Author: Daniel Williams

Crown Resorts’ Chief of Financial Crime and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO), Nick Stokes, told the Victorian Royal Commission his attempts to bring additional members to the group’s understaffed anti-money laundering department were stifled under the pretence “casinos had always been that way”. Mr Stokes joined the gambling company in the fall of 2019 and was quick to identify the issues associated with its junket operations. A New South Wales inquiry into Crown’s operations in 2020 established certain junkets frequently received support from organised crime syndicates that engage in illicit…

The beginning of the week saw Victorian gambling watchdog provide evidence to the Royal Commission into Crown Resorts that the gambling company management’s lied and intentionally delayed to launch an investigation into the arrests of the 19 China-based employees of the operator in 2016. One of the investigators at the state’s gambling watchdog, Timothy Bryant, explained that the refusal of Crown Resorts to cooperate took it more time to find out the truth about the Australian casino giant’s failings to protect its staff members. As Casino Guardian reported at the…

A think tank led by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has stated that the authorities should place banks under a legal duty of care in order to help gambling addicts stop spending money they cannot actually afford to lose. According to a study held by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), the Government should establish a new ombudsman figure empowered to order the gambling operators to slow the gameplay pace for problem gamblers, to reduce their betting stakes, or to stop accepting more bets from a problem gambler for…

This week, Perth Casino Royal Commission heard that state regulators were unwilling to check the venue about some potential criminal risks that might have occurred. This has been considered one of the most scandalous revelations made before the Royal Commission, even amid allegations of criminal infiltration and money laundering the Crown Resorts’ gambling facility in Perth. When asked how they used to monitor money laundering, Barry Sargeant, the former chair of the Gaming and Wagering Commission in Western Australia, explained that he thought such monitoring and control was carried out…

New research has suggested that underage individuals as young as 14 years old in Ireland are being exposed to gambling in a variety of ways. Some Government officials and local lawmakers have criticised gambling operators earmarking them as irresponsible and calling for them to impose stricter measures on gambling advertising. It turns out that gambling is being encountered by children in Ireland on a daily basis, with the matter raising some public safety concerns. Every year, a study to examine gambling participation trends among young people in England and Scotland…

Broadcasters have faced calls to ban all gambling adverts during the European Championship as part of the efforts to provide better protection to consumers who are considered at risk of being affected by gambling-related harm. An open letter has been sent to broadcasters, including Sky Sports, ITV, Talksport and BT Sport by a group of 60 problem gamblers, Members of Parliament and clinicians, who claim there is strong evidence that gambling adverts affect the chance for people betting. Five Members of Parliament signed the letter, which is sent after reports…

Western Australia’s recently-appointed Royal Commission into the operations of Crown Resorts’ casino in Perth has heard that members of the local gambling regulator are not experienced enough in casino regulation. The probe into Crown Perth has already started and is currently aimed at examining whether the gambling legislation framework of the state is fit for its purpose. The probe is also checking whether the Australian gambling giant is fit to keep its casino licence for the Crown Perth casino. The inquiry in Western Australia has started after a probe into…

A proposed measure seeking to suspend Australian people from using their credit cards for online gambling transactions has faced opposition by some companies that generate profit from gamblers going into debt. The gambling peak body of Australia has revealed it was against a proposed piece of legislation under which local gambling operators would be prevented from accepting credit card payments for online betting transactions. The bill was unveiled by Stirling Griff, a Centre Alliance Senator. It follows a similar measure being adopted in the UK, under which the acceptance, facilitation…

Discussions on banning gambling sponsorships are a part of the ongoing review of the 2005 Gambling Act. Forest Green Rovers is the first professional English football club to join this campaign and advocate for the end of promotional deals that advertise gambling in football. Forest Green Rovers, which has never agreed on a gambling sponsorship, has teamed with the Gambling with Lives charity in the Big Step campaign, striving to ban sponsorships and other promotions of gambling activities in professional football. Gambling with Lives is a charity organisation that was…

The coronavirus pandemic outbreaks had most of the public activities ceased all over the world, including in Australia, as the authorities implemented rules about social distancing measures, curfews and lockdowns. The aforementioned measures affected all spheres of the economy, including the gambling industry, especially the brick-and-mortar gambling services. After the social distancing and lockdown measures were imposed, it became impossible for Australian people to visit casinos. The Covid-19 pandemic brought some bigger changes in the sector, highlighting some new trends associated with online gambling and customer behaviour. Casino gamblers in…