Author: Daniel Williams

Over 50 new outlets have been opened on a monthly basis over the past three years by the Irish National Lottery’s private operators. The massive surge of such outlets, however, has raised some concerns related to possible increase of problem gambling as well. Since the consortium which operates the National Lottery was granted with the operating license in November 2014, the number of retailers that are licensed to sell National Lottery tickets and scratch cards has experienced a strong increase, with their numbers rising from 3,700 to 5,790. Now, Toronto-based…

Today, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published its advice to support the Government with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) review of controversial fixed-odds betting machines (FOBTs) and social responsibility measures. The gambling regulatory authority has issued its formal advice aiming to put a cap on the gambling-related harm that customers, and especially more vulnerable ones, could face. The Government is expected to soon unveil its decision on the possible reduction of the maximum stakes allowed at FOBTs. The official advice paper issued by the major gambling…

The manager of the England national football team, Gareth Southgate, insisted that he would not allow gambling among players get out of control at the World Cup. According to him, England’s footballers will not put their chances of success during the World Cup in danger by letting their gambling habits affect their performance as such a thing happened at previous tournaments. The statement of the current manager of the English national football squad came after some shocking revelations about the huge amount of gambling addictions that has spread among players…

New rules regarding gambling adverts are to be implemented by the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA). The new provisions have already been added to the Commercial Radio Code for Practice after a community consultation period and are to be enforced on March 30th. The amendments come to complement the existing rules under which betting odds promotions are suspended during live sport. The Communications Minister Mitch Fifield revealed that additional legislation is to be presented to the Parliament to make sure similar rules are applied to online content. Under…

Lessons revealing the consequences of gambling-related harm have been trialled in British secondary schools as part of the measures aimed at tackling gambling among young children. According to a recent survey, approximately 25,000 children in the UK are considered problem gamblers for the time being, with one in six children from 11 to 15 years old admitting to have gambled over the last week. The thinktank Demos commented that lessons about the risks of gambling are rarely included in the local schools’ curriculum and recommended that the gap should be…

Recently, Australia has been reported as the country with the largest gambling losses per person worldwide. Despite this, anti-gambling campaigners have been facing the opposition of a powerful lobby insisting that poker machines in the country should not be limited in number. Lately, South Australian election has kindled the sparkle of a massive gambling-related discussions, with the leader of the SA-BEST party, Nick Xenophon, being strongly criticised for his updated gambling policy. A few weeks ago, in February, Xenophon has surprisingly presented a gambling reform policy which did not correspond…

Reportedly, problem gambling affects about 430,000 people in the UK, with not only gambling addicts’ lives being devastated, but the ones of their families and friends, too, with local communities also being hurt by the constantly rising number of addictions. On the other hand, the social cost of problem gambling, including housing, social welfare, treatment and criminal justice in the UK has been estimated to approximately £1.2 billion on an annual basis. Still, regardless of the spreading problem, there is currently only one clinic targeting gambling addicts, which is funded…

Last week, the UK Government guaranteed that it would grant Gibraltar with a continued access to the country’s market for online gaming and financial services. The disclosure was made at a time when the possible effects of impending BREXIT have been widely discussed, amid increasing concerns that Gibraltar’s economy could be affected by the UK exodus from the European Union (EU). The minister of state at the Department for Exiting the EU, Robin Walker, shared that the two parties agreed that the access of Gibraltar to the UK market is…

Fianna Fáil, the Irish Republican Party, called bookmakers to impose a certain limit to the amount of money that could be lost online by customers. The political party made the commentary on the matter after the former Chief Executive Officer of Paddy Power Betfair, who is also the founder of the bookmaker, urged the authorities to make sure that certain restrictions are implemented. Last week, Mr. Stewart Kenny who is not only one of the company’s founders but was also on the bookmaker’s board until 2016, said in an interview…

The Government of New South Wales intends to consult with the wider public on the issues related to potential regulation associated with online gaming and gaming taxes. The authorities are asking for the residents’ opinion on the debate whether the state of New South Wales should or should not make a change in the gaming taxes to target iGaming. A four-week consultation period, over which gambling operators would be able to share their opinion on the proposed tax, is set to be announced by NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet. For the…