Author: Daniel Williams

According to new research, the number of Australian residents who have participated in gambling declined by over 2.6 million indiiduals during the Covid-19 pandemic in comparison to a year ago. The new data provided by the Australian National University showed that the forced shutdown of clubs and pubs at the beginning of 2020 significantly minimised access to gambling services and the overall rate decline from the almost 66% from the gambling participation rates before the pandemic to approximately 53%. At the time when venues resumed operations, the gambling participation rates…

A Scottish Member of Parliament has urged parents to boycott video games that contain so-called loot boxes. The vice-chairman of the Westminster’s committee on gambling-related harm, Ronnie Cowan, has warned that in-game items that could be purchased for real money could trigger problem gambling in underage individuals. Currently, loot boxes and special in-game items are featured by some of the most popular PlayStation and Xbox games offered on a global scale, including Fortnite, Fifa and Overwatch. They provide players with the chance to unlock new special items for their characters…

Australian casinos have been warned by the anti-money laundering authority AUSTRAC about a series of transnational criminal activities that have been taking advantage of junket gambling. Thanks to the agreements between casino operators and tour agencies, junket gambling has become a very popular activity in Australia. AUSTRAC is urging casinos to take firm measures to prevent any risk of money laundering that may occur as a result of junket gambling. The authority warned that junkets are often targeting high-risk individuals from foreign countries as their potential patrons. In a 2017…

Earlier this week, it was announced that the UK government will have an early review of the Horserace Betting Levy. The news was well-received by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) as the racing industry was working on a recovery plan to overcome the huge losses that came as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The last time the levy was reformed was in 2017 when it extended to offshore bookmakers that offer bets on British racing. Although the next review was scheduled for 2024, the government announced that it will…

The upcoming year will introduce a big change for the UK National Lottery as the minimum age will be raised. Currently, individuals who are 16 years of age or older can participate in the National Lottery. Towards the end of 2021, however, the minimum age for individuals who want to engage in the lottery will be increased to 18. The reported change of the age limits followed the gambling laws review that was put in force by the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden. While the new age limit will be official…

The brother of Chelsea FC’s legend John Terry – Paul – has faced a £1,000 fine from the Football Association (FA) for breaking the country’s gambling rules. Mr Terry admitted that he had made 209 breaches of the UK betting regulations by making bets on football matches, including 35 bets on competitions his club had participated in. The losses of the West Brom loans manager amounted to a total of £46,916. As mentioned above, the bets he made included competitions that involved his club. Despite all questions raised by his…

A corruption investigator of Western Australia is inspecting whether the public servant Paul Whyte was intentionally trying to sell land to the State Government at a higher price to support his gambling associates. The investigation is supposed to reveal the truth about the sale of the Roebourne estate, which was sold to the State Government for $1.3 million. A representative of the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) said that this price was intentionally inflated and the land could have been bought cheaper. The worst part about this deal is that…

This week, ministers in the UK are expected to take into consideration the long-discussed ban on gambling companies’ sponsorship agreements with professional sports clubs in a long-awaited review of gambling legislation. The ban on gambling sponsorship deals and the removal of betting companies’ logos from football clubs’ shirts has been one of the most controversial measures that are to be discussed in the review of the country’s 2005 Gambling Act, which is aimed at ensuring better consumer protection across the UK gambling industry and making the sector more up to…

This week, the Gambling Division of the Gibraltar Government announced it had completed its 12-month thematic review of the anti-money laundering risk assessment controls and processes of the licensed online gambling companies that offer their services to local customers. The review has been focused on making sure that operators have adopted robust and adequate anti-money laundering measures that would help them identify and tackle any possible challenges in customer onboarding and ongoing contact in line with Gibraltar’s legislation. The Government’s Gambling Division further shared that the review engaged and analysed…

Earlier this week, Ireland has brought its new interim Gaming and Lotteries act into effect ahead of the massive regulatory reform of the local gambling sector. The Gambling and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019 came into effect on December 1st and is focused on making the promotion of land-based gambling services more up to date. The new piece of legislation is amending Ireland’s Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956-2013. It is set to focus on streamlining the application process for gambling and lottery licences and the process for gaming and lottery services…