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In an important move to strengthen the country’s digital gambling sector anti-money laundering (AML) regulation, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has restricted online sportsbook operators from accepting wagers from unverified users. The move has been unveiled as part of the latest effort of the regulatory body to consolidate the country’s safeguards against money laundering. Under the new rules, betting operators that hold an operating licence in Australia will now have to require all online customers to verify themselves before they are allowed to place bets. Non-complying consumers…

A new study cited by the Christian Institute found that local media during the English Premier League’s (EPL) opening weekend were flooded by gambling-related adverts. Research commissioned by 5 News found that British viewers of the Premier League were literally bombarded with thousands of gambling messages across TV and radio sports news, selected match coverage, and social media channels between August 11th and 14th, 2023. As a result, the Christian Institute scolded the gambling review of the UK Government for its failure to tackle much-expanded gambling advertising. Experts from the…

An investigation by Guardian Australia has revealed that more and more young people in the country come of age with anxiety and depression, alongside relationship breakdowns and debt due to getting hooked on gambling while being adolescent. According to data provided by Gambling Help Online, there was a 16% growth in the number of young people at the age of 24 and under who got in contact with the help service over the 2022/2023 financial year. The same research also found that young people between 15 and 24 years of…

Aussie-facing online sportsbook Betr is to award a record $40 million in payouts after pro-rugby team Penrith Panthers pulled off a 26-24 win against the Brisbane Broncos last Sunday to earn their third successive premiership title in the National Rugby League. The News Corp-backed sportsbook launched a promotional offer last fall in September, providing newly registered customers with the opportunity to place wagers on the outcomes of five events. These included the 2023 NRL and AFL grand finals, the Melbourne Cup, the FIFA World Cup, and NBA games. The sportsbook…

After multiple delays, the UK Government finally released its much-awaited White Paper on Gambling several months ago. Unfortunately, local officials reported that both the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) and the paper mistakenly presented crucial data figures regarding the country’s gambling addiction rates. The “problem gambling” rate is one of the long-running indicators used to measure how effective the responsible gambling initiatives of local gambling operators are. It calculates where a certain market stands in regard to the gambling addiction penetration of consumers who are considered at risk of developing gambling…

The state of New South Wales has shared some concerns regarding the volume of gambling advertising. Despite that, local authorities refused to side with an inquiry’s call for a full ban on gambling adverts within a three-year period, prompting fears that federal Labour may use state lawmakers’ resistance not to suspend the practice but to rather opt for some new limits. Several consultations with state and territory ministers, who are currently engaged in the regulation of the local gambling sector, regarding the proposed advertising ban were carried out on September…

The Football Association (FA) is currently facing criticism over alleged double standards after an investigation held by the Guardian unveiled that the owner of an English Premier League (EPL) club may have drawn benefit from wagers placed on the game in his own name. The revelations involve the owner of Brentford FC Matthew Benham. Currently, the club’s striker Ivan Toney is serving an eight-month ban for violating the gambling rules of the FA. Mr Benham has been one of the few multimillionaire EPL club owners who have been taking advantage…

Video games simulating gambling are set to be restricted to adults only as part of a new crackdown that has been endorsed by Australia’s top lawmakers. A couple of days ago, the Standing Council of Attorney-General agreed to establish new mandatory classifications on computer games that feature gambling-like content, as of 2024. The new set of laws is set to be brought into action as of September 2024 and will mandate two controls that are similar to adult-related content. Under the provisions of the new laws, computer games simulating gambling,…

Gambling has become one of the most popular activities on a global scale, and Australia is no exception. In fact, the origins and popularity of gambling have been a crucial socio-cultural phenomenon in Australia. The first signs of gambling in the country can be traced back to 1810. Back then, it was associated mostly with the first official horse race betting meeting in Sydney’s Hyde Park, or in other words – the first time when Australian people were allowed to legally place wagers. Other forms of gambling followed. The first…

Gamblers in Queensland have racked up north of AU$5 billion in losses during the fiscal 2022-2023, according to the latest data released by the government of Australia’s northeastern state. The figures reveal Queenslanders’ gambling losses have increased by 11.3% during the last reporting period, jumping from AU$4.6 billion in the previous year to a whopping $5.1 billion in 2022-2023. The new figures also indicate residents of the state have lost 18.6% more to gambling compared to the last fiscal year before the coronavirus pandemic, when their losses surpassed AU$4.3 billion.…