting to over £380,000…

Young veterans from the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) have urged local authorities to make sure that controversial poker machines are eliminated from its clubs. For the time being, there are about 280 RSL sub-branches in the state of Victoria. A total of 52 of them have poker machines. Lately, a group of young veterans headed by the former Army officer David Petersen is calling for higher welfare payments of veterans and stricter measures aimed at tackling gambling machines for spreading further. The 32-year-old Petersen is currently president…

An Irish minister has shared his frustration about the delay in introducing new laws to regulate the local gambling industry. At the same time, the junior minister at the Department of Justice, David Stanton, has confessed that he is powerless to address spreading gambling addiction, describing the problem as a health issue. Speaking at a meeting of the Oireachtas Justice Committee a couple of days ago, he explained that he could work to restrict gambling advertising in the country and prevent gambling from being popularised, but shared that addressing problem…

Researchers have warned that the constant development of social media platforms is making it harder for people to make a distinction between regular online games and gambling. The warning has come at a time when Irish authorities have shared their concern about underage individuals who have been exposed to the possible negative impact of gambling advertising across social media. Dr Crystal Fulton, who works at the University College Dublin, has made a presentation to the Oireachtas Justice Committee, explaining that research participants had made suggestions that Irish people’s awareness of…

The former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes has faced a charge with misconduct following allegations of breaching the Football Association (FA) betting rules. The 44-year-old ex-football player is alleged to have placed 140 bets on football matches in the period from August 17th, 2015 to January 12th, 2019. At the time, he was a co-owner of Salford City F.C., a professional association football club which currently competes in the National League. Scholes retired from his career as a football player in 2013 and a year later, in 2014,…

According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of brick-and-mortar gambling shops in Teesside, Middlesbrough, is rising. The information provided by the ONS has revealed that there were 130 betting shops in the region in 2018. In comparison, there were 120 betting outlets in the area in 2017. This is the first time the number of retail betting shops in Teesside has been on the rise since 2015. The rise has been considered surprising because of the ever-increasing popularity of online betting, which more players tend…