Author: Daniel Williams

A new report issued by the Health Research Board (HRB) has issued its first report regarding gambling trends in Ireland revealed that gambling addiction is a problem linked to substance abuse and economic deprivation. The Health Research Board shared that detailed information on problem gambling is still quite limited and urged the authorities to take the correlation between gambling addiction and socio-economic deprivation into account when making decisions regarding the number of gambling outlets in Ireland. The government agency, which is responsible for coordination, funding and oversight of medical search…

For the time being, there is a variety of legal and social mechanisms aimed at protecting people from self-harm, with the majority of them being focused on raising public awareness on certain issues and provision of different reach-out programs, helplines and clinics. Others, on the other hand, are stricter in the way they address individuals in need of help. But still, the implementation of a more compassionate or stricter approach depends on every case individually. Most recently, the Insolvency Service of the UK has shortlisted 32 individuals who would be…

One of the key recommendations of an independent review into sports integrity and online gambling that was carried out in 2018 is set to be diminished following the gambling industry’s negative and unfavourable response. The Sport Integrity Arrangements of the Wood Review of Australia once called for real-time detection of betting fraud and response capability. However, a recent Regulatory Impact Statement into the proposed ASWS (Australian Sports Wagering Scheme) warned that the country’s Government has taken into consideration the implementation of a non-real-time data platform, which is designed in a…

Campaigners seeking a ban on gambling advertising and gambling sponsorship deals in football suspended are organising an event that would see them walk between Edinburgh and Glasgow. More than 40 individuals affected by gambling, including some recovering problem gamblers and their families, will participate in the 60-mile march between the two largest cities in Scotland, which is set to end at Hampden Park – the national stadium in Glasgow. A group of 40 of us – all harmed by gambling – are walking to encourage these clubs without gambling sponsors…

Reports say that the long-awaited proposals for the UK Government to bring reforms to the country’s gambling legislation are being delayed and are not likely to get officially announced until May. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) started a review of gambling laws in December 2020, following increasing concerns over rising problem gambling rates and gambling exposure of children through advertising and football sponsorship. As previously reported, a white paper was officially expected to be published before the end of last year. However, the authorities delayed the…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) revealed that recently-held research has found that operations of illegal lotteries available on the social media platform Facebook were disrupted. During the investigation, which was preliminarily focused on the unlicenced and illegal lotteries’ operations, the major gambling regulatory body in the UK has worked in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies through the Government Agency Intelligence Network (GAIN). The UKGC has also joined forces with specialists from the social networking platform. The services of lotteries operating without an operating licence or in violation of the…

The casino regulatory body of Western Australia has admitted that it failed to properly manage some conflicts of interest at the time it was monitoring Crown Perth’s operations. It is the Gaming and Wagering Commission – a part-time regulatory board consisting of 7 members that holds meeting every month – that currently regulates the casino property of the Australian gambling giant. In its operations, the Commission is assisted by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSCI). Currently, a specially-established Royal Commission is still holding an investigation whether…

The National Health Service (NHS) is making preparations to cut all ties to its addiction clinics’ funding by the UK gambling industry because officers fear that gambling-related money could compromise their work. The move of the NHS comes at a time when public health concerns have been constantly rising, along with calls for gambling products and services to be addressed in the same way as tobacco products. As reported by The Times, sources close to the matter have revealed that the final decision will be made by the end of…

Some new analysis of the UK problem gambling charity GambleAware has shown that up to 1 million women in the country could be at risk of experiencing gambling-related harm. The revelations came right before the launch of GambleAware’s new campaign that is especially aimed at women and seeks to highlight the most common signs of gambling addiction and encourage female problem gamblers to seek support. The largest British gambling charity has confirmed that local gambling addicts are mostly male but also noted that the number of women who seek treatment…