Author: Daniel Williams

A recently held meeting saw the boss of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee violently confront the CEO of the UK regulatory body over claims of insufficient transparency and effectiveness of the watchdog. The meetings took place late last week and involved a debate between Andrew Rhodes, the CEO of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), and Julian Knight, the chair of the DCMS. At the time, the executive director of the UK gambling regulator, John Tanner, also took part in the discussion, which was held after the country’s…

Chris Philp, the UK gambling minister, has shared that the White Paper, which is expected to be published any moment now as a result of the Government’s gambling laws review, will focus on online casinos and slots. He explained that those were the games he found most concerning as he addressed the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee. When asked about the assessment that had been made of gambling-related harm caused by lotteries and so-called instant-win games, the country’s gambling minister cited the 2018 health survey for England, which…

The English Premier League (EPL) has addressed its clubs, asking them to support discontinuing the gambling sponsorship deal practices in a last-minute move to avert legislation. Reportedly, EPL chiefs have made the request as part of an effort to avoid the threat of a Government-enforced ban. According to reports, the Premier League bosses contacted clubs at the beginning of the week, proposing plans for the clubs to voluntarily end shirt sponsorship agreements with gambling operators within 3 years. The interested parties have been asked to respond quickly at a time…

New regulations that have provided greater enforcement powers to the gambling regulatory body of Victoria, allowing it to further investigate the operations, policies and services of Crown Melbourne and take action against it in case it violates the state’s code of conduct, have been enforced. At the beginning of July, the Victorian Government officially confirmed that the new regulatory powers came into force. Under the new legislative rules, inspectors have been provided with greater access to the casino’s surveillance equipment and books. Apart from that, the core business of the…

Recent reports that the long-awaited restrictions on the UK gambling sectors are set to be altered so that they are practically weaker in force enraged anti-gambling campaigners. Over the last couple of days, there have been rumours that the British Government could drop the mandatory levy on the local gambling sector, which has been supposed to pay for extremely important treatment of problem gambling, from the package of updated regulatory measures that are expected to be officially unveiled in the next few weeks. Gambling operators would be allowed to continue…

On June 29th, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) issued a legal update on the competition for the fourth operating licence of the National Lottery. The country’s gambling regulatory body revealed that it will now be able to continue with the National Lottery’s licensing procedure by implementing its decision and ensuring a timely and smooth transition to the new licence holder, for the benefit of good causes and customers. As the UKGC shared, on Wednesday, the UK High Court agreed to lift a suspension looming on the watchdog’s ability to formally…

The trading body that represents the licensed gambling companies in the UK has warned that the implementation of a ban on various promotions, such as free bet offers, would have a negative effect on punters who bet safely. The body also noted that such a measure would seriously hurt the multi-million-pound funding that is received by British racing every year. As Casino Guardian previously reported, anti-gambling campaigners have urged the UK Government to suspend special promotions, such as free bet offers, used by gambling companies to attract more customers and…

The major gambling regulatory body in the UK has officially announced that it is making changes to the way it operates as part of its efforts to make the best use of resources and in order to keep up with the constantly increasing demand in the sector. The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has shared that its licensing processes are set to be overhauled because the current dedicated account manager model turned out to be somehow inefficient. Under the existing system, each gambling operator is given a dedicated accounts manager. However,…

New Zealand’s Labour Government has announced its decision to make a significant investment in the prevention and minimisation of gambling-related harm. The country’s Government confirmed that gambling-related harm is considered a serious public health risk and could have an extremely negative impact on the well-being of local people, Whānau, and communities. According to estimates, 1 in 5 residents of New Zealand is set to experience gambling-related harm or know a relative or a close friend or colleague who does. Local authorities unveiled that they had invested NZ$76 million into a…

Earlier this week, the Government of Western Australia introduced a new piece of legislation to Parliament. Under the proposed bill, casino operators in the state will face penalties of up to AU$100 million for potential failures to comply with the regulation. Apart from adopting higher monetary penalties for gambling companies, the new legislation tabled by the Western Australian Government seeks to create a new gambling regulator. The move came at the same time when Kevin Anderson, the Hospitality and Racing Minister of New South Wales (NSW), announced a suite of…