News

Public Health England (PHE) has published its first evidence review of gambling-related harm on the territory of England. Now, the landmark study has provided information about the actual cost of problem gambling to the economy, saying it hit the £1.27-billion mark in 2019/2020 in England alone. In 2019, the PHE was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care to carry out a review of the evidence on gambling harms. Allegedly, the review includes the most thorough estimate of the economic costs faced by society as a result of…

A recent report has shown that Australian customers’ spending on gambling, electronic gadgets and home deliveries has increased during the 2021 lockdowns. Two companies that track consumer spending in Australia, AlphaBeta and illion, published some data indicating a massive spike in online gambling in the country. The real-time data provided by both analytics companies showed that Australian customers’ spending on gambling services almost tripled during the latest lockdowns in the states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). According to the newest data provided, housebound customer spending on online gambling…

A report of the UK Government into the collapse of the popular soccer trading platform Football Index has criticised the gambling and financial regulatory bodies in the country. According to the report, called the Independent Review of the Regulation of BetIndex Limited, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) failed to understand how complex the new betting product was, as well as the regulation of such product so that it granted the company the wrong type of operating licence. As Casino Guardian previously reported, Football Index was earmarked as a virtual stock…

Amid the ongoing review of the 2005 Gambling Act, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of the UK published an updated version of in-game purchases guidance. According to the new regulations, game developers and publishers will have to follow new guidelines on advertising microtransactions and in-game loot box purchases. Stress-inducing in-game elements like “Best Value” signs or in-game timers are also among the features that the ASA is currently tackling. The new guidance that ASA published includes regulations on in-game ads as well as common advertisements players can often see on…

The UK government could scrap a legislative loophole that enables offshore betting companies to promote themselves on the shirt fronts of Scottish and English football teams. The proposal might come as part of the authorities’ efforts to overhaul the country’s current gambling laws. As ministers are preparing to soon present their proposals for reforms, a full ban on betting firms’ logos on footballers’ shirts seems highly probable. The British government could go beyond the front-of-shirt sponsorship ban by targeting the white-label model many foreign gambling companies rely on to secure…

EU Lotto, which is the owner of Lottoland, is obligated to pay a £760,000 fine imposed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). The company will also need to go through independent auditing as the regulatory body discovered several failings in the social responsibility and money laundering policy of the company. In addition to the fine, EU Lotto also received an official warning from the UKGC due to its failures for the period between October 2019 and November 2020. Since the company failed to comply with the formal customer interaction guidance…

A nationwide survey conducted by Swansea University revealed 43% of military veterans in the UK have experienced the harmful effects of problem gambling. The research linked problem betting among British veterans to poor mental health and post-traumatic stress disorders. It established that ex-service members of the military are seven times more likely to become problem gamblers, compared to the other residents of the country. The research, which is the first of its kind, involved 1,037 former military members and 1,148 non-veterans sharing a similar gender profile and age group. It…

For years, gambling has been among the biggest branches of entertainment on a global scale. Over the last decade, playing traditional gambling games, such as roulette, blackjack, poker or slots machines has marked a significant increase thanks to new trends in technology and pop culture that have been adopted by gambling operators. Furthermore, the latest advance of technology has brought the traditional practice of people just going to a land-based casino gambling establishment to a whole new level, taking the experience online with a massive variety of online gambling services.…

Pacific people in New Zealand have been experiencing a disproportionate level of gambling-related harm in comparison to the ones living in the rest of the country, which is why there have been calls for regional authorities to bring in stricter rules in order to protect these people. According to reports, Pacific people account for about 21% of all New Zealanders who are seeking treatment for problem gambling. Furthermore, local experts, such as the Canterbury-based counsellor Phil Siataga, have noted that gambling was still a pretty much hidden problem in the…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is about to go through an investigation launched by the Parliamentary All-Party Betting & Gaming Group (APBGG). One of the reasons that inspired the APBGG inquiry was a handful of operators claiming to be “too scared” to share their concerns about the regulator. The UKGC has also been criticised by numerous members of the industry for quite a few years. According to Scott Benton MP, co-chair of the APBGG, despite the high number of complaints, many operators were feeling too scared to be public about…