Author: Daniel Williams

The Commonwealth Bank has faced a monetary fine worth AU$150,000 because it was found guilty of increasing a gambling addict’s credit limit with the customer having previously informed it about his problem gambling. At the time, the gambler had also said he was unwilling to get such a credit limit increase because he could not efficiently control his gambling habits. The Federal Court found that, with these actions, the bank had violated the responsible lending provisions of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. Still, the court revealed that the breach…

A 41-year-old ex-financial planner, who allegedly misappropriated a total of AU$8.4 million from the investment accounts of 33 of his clients, has backed the gambling reform bill of Andrew Wilkie that is seeking to make companies take responsibility for stolen money. The entire amount has been lost, as Gavin Fineff gambled it away by placing some massive bets with some of the most popular Australian gambling operators. The beginning of the week saw Mr Fineff join the Independent Tasmanian Member of Parliament and long-time anti-gambling advocate Andrew Wilkie in a…

Underage gambling addicts in the UK are getting treatment at the first National Health Service (NHS) child gambling clinic after their spending rose to £100,000. Yesterday, the Sunday People revealed more information regarding the crisis with young people’s problem gambling across the UK. The aforementioned shocking debts are only part of the problem, with more of the youngsters getting hooked on online casinos and sports betting. Reportedly, no less than 55,000 children between the age of 11 and 16, most of whom are boys, are facing serious problem gambling behaviour.…

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched a public consultation on proposals for the introduction of stricter rules and guidance aimed at ensuring better protection for underage individuals and vulnerable people against harm associated with gambling advertising. The Authority has proposed to update its rules and guidance in order to minimise the chance of gambling and lotteries adverts to be found appealing by young people and vulnerable adults. Until now, in the UK Advertising Codes, there have been strict and very specific restrictions regarding lotteries and gambling ads that are designed…

All gambling ads from Big Bash games in the state of New South Wales (NSW) will be banned under a new deal was signed. In 2019, a huge sponsorship offer from a gambling operator to the Big Bash League (BBL) was turned down by Cricket Australia, and now a 2-year deal was signed between the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling and Cricket NSW. Under the terms of the newly-signed agreement, no gambling ads or sponsorship deals will be allowed. The deal prevents state’s cricket teams, including NSW Blues, Sydney Sixers…

Australian banks are taking further measures that would make them more responsible lenders, especially when it comes to the use of credit cards for gambling transactions. In fact, the efforts towards a ban on using credit cards for gambling has been increasing for some time. Back in July 2019, one of the major banks in Australia, Macquarie, revealed that it had decided to suspend its customers from using their credit cards to pay for their gambling. All transactions registered under the gambling merchant category are automatically suspended, as confirmed by…

A few hours ago the UK gambling and racing sectors suffered another major blow. Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, confirmed that the country will face what he called a “time-limited firebreak” as of 6:00 PM on October 23rd. The measures, which will practically take Wales back to the lockdown restrictions unveiled in March 2020, will be on for 17 days. They will result in the closure of a total of 366 betting outlets. As revealed by the authorities, the lockdown is set to affect so-called non-essential businesses that…

The Government of New South Wales (NSW) has faced accusations of undermining the new greyhound watchdog of the state by forcing it to become dependent on funding from the industry. The greyhound welfare integrity commission of the state was created after some evidence of live baiting and animal cruelty since race dogs had been killed when they were unable to participate in any more races or were not useful for races. The findings fuelled a ban of the industry in 2016 but it was lifted three months later following much…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has revealed further data showing how the coronavirus pandemic has affected gambling behaviour in the country. The data gathered by Licensed Betting Operators (LBOs) that offer their services on high streets across the UK reflects the period between March and August and covers in-person and online gambling operations and also includes consumer research. According to the latest data for August, the online market slightly decreased in size. The number of bets was reduced by 2%, and the number of active customers fell by 7%. Betting…

The UK Government has revealed that Merseyside casinos and betting outlets are to cease operations as of today, October 14th. The closures will be made as part of the measures taken by the authorities to stop the further spread of the coronavirus infection. On October 12th, Prime Minister Boris Johnson officially announced a new three-tier system of restrictions in England. The system is to apply to each of the country’s regions depending on the risk of transmission of the infection. The first tier would include regions with the lowest rates…