Author: Daniel Williams

Long-time anti-gambling advocate Tim Costello has turned down commercial broadcasting groups’ claims that a full ban on gambling adverts could make their businesses no longer viable, arguing that using these adverts to groom Australian children was the actual existential crisis. Mr Costello, who is the main representative of the Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR), has called for the Labor and the Coalition to initiate a full ban on gambling advertising, in a move to acknowledge how concerned they were about certain channels’ association with the prominent gambling sector, especially in…

The company supporting a lobby group seeking to overturn the planned overhaul of the UK gambling laws and claims to be acting on behalf of regular punters turned out to be owned by a consultant for the country’s gambling industry. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, British lawmakers proposed a series of changes in April 2023 in an effort to make the country’s gambling sector more fair, transparent and safe for consumers by imposing stricter regulations on gambling licensees, especially ones in the thriving online gambling industry. Despite that, the…

The Premier of New South Wales (NSW), Chris Minns, has noted reports that the state gambling regulatory body has often warned local clubs and pubs ahead of random compliance checks are extremely concerning. According to some documents presented to the Parliament, the industry’s trade body – ClubsNSW – sent emails to local club owners in February 2022 to warn them that the state’s gambling regulator was set to start gambling harm-minimisation compliance checks in Sydney to make sure that the gaming machines and signage in clubs and pubs were properly…

Late last week, the gambling regulator of Victoria announced a decision to suspend betting on all sports competitions involving underage individuals, as well as all wagering on the performance of individual athletes who are under 18 years of age in both junior and senior sports. On August 3rd, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) sent letters to the bodies heading all major sports leagues and all companies offering sports betting services to inform them that the watchdog has determined that allowing wagering on sports involving minors posed potential…

The Australian online gambling watchdog has approached Curaçao Government officials in regard to new legislative changes aimed at tackling the Dutch Caribbean nation’s massive online casino industry. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has also informed Curaçao that over 90 online casinos registered in the country have been unlawfully targeting Australian residents with their services, although the regulator had previously informed them that the online gambling websites were violating Australia’s gambling laws. For the time being, Australia is among the few countries on a global scale, along with most…

New research has unveiled that financially struggling Australians are now turning to gambling looking for a quick fix for their disadvantages, while their expenses, unfortunately, spiral out of control. A Finder survey held among 1,110 respondents revealed that about 18% of Australian residents (or one in five Aussies) have boosted their spending on gambling over the past year. That basically means that 3.6 million local people have increased their spending on various forms of gambling available in the country. According to the research, 3% of Australian people are trying to…

The Government of New South Wales (NSW) has confirmed that a proposed measure aimed at tackling gambling outward signage and advertisements is set to be fully complied with. State lawmakers have revealed that almost 50% of all gambling establishments have already decided to act preventively and dispose of their outward signage in line with the proposed ban. The local Government has voted on the measure that is aimed at making gambling businesses remove signage that calls for passers-by to visit the companies’ VIP lounge, VIP room, Players’ Lounge, Golden Room,…

Lately, there has been an increasing number of calls for the Federal Government of Australia to suspend gambling advertising and initiate a major overhaul of the pokie industry, with criticism for gambling and the practice’s long-term consequences on local people’s lives also mounting. The negative impact that gambling has not only on people’s financial state, but on their mental and physical health as well, has been causing destruction for years, highlighting the seriousness of gambling addiction in Australia. The fact that local gambling operators target women, has, however, long remained…

Australia’s biggest gaming and entertainment group Crown Resorts is shifting its focus towards social responsibility and problem gambling prevention with the introduction of its new Crown PlaySafe program. The harm reduction package is valued at AU$13 million (£6.7 million) and will be introduced at all Australian properties operated by the beleaguered gambling company. The program focuses on several main areas, including developing products with problem gambling reduction in mind, creating a safer environment for players, allocating more funds for data monitoring and research, and adopting a more culturally relevant approach…

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has added five other illegal offshore gambling sites to its list of blocked operators. The regulator demanded that Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should block the websites of the brand Reef Reels, Royal Reels, Ricky Casino, Slots Gallery, and Slotastic. All five of them were found guilty of violating the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act. The ACMA issued its first block request in November 2019 and since then, 803 affiliated and illegal websites have been blocked. In addition, more than 200 illegal services have…