Author: Daniel Williams

Declan Cregan, a recovering gambling addict who began betting when he was a teenager, spoke with the BBC on his struggles with gambling harm and the work he now does with the charity Gambling With Lives to educate teenagers in Northern Ireland about the risks of wagering. According to Cregan, his interest in gambling began when he first scored a £7 win by staking £1 on a roulette wheel. He was 15 at the time, and by age 16, wagering had become a part of his everyday life. He would…

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland met with health experts and anti-gambling advocates on Friday to discuss the upcoming changes to Australia’s gambling advertising legislation. As reported by Guardian Australia, no proposals to limit gambling ads on field signs or player jerseys during live games were announced, and the lack of such measures is something several gambling companies criticised on Friday, according to the Australian Financial Review. Moreover, already planned restrictions will not apply to newspapers. Instead, the meeting confirmed the previously rumoured plans that, as opposed to a blanket ban on…

According to anonymous sources that have reached out to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the upcoming cabinet meeting on Monday will not cover Labour’s rumoured gambling reforms due to internal disagreements. Last week saw the emergence of rumours that as a result of alleged consultations with industry stakeholders, the Albanese Government is planning to limit TV ads to two per hour until 10 pm, prohibit gambling adverts an hour before and after live sports events, and ban the promotion of gambling during children’s programmes. Only online adverts will be made…

According to a statement issued by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA), Leighton Bennet and Billy Warriner have been suspended over accusations surrounding match-fixing. The DRA launched an investigation into their alleged misconduct with the assistance of the Gambling Commission Sports Betting Intelligence after being alerted of a series of suspicious bets tied to four matches belonging to the Modus Super Series. All bets occurred between the 6th and 8th of September, 2023, and the games involved Leighton Bennett. The International Betting Integrity Association was quick to detect the betting activity…

In an interview with ABC Radio National’s Steve Cannane, Kai Cantwell, CEO of Responsible Wagering Australia, warned that blanket bans on gambling ads could endanger Australian gamblers by pushing them to illegal operators. The push to ban gambling ads completely was recently reignited when anonymous sources revealed the Albanese Government might not implement all 31 proposals from the Murphy Report, and could instead go with caps and a ban on gambling ads on social media. Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) is a lobby group that represents five major gambling companies that…

Last week, the Albanese Government was presented with an open letter signed by over 60 high-profile Australians, in which they urged for gambling ads to be banned completely and for all 31 proposals in the late Peta Murphy’s “You win some, you lose more” report to be implemented. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald’s Paul Sakkal published today, Ms Murphy’s husband, Rod Glover, implored the government to follow through with her proposals. Peta Murphy served as the head of The Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs…

Steve McCann, who was recently appointed as chief executive of The Star, has reportedly implored the government of New South Wales to grant The Star an extension to the state’s planned deadline on mandatory carded play implementation. As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald’s Amelia McGuire, anonymous sources have revealed that senior members of the NSW government held discussions on Wednesday regarding the said policy. The system is set to overhaul in-person gaming across New South Wales casinos, seeing as it will have patrons of The Star and Crown Resorts…

Researchers from the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at the University of Stirling have published a study that sheds light on young adults’ exposure to gambling ads in Ireland and how they feel about such marketing. According to the results, those aged between 18 and 34 are exposed to a large volume of gambling-centred marketing, in some cases on a daily basis. Respondents’ reception to potential regulations that would impose stricter restrictions on how gambling is advertised was largely positive, although some were against a blanket ban on betting…

Following anonymous reports of the Albanese Government’s alleged plans to opt for imposing a cap on gambling ads as opposed to a full ban, government officials reached out to anti-gambling advocates and invited them to a Friday briefing on the reforms. However, permission to attend was only offered under the condition that organisations sign lengthy non-disclosure agreements that would reportedly prevent them from discussing information regarding the reforms publicly. Meanwhile, a betting scandal threatens to deregister the coach of the North Sydney Bears rugby team. Chief Advocate of the Alliance…

Carlton Entertainment Group’s CEO, Debbie Quirke, has spoken out about the impact the Irish Government’s proposed €10 stake limit on land-based casino games will have on her Dublin-based Carlton Casino and other small businesses. The Gambling Regulation Bill is also set to cap winnings at €3,000, and as reported by the Irish Times, Ms Quirke considers the restrictions to be discriminatory since they only target businesses centred around games of chance, while no such stake limits will be imposed on sports betting. The National Lottery will also be exempt from…