Author: Daniel Williams

The biggest super funds in Australia have poured over AU$4.2 billion of workers’ retirement savings into the gambling sector – including poker machine manufacturers, lottery and casino operators – although some investment options claim to be socially aware. Investors in the largest poker machine operator in Australia – Endeavour Group – that currently operates 12,539 poker machines in 300 hotels across the nation, include the “Socially Aware” option run by AustralianSuper, the nation’s biggest fund, and the so-called “Sustainable Growth” option offered by Rest, a retail employee fund. Aristocrat Leisure…

An official of the Australian Football League (AFL) is one of the four individuals who have been taken into custody by police forces investigating some claims that an insider with knowledge of the Brownlow Medal tallies of the League provided a betting ring with sensitive information. The investigation is being carried out in cooperation between the Australian Football League and Sport Integrity Australia. Earlier today, detectives from the Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit of the Victoria Police arrested four individuals over suspicious betting activity associated with this season’s medal count. The…

This week, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) released its 2022 Young People and Gambling Report, an annual research that helps the competent authorities and regulators understand British children’s and young people’s behaviour, exposure and involvement in all types of gambling available in the country. The results of the study are used by the UK gambling watchdog to better protect this specific and probably most vulnerable group from the potential negative effects of gambling. In the latest survey, the UKGC revealed there is clearly a group who still finds it hard…

The state of New South Wales (NSW) moves toward the adoption of new voluntary gambling cards, although experts have called for the implementation of a mandatory measure. According to most recent reports, a greatly expanded voluntary trial of controversial gambling cards is likely to be the way the state Government responds to the findings of the NSW Crime Commission that recommended the implementation of a mandatory scheme as the most attractive measure aimed at combating crime penetration and money laundering in local clubs and pubs. On the other hand, anti-gambling…

The gambling environment in Australia seems to be changing. Although the number of people who gamble is smaller, there are local punters who bet more on sports. A Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey held in 2021 showed that fewer people are spending their money on gambling services, with a decline of approximately 300,000 reported gamblers since the last HILDA survey was held. However, the same research showed an increase in the number of Australians who bet on horse and dog races and other sports. According to…

The trade body representing the gambling industry in New South Wales (NSW) – ClubsNSW – has criticised the calls for the implementation of cashless gambling cards across the state’s clubs and pubs, claiming that such a measure would be more of a punishment for punters. As Casino Guardian already reported, the proposal is being supported by the NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, who has promised to crack down on money laundering in the state’s gambling industry, saying that he was willing to work in collaboration with industry representatives rather than forcing…

The data protection watchdog in the UK has rebuked the country’s Department for Education (DfE) over the provision of “improper access” to information for the identification of up to 28 million children. The controversial data was used for conducting age verification checks for gambling operators. Reportedly, the DfE provided Trustopia, an employment-screening firm, with access to a government database for individuals aged 14 and over, called “Learning Record Service” in the period from 2018 to 2020. However, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that the provision of such identifying information…

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has started an investigation into two gambling operators – bet365 and Sportsbet – following allegations that they have failed to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering legislation. On November 2nd, the country’s financial crime gambling regulatory body announced that it had reasons to suspect that the two aforementioned companies had or were still in violation of multiple sections of the Australian counter-terrorism financing and anti-money laundering laws. The AUSTRAC revealed that it will appoint independent auditors to investigate the suspected lack of…

Financial analysts, former employees and sports media experts have noted that Rupert Murdoch’s idea to merge Fox Corp and News Corp and profit from sports betting services needs yet to convince Wall Street experts that it is viable enough to meet goals, especially considering the fact that the valuations in the once flourishing gambling market. According to some people familiar with the situation, the proposal has been driven by his plans to consolidate his heritage in the hands of his son Lachlan Murdoch, who is currently the boss of Fox…

Online gambling operators will be required to implement new mandatory advertising taglines under the National Consumer Protection Framework’s new set of rules. The decision for the move has been based on new behavioural research that has been carried out alongside a current increase in problem gambling rates in online punters in Australia. The changes have been officially announced by the social services minister Amanda Rishworth earlier today, with the Federal Government promoting the rules as the first set of nationally-consistent messages in terms of the potential harm that could be…