Author: Daniel Williams

The major regulatory body for the UK gambling industry – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – has supported an investigation into the possible effects of gambling on children and more vulnerable individuals in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The City Council’s resolution to establish a task force to review the issue was fully backed by the Commission, which also claimed that the excessive gambling could result in a “public health concern”. The support given by the main UK gambling regulator follows a massive increase in the number of bookmakers in the district…

Today, a National Gambling Study (NGS) report was released to confirm that levels of gambling-related harm remain pretty much unchanged despite the fact that gambling participation rates decline. The study, which is a thorough long-term research on causes and harms of gambling, was carried out by Auckland University of Technology with funding from the Ministry of Health. As revealed by the Director of the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre, Professor Max Abbott, gambling participation rates fell by 5% in a 3-year span, from 80% in 2012 to 75% in 2015.…

According to most recent figures, Liverpool residents are expected to generate losses amounting to over £2.5 million on notorious fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) during the summer holiday of the Members of Parliament only. Experts have revealed that a total amount of £2,749,787 is expected to be lost by local punters on the machines during the 42-day Parliamentary recess. New industry statistics show that players across the country will waste an estimated amount of £210 million on the high-stakes betting machines, which have been pointed as one of the main drivers…

The year 2018 has been expected to become the one bringing a range of great changes to the UK gambling sector, both off and online. And so it did. Since the beginning of the year, there have been some major decisions in the industry, which could change the gambling landscape in the UK forever. With the online and mobile gambling sector being on the rise, the local gambling operators have been facing tougher regulatory rules imposed as part of the stricter regulation brought by local watchdogs. Mergers and acquisitions have…

Despite the fact that pachinko has long been one of the favourite pastimes for Japanese people and the industry has been flourishing, with a literally mind-blowing amount of money being spent on the game by local gamblers every year, business is quieter these days. Once full of energy and life, the pachinko parlours now see a decline, ageing clientèle and stricter regulation. It was only recently when Japan finally opened the door to casino gambling as part of so-called integrated casino resorts. Some have claimed that the expansion of the…

Irish bookmakers have described the proposal of President Michael D Higgins for further measures to restrict gambling advertising in sports as impractical. The Chair of the Irish Bookmakers Association (IBA), Sharon Byrne, explained that the sector has already taken steps to tackle the problem and take care of problem gambling rates and possible gambling-related harm that could be inflicted on local residents. She shared that most people normally took gambling as a form of leisure and pastime activity, but there as still a small percentage of players who could encounter…

A spokesman of the Salvation Army has revealed that an amount exceeding AU$55.7 million has been lost on the poker machines available in Ballarat over the 2017/2018 fiscal year, which eventually left many families extremely poor. Craig Wood, a Salvation Army Captain, shared that there were families which had lost literally everything to poker machines in the city. Mr. Wood further added that it was high time for some measures to be taken in order to reduce the negative impact that those machines had on vulnerable people, and especially children.…

President Michael D Higgins shared his concerns with sports gambling issues in the country and called for the authorities to make sure that gambling platforms keep their advertising campaigns away from sports. Speaking at the All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Cork and Limerick, he explained that he was very worried as far as gambling in sport is concerned. He also told RTÉ Radio that he would do everything possible to deny gambling operators any access to advertising in sports at all. President Higgins also referred to his recent visit to a…

The losses generated by the residents of the Australian state of Victoria on pokies continue to rise despite the fact that the poker machines’ number is being reduced. Local citizens lost approximately AU$2.7 billion on poker machines over the last fiscal year, reaching a record high in a decade, with latest figures showing that players in some of the poorest communities across the state generating the largest losses. According to information revealed by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR), the last financial year has seen the largest…

A mind-blowing amount seems to be spent by Japanese gamblers on an annual basis on pachinko, as the vertical pinball-like slot machines are known. Each year, local citizens spend approximately $200 billion on the game, with the amount being 30 times larger than the annual gambling revenue generated by Las Vegas casino industry, Business Insider reports. Despite the fact that most gambling activities are suspended in Japan, pachinko is still operating in a legal grey area in the country and is currently one of the most popular forms of gambling.…