Author: Daniel Williams

Back in January, Merkur Slots submitted an application to open a new adult gaming centre in downtown Ayr, and the said project has now been approved by the South Ayrshire Council’s Regulatory Panel. The centre will occupy a currently vacant lot situated in Ayr High Street, and it will be open 24 hours a day. As reported by the Daily Record, the upcoming establishment was met with some criticism from locals, and seven objections were filed. William Hendren cited the fact that Ayr already has plenty of betting shops and…

MintBet is facing scrutiny for committing multiple breaches of its own responsible gambling code of conduct. According to the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), the online bookmaker failed to exercise due diligence and intervene when a client exhibited signs of problem gambling. MintBet was, therefore, handed a fine of AU$100,000. The bettor in question wagered for 35 hours in just over two days and placed a total of 327 bets. This resulted in them suffering a substantial loss of AU$31,149. According to MintBet’s responsible gambling code of conduct,…

As critics have begun scrutinising Newcastle United for going through with Sandro Tonali’s £55 million transfer last July without finding that he was struggling with gambling addiction, the sports website Training Ground Guru (TGG) reached out to former Scotland Yard Detective Neil Whitbread for his insight into how clubs vet players and how Newcastle handled the transfer. Whitbread currently serves as Investigations Manager at the intelligence services firm FACT. According to Whitbread, it would not have been easy for Newcastle to find out that anything was amiss, both in terms…

Emma Louise Mcloughlin reached out to the Irish newspaper Sunday World last week after the Sligo Circuit Court ruled that she is to serve two years in jail starting this July. The verdict was delivered after multiple adjournments, and it concerns theft from the Kilmacowen Community Preschool and Playgroup amounting to over €66,000. According to Ms Mcloughlin, this turn of events was the result of gambling struggles that “got out of control.” Her transgressions were committed between June 2020 and December of the same year, after she started gambling online…

On March 28th, England’s Football Association announced its decision to charge Sandro Tonali, one of Newcastle United’s midfielders, with misconduct. According to the results of the regulator’s investigation, Tonali allegedly wagered on football games a total of 50 times between August 12th, 2023, and October 12th, 2023. Tonali joined Newcastle United in July last year, and the investigation’s results entail he began betting almost immediately after he signed his five-year contract with the club. His struggles with gambling have been an ongoing issue since 2021, however, as revealed by a…

Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) is planning on selling its broadcasting rights to US-facing gambling operators, which would enable the said companies to stream NRL games on their betting platforms. As described by anonymous sources who got in touch with the Sydney Morning Herald, the potential deal includes a package surrounding a revenue share agreement involving odds. Speaking with the Sydney Morning Herald, Matt Tripp, former CEO of BetEasy and current Chairman of the Melbourne Storm club, deemed it essential for the NRL to ensure that sportsbooks will have an…

Paul Edgecliff-Johnson, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment plc (Flutter), has asked the Irish Government to reconsider its stance on introducing a blanket ban on gambling bonuses involving free bets. As reported by The Irish Times, Flutter’s CFO proposed the alternative of regulators overseeing how such initiatives are created and promoted. The Government’s Gambling Regulation Bill concerns many aspects surrounding gambling harm, including the temptation inherent to gambling ads, VIP schemes, complimentary bets, and other such factors, and how they affect those susceptible to problem gambling.…

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has given its final verdict on Crown Resorts’ licensing situation in Melbourne, ruling in favour of the gambling company keeping its VGCCC-issued licence. In the past several years, Crown Resorts has undergone major changes following a range of significant regulatory breaches. In a statement celebrating today’s positive turn of events, Mike Volkert, Crown Melbourne’s CEO, stressed the significance of this milestone and commended the company’s team members for their successful efforts in implementing “meaningful change,” which has resulted in the company’s transformation.…

Earlier today, the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) notified The Star’s Board of Directors that, according to Adam Bell SC, it is “in the public interest” for the hearings surrounding the second investigation into The Star to be held in public. The Star has been under extensive regulatory scrutiny since 2022, which was when the first investigation by the NICC into the company’s operations was undertaken. The said probe resulted in The Star being handed a staggering AU$100 million fine after it was discovered that the company had…

As revealed today by The Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has identified a problem pertaining to BetStop, Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register. According to ACMA, the said issue has enabled some BetStop users to partake in wagering. The matter concerns BetStop’s way of verifying consumer data and how practices from certain operators have prevented BetStop from identifying an undisclosed number of problem gamblers. Specifically, some companies have failed to mandate that their users provide their full names while undergoing identity verification. Instead, they have utilised “fuzzy…