Cross-Party Coalition Urges UK Government to Impose Longer Ban on Gambling Adverts during Live Sporting Events

Cross-Party Coalition Urges UK Government to Impose Longer Ban on Gambling Adverts during Live Sporting Events

A cross-party coalition consisting of political parties and Church of England representatives has insisted that a whistle-to-whistle ban on gambling advertising during live sports events is just not enough. Instead, the coalition between the Conservative peer in the House of Lords Lord Chadington and the Church of England, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party has demanded from minister to close the loophole which provides gambling operators with the chance to target children and more vulnerable individuals through their ads offering “live odds” bets both on…

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Problem Gambling Expert Warns There Are More than 45,000 Gambling Addicts in Ireland

Problem Gambling Expert Warns There Are More than 45,000 Gambling Addicts in Ireland

Mental health specialists and representatives of GambleAware have revealed that Ireland needs to urgently roll out a nation-wide survey to reveal actual problem gambling and gambling addiction rates in the country. As reported by the Irish Examiner, the Health Research Board (HRB) reveived a freedom of information request, has shown that a total of 195 people were assessed as problem gamblers and faced treatment for gambling addiction back in 2016. In comparison, there were 208 such cases in 2015. Unfortunately, Colin O’Gara, a psychiatrist and addiction therapist, claims that the…

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NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority Imposes Record Fine on Illewarra Poker Machine Club

NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority Imposes Record Fine on Illewarra Poker Machine Club

The Illawarra Steelers Rugby League Club in Wollongong has suffered a massive blow due to a record AU$100,000 fine which was imposed on the venue for it offering free drinks and large cash incentives to encourage patrons to spend more on its poker machines. The violations happened under Scott Miles, the former general manager of the club, who is currently in jail for misappropriating AU$1 million from the venue to fund his compulsive gambling. He has also received a life-long ban from the industry. LIFE BAN: Former secretary of the…

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Victoria Residents’ Pokies Losses Soar to Record AU$246.2 Million in August 2018

Victoria Residents’ Pokies Losses Soar to Record AU$246.2 Million in August 2018

The Alliance for Gambling Reform, an Australian movement aimed at reducing gambling-related harm, revealed yesterday that the losses on notorious poker machines reached a record high of AU$246.2 million in August 2018. The figure represented a 5.3% increase compared to the losses on pokies generated by the state’s residents in August 2017, with what was called a “disturbing trend” keeping its pace following the Victorian Parliament’s 2017 decision to greenlight poker licenses for new 20 years. The new statistics were rolled out at the beginning of the week by the…

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Irish Government Set to Announce Gambling Tax Increase to 2% Next Tuesday

Irish Government Set to Announce Gambling Tax Increase to 2% Next Tuesday

According to sources, the Irish Government has decided to double the gambling tax as part of the 2019 budget which is set to be unveiled by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe on October 9th. Under the measure, which is to see the current 1% tax rate increased to 2%, an estimate of €50 million is expected to be raised on an annual basis. As planned, part of that money is to be redirected to fund some specialised services aimed at helping problem gamblers. As mentioned above, the country’s Finance Minister is…

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UKGC to Deploy New ADR Standards and Guidelines Especially for UK Gambling Sector

UKGC to Deploy New ADR Standards and Guidelines Especially for UK Gambling Sector

The beginning of the week saw the country’s major gambling regulator – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – publish new standards and guidance for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) providers operating in the local gambling sector. The new standards will come into effect on October 31st and are aimed at improving the way customers’ complaints are handled by ADR providers in the UK gambling industry. After the new standards are deployed at the end of the month, the UKGC is set to begin to assess ADRs. The Gambling Commission has today…

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Former Gambling Addict Says Pokies Fuel Gambling Addiction in Australia

Former Gambling Addict Says Pokies Fuel Gambling Addiction in Australia

Gambling addiction remains a major problem on the territory of Australia, with an increasing number of people being affected by its devastating impact. A 42-year-old woman from Adelaide has shared that she was addicted to poker machines for fourteen years after quickly becoming hooked on the machines and spending thousands on so-called pokies. Shonica Guy revealed that she started gambling at a local pub in her teenage years. The mother-of-one explained that at the time, she considered gambling simply a harmless way to have fun. Ms. Guy further shared that…

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Perth Bank Manager Sentenced to Jail for Stealing AU$3.7 Million to Fuel Gambling Addiction

Perth Bank Manager Sentenced to Jail for Stealing AU$3.7 Million to Fuel Gambling Addiction

A Perth bank manager who appropriated an amount of almost AU$3.7 million from the branch he worked in and spent it on gambling, is to spend five and a half years in jail. The 37-year-old Daniel Petkov stole the money from the Westpac branch at Belmont in the period from July 2016 to February 2018. The man, whose wrongdoings were finally revealed in February 2018, was suffering from an undiagnosed bipolar disorder at the time. He faced charges of stealing as a servant and the District Court heard that Petkov…

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Northern Territory Government Rolls Out a Survey of Gambling-Related Harm and Its Public Health Impact

Northern Territory Government Rolls Out a Survey of Gambling-Related Harm and Its Public Health Impact

The Government of the Northern Territory (NT) is reviewing the harms of gambling in the federal territory by carrying out a new research into the negative effects which gambling has on various aspects of local people’s lives. As recently revealed, the Menzies School of Health Research and Roy Morgan Research will investigate the patterns, risks and possible negative consequences associated with gambling, as well as the health and well-being of local citizens. The research is aimed at helping the NT Government to build up more specialised policies and programs primarily…

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New Policy to Reduce Poker Machines Harm Backed by Northern Beaches Council

New Policy to Reduce Poker Machines Harm Backed by Northern Beaches Council

A plan aimed at reducing the number of poker machines, also known as pokies, at local venues has been backed by the Northern Beaches Council. The local government area, however, decided not to support a contentious clause that would provide it with the opportunity to suspend the machines at venues situated on the area’s land. The policy which seeks changes to be made in the area’s policy was passed with 8-6 votes at the council meeting which took place yesterday night. Joy Van Duinen, the mother of a gambling addict…

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