Author: Daniel Williams

The New South Wales (NSW) Crime Commission has unveiled a dedicated investigation into money laundering via the poker machines available in the state. The crime-fighting agency in NSW will use its powers to examine allegations that local pokies have been used as laundromats to wash great amounts of dirty funds. Commissioner Michael Barnes has confirmed that the agency has engaged itself in the investigation and called for academics, whistleblowers, past or current employees of clubs and pubs and regular members of the public to make submissions to the probe, called…

Philip Crawford, chairman of the major gambling regulatory body in the state of New South Wales (NSW), has recently called for a thorough investigation of some suspected money laundering activities that have allegedly been taking place inside local non-gaming venues. Reportedly, slot machines would facilitate the money laundering activities in question. For some time, NSW is being considered a destination with a flourishing poker machine market. Currently, the state hosts a total of 95,000 pokies, with the majority of them being situated in hotels, pubs, clubs and other non-gaming venues…

The gambling losses in Tasmania have been subject to a significant increase in 2020/2021 as state authorities imposed some restrictions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, while the JobSeeker payment was also allocated. The overall losses on electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and Keno at local clubs and buns surged by almost 50% in comparison to the year before, when the Tasmanian economy suffered the hardest blow of the coronavirus pandemic. According to figures provided by Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission, the local residents’ losses on club- and pub-based pokies rose from…

According to recent media reports, the UK Government has proposed to put off the planned overhaul of the country’s gambling industry. This, however, has fuelled anti-gambling campaigners’ concerns that the postponement could result in more negative consequences for problem gamblers and even to suicide. The gambling laws review has been part of the 2019 general election manifesto of the Conservative party, which used it to respond to the increasing concern of local politicians, anti-gambling campaigners and civil society groups about the regulation of the British gambling industry that is estimated…

The Australian bookmaker Rob Waterhouse has faced an illegal gambling advertising conviction in Downing Centre Local Court on December 9th. As a result, he was imposed a monetary fine of AU$4,500 by the Liquor and Gaming New South Wales. Back in 2020, the liquor and gaming regulatory body in the state of NSW revealed that it responded to reports that Rob Waterhouse was offering a promotion of five daily boosts, which provided players with the opportunity to get improved odds on up to 5 bets on a daily basis on…

The UK gambling regulatory body shared that anti-money laundering and social responsibility remain the two biggest weaknesses for the country’s gambling sector. This was made clear by Andrew Rhodes, the Chief Executive Officer of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) that has just published its Compliance and Enforcement Report for the 2020/2021 financial year. The Report provides more detailed information about the extensive casework of the UK gambling watchdog against local licence holders and the flaws in their policies, detailing where the gambling sector needs to raise the current standards. In…

The Gambling Minister revealed that gambling operators could be required to ask their customers for payslips in order to prevent losses punters could not afford. Chris Philp, who took over the position in September and is currently overseeing a comprehensive review of the country’s gambling sector, cited a “moral obligation” of the companies to tackle problem gambling. He also outlined a number of proposals made by the Government, which indicate the authorities’ willingness to impose stricter measures on companies operating in the sector, with these restrictions expected to reduce the…

A fan of Norwich City F.C. has shared that he was left literally on the brink of suicide after losing more than £98,000 at the time when the online gambling platform Football Index collapsed. The 27-year-old player, who works in the sales division at an engineering company and specifically asked for anonymity, joined Football Index’s gambling platform back in 2018 after he saw it advertised on sports channels. Initially, he invested a total of £3,000 in the platform but in the months prior to the collapse of the company into…

The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has provided its support to an English professional cricket player by paying his gambling debts off. A few years ago, Azeem Rafiq, a 30-year-old cricket player had racked up massive gambling-related debts worth thousands of dollars. To help him, the PCA offered its moral and financial support by paying his debts off and directing him to professional gambling counselling. The story came to light amid some allegations of racial discrimination that the PCA is currently facing. Mr Rafiq himself has described his interest in gambling…

The largest gathering of people who had lost a friend or a member of their families as a result of gambling-related suicide is set to take place in the UK on December 8th. The victims’ families are expected to urge the UK Government to initiate a series of independent investigations into deaths related to the local gambling industry. According to a study of Public Health England published in September, over 409 English people take their own lives because of problem gambling every year. The study was actually the first time…