Author: Daniel Williams

The independent body representing the legal gambling and betting operators in the UK has released details of a new study, reaffirming that local punters like gambling promotions and special bonus offers. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has made the announcement right ahead of the much-awaited release of the UK Government’s review of the Gambling Act. The study was conducted by YouGov on the gambling industry’s trade body’s behalf to probe into whether or not British gamblers approve of gambling and betting companies’ strategy to offer special promotions and bonus…

New research claims that individuals suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and problem gambling tend to learn through distinct reinforcement mechanisms. Scientists from the University of Melbourne have reported there are distinct patterns of reward-seeking behaviour of people suffering from gambling addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In a study published in PLOS Biology, the main author of the study, Shinsuke Suzuki, states that problem gamblers demonstrate boosted and blunter learning from rewards higher and lower than expected, respectively, while individuals who suffer OCD usually have lower-than-normal learning rates when receiving smaller-than-expected rewards.…

A Labour Party senator called for the Irish Government to consider imposing tougher restrictions on gambling advertising as local customers are literally bombarded by adverts, with the 2023 Cheltenham horse racing festival just getting underway. Mark Wall, a member of the Labour Party, commented on the issue while the iconic racing event was just about to start. Only a week ago, the Belgium Government took some steps on the matter, announcing a blanket ban on gambling advertising in the country as part of an effort to cut the exposure of…

A senior minister from the Liberal Party in New South Wales (NSW) has spoken for the first time about how he was literally forced out of a powerful Australian gambling lobby group’s portfolio and has urged the competent authorities to initiate an investigation into the group’s influence over the local Government. In an interview with Four Corners, Minister Victor Dominello shared that ClubsNSW – the trade group for the local gambling industry – has been pretty much the equivalent of “the gun lobby” in the US, confessing that poker machines,…

A new poll has shown that almost 80% of British punters are concerned that further restrictions on the betting and gambling sector are likely to push consumers to unsafe online gambling platforms that operate on the unregulated black market. According to new research that was carried out by YouGov for the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), 79% of local gamblers believe it was likely for the restrictions to result in people moving to unregulated websites where there are no limits for customers. At the same time, 70% of British gamblers…

The gambling sector has provided about 150 free tickets to shows, sporting events, and hospitality to politicians from the Federal Government since the 2019 elections. The findings have triggered some concerns regarding the potential for conflict of interest among transparency advocates across Australia. As revealed by some analysts of the interest registers of the Parliament by transparency organisation Open Politics, the majority of free gifts have been granted by Tabcorp, which is currently the largest sportsbook operator on the territory of the country. Other businesses operating in the sector, such…

The financial crime regulator in Australia has rolled out a second specialist unit as a response to the rising threat of money laundering in the local gambling industry, which has been recognised as a high risk by people with knowledge of the situation. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) confirmed the establishment of the new unit at the Regulating the Game conference that took place in Sydney earlier this week. At the time, the financial crime watchdog warned that it had found evidence of serious non-compliance with the…

The independent Member of Parliament Andrew Wilkie has called for the competent authorities that they should adopt higher fines for sports betting operators that violate their licence conditions. According to him, the fines are currently so low that they actually sent the wrong message to the local gambling sector which is worth about AU$50 billion. As Casino Guardian already reported, Ladbrokes recently suffered a monetary penalty of almost AU$80,000 for its failure to limit damages caused by a problem gambler who stole millions of dollars from his clients and friends…

Fans of the Australian Football League (AFL) are calling for a nationwide ban on gambling adverts at stadiums and on television channels. The move followed a major finding of the second yearly AFL Fans Association (AFLFA) survey, which found that nearly half (47%) of the almost 3,000 research respondents pointed out gambling advertising when asked to share all their concerns from a list. The results of the survey showed that gambling advertising has surpassed rule changes and has become the most common concern for supporters of the Australian Football League.…

Children in the state of Victoria are exposed to a large number of gambling ads as sports betting operators have been literally bombarding local TV channels with an average of over 900 adverts per day, as reported by the state’s official adviser on gambling-related harm. According to a report issued by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF), as a result, Victorian children and young adults have started associating gambling with sport. The discussion paper released a week ago states that a decision to put some restrictions on gambling advertising during…