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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which is the body responsible for the regulation of broadcasting, television and radio communications, and online content, has called for a further extension for the ban on gambling advertisements in the country. The watchdog proposed for further changes to be brought to the restrictions aimed at protecting local children from reaching gambling promotional content at the time of live sports events streamed on the Internet. The proposed amendments require creating a “safe zone” across traditional and new media platforms during live sports events…

Schemers have managed to drain approximately AU$110,000 from Facebook users in West Australia after the latter were tricked into thinking they had won the lottery. The scammers used stolen images from local Facebook users’ accounts to duplicate their profiles on the social network. They send messages to friends of such people, encouraging them to claim lottery prizes claimed to be worth from AU$150,000 to AU$300,000. However, in order to be eligible to claim the fake lotto prizes, the victims of the scheme were asked to first pay a certain amount…

The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Rev Alan Smith has called for the Government to enact plans related to tackling gambling and possible gambling-related harm. Recently, anti-gambling campaigners have blamed the UK Government for the delay in the reduction of the maximum stake allowed on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2 and urged the authorities to implement the changes as quickly as possible. The crackdown that is set to be imposed on the maximum FOBT stake was officially announced in May 2018 but local bookmakers raised a…

Today, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published a new and revolutionary approach to understanding the actual range of gambling-related harm that could be inflicted on British society. The framework for action was conducted by Dr Heather Wardle representing the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), an independent advisor of the major gambling regulatory body in the country. The report has been issued as a result of the partnership between the UKGC, the RGSB and the local problem gambling-oriented charity GambleAware as a funding body. It is aimed at looking for a…

Recent gambling surveys have shown that approximately 528,000 British people are being affected by problem gambling, with about 80% of them facing the negative effects of gambling, including increasing financial debts that can bring them to a financial breakdown. Now, challenger banks Starling and Monzo have decided to give a helping hand to the players who would like to prevent themselves from spending too much on their gambling habits. The above-mentioned banks have added an option to automatically block payments made to betting outlets and online gambling websites from their…

Clare Gill, the Director of Regulatory Affairs at Nine Entertainment, commented on the recent changes brought to the live sports betting advertising in Australia, saying that the new regulation risks to emphasise too much on broadcasters rather than on other marketing channels where such advertising is also happening. As reported by Mumbrella, Ms. Gill took part in Mumbrella’s Sports Marketing Summit which is being held for the fourth year now and spoke of some of the problems associated with sports betting advertising and increased regulatory scrutiny in the country. She…

The unfortunate story of an Australian gambling addict, Gary Van Duinen, who committed suicide, has once again raised some questions about the actual costs of poker machines. The highly addictive nature of pokies has been among the most discussed topics in terms of constantly increasing rates of problem gambling in the country, and more specifically, in New South Wales (NSW). The state of NSW has registered a record-high in annual losses estimated to AU$7 billion on the currently existing 95,000 poker machines. Moreover, the recent budget of the state projects…

The UK Gambling Commission unveiled that Ladbrokes misled it at the time when the investigation into the Black Dave case was taking place. The case in question was brought to an end yesterday, with a statement issued to warn bookmakers that need to be more careful when handling Rule 4 deductions in horse racing. Back in 2017, the trainer David Evans faced a monetary penalty under the ruling body of the local racing industry for delaying notifications of a non-runner, Tango Sky. According to investigation findings, this provided him with…

The Ministry of Health of New Zealand published the results of a new research aimed at bringing more light on the gambling habits of Pacific children and their mothers. The research, which the Ministry funded, is part of the long-term Pacific Islands Families (PIF) Study and has provided some useful knowledge about the changes in gambling behaviours and risk factors over a prolonged period of time. The research is also aimed at providing a better perspective of the environmental, family and social factors which are associated with gambling. The PIF…

Recently, the reports of professional athletes being seriously addicted to gambling have become quite common. In fact, it turns out that Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) players are no exception at a time when problem gambling on the territory of Ireland is spreading unchecked to an unimaginable extent. Currently, the gambling industry is one of the largest sectors in Ireland’s economy, with sports betting being referred to as the most popular gambling activity among local players, followed by lotteries and casino slot games. Land-based casino sector currently generates only a small…