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The Australian Greens Party has unveiled a transition plan aimed at the closure of commercial horse racing in the country. At the time when the announcement was made, Green Senator Mehreen Faruqi described the sport as inhumane, deadly and incompatible with animal welfare. The transition plan that has been announced by the Greens consists of two steps. It involves the implementation of a horse betting levy aimed at funding the cessation of the commercial horse racing industry in Australia and the establishment of a Horse Racing Transition Taskforce. On its…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published its interim evaluation of the successful implementation of the credit card ban in the country. According to the gambling regulatory body, the suspension of credit card use for gambling transactions is popular among local customers, and no unintended harmful effects associated with its implementation have been registered so far. In April 2020, the UK Government officially banned credit cards from being used for gambling transactions as part of its measures to protect local consumers from gambling-related harm by stripping them of the chance to…

New research held by the UK price comparison platform NerdWallet has shown that British residents are currently gambling more than they used to before the coronavirus pandemic. A survey into Brits’ spending on gambling services was conducted by NerdWallet for the Safer Gambling Awareness Week in 2021 that is being held from November 1st to November 7th in the country. The research found that almost two-fifths of frequent gamblers (or, in other words, people who were engaged in gambling activities no less than once a month) have spent more on…

The chief executive officer of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), Michael Dugher, has explained that keeping gambling safe has been the top priority of the UK gambling industry. The statement was made by Mr Dugher at the start of the Safer Gambling Week. The Safer Gambling Week is an annual campaign that has been organised in the UK since 2017. It has been supported by the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA), the Bingo Association, as well as by the Betting and Gaming Council. This year, the Safer Gambling…

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has introduced some new measures through the Assembly. In her opinion, they will help the local authorities make gambling safer in Northern Ireland. Minister Hargey took part in the Safer Gambling Week, an initiative led by the gambling industry and aimed at raising people’s awareness of gambling, and more specifically, of safer gambling. Speaking at the official start of the initiative, Ms Hargey has shared that she was bringing a piece of legislation through the Assembly. As she explained, the proposed bill contains a number of…

Casino companies in the UK will face a change in their tax payments as of April 1st, 2022. This became clear after the autumn budget was delivered to the House of Commons by Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Reportedly, gross gaming yield (GGY) bands are set to grow in line with inflation, which basically means that gambling companies in the UK will have to generate winnings in order to be able to make the increased gaming duty payments. Gaming duty in the UK has a progressive tax structure, in which companies become…

According to some new data published by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), about 25% of British adults aged 16 and older have gambled online over the past four weeks. A total of 4,005 individuals took part in the study of the country’s gambling regulatory body that took part. The study found that 25% of them had participated in some form of online gambling services in the previous four weeks during the course of the research from September 2020 to September 2021. That was an increase from some previous adult gambling…

According to new research, children and young people find gambling advertisements published on social media significantly more appealing than adults. A study, which was carried out by the University of Bristol, found that disguised esports gambling adverts and marketing materials were found quite fascinating by individuals under 25 years of age, as younger people associated them with positive emotions. More than 650 British children, young people and adults participated in the research that took place between May and July 2021. The researchers broke down the age groups as follows: 210…

A significant redesign of Irish brick-and-mortar bookmakers’ shopfronts could be forced as it is quite hard to define what actually constitutes gambling advertising. Ireland’s Department of Justice is set to closely monitor the branding used in bookmakers’ premises, as well as their potential marketing powers. The move comes as part of a long-expected crackdown on the gambling sector and the prevalence of gambling advertising in the country. Recently, no issues associated with bookies’ shopfronts had been raised, but James Browne, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, explained…

The UK gambling regulatory body has moved to the next phase of its project aimed at improving the quality of its adult gambling prevalence and participation statistics available to stakeholders. Now, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has confirmed that the new research schemes on the matter are set to be piloted between October 2021 and March 2022, so it had already moved onto the next phase of the headline project. Earlier in 2021, the country’s gambling watchdog launched a consultation on so-called “research methodologies” following some proposals to change the…