News

One of the most iconic casinos in London – Les Ambassadeurs Club – got involved in a court battle as it is trying to recover over £10 million from a Chinese high-roller whose cheques bounced. Now, the casino has started legal action against the patron as it is trying to make him honour his alleged debts with the exclusive gambling room. As a matter of fact, the High Court has already issued a ruling that Yu Songbo, who has once been considered as one of the 150 richest people in…

Betting shops in the UK have once again been reported as first-class when it comes to preventing underage individuals from purchasing their products. Independent analysts Serve Legal released some figures revealing some records on age verification checks, saying that they are better than the ones of convenience stores, petrol forecourts and supermarkets. Spot checks that have been specially designed to test whether customers were asked for age verification at some point of their visit were carried out by Serve Legal, with the outlets scoring a pass in case a customer…

The representative body for clubs registered in NSW, ClubsNSW, told the judge that the ‘oppressive’ campaign of its former employee Troy Stolz is obstructing justice. The clubs organization complained about the pokies whistleblower’s campaign, calling it “inflammatory” and asked the court to prevent Stolz from further denigrating ClubsNSW. As reported by Guardian Australia last month, ClubsNSW asked for a federal order to prevent its former employee, Troy Stolz, from exposing any details about the group’s conduct or motives. Stolz is the former anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial manager for the…

A new study shows one-fifth of all gambling venues in the United Kingdom are located in the areas with the lowest income. The study conducted by the University of Bristol, with backing from the Standard Life Foundation, has also found sports wagering shops are ten times more prevalent in poorer towns than they are in areas where the standards of living are higher. According to the study, some of the cities with the largest number of bookmaking facilities include Middlesbrough, Glasgow, London, and Liverpool. As much as 21% of the…

The Vanarama National League announced earlier today it has chosen major gambling firms Unibet and 32Red for its official betting partners. The two operators are part of the Kindred Group and have agreed on a two-year partnership that will last throughout the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 football seasons. The two selected betting brands service customers from a variety of European markets and have already secured sponsorships with different international leagues. The Kindred Group operators’ logos will appear on the Vanarama National League stadium, during game programmes, and its digital channels. The…

The UK gambling watchdog came under criticism by British politician Julian Knight who accused it of attempting to obstruct his enquiry into the regulator’s role in lottery oversight. MP Julian Knight, who was elected as Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee (DCMS Committee) in early 2020, claims the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is overstepping its power after it said his enquiry endangered the probity of the bidding process for a new National Lottery license. MP Knight received a letter from UKGC’s Chief Executive Mr. Andrew Rhodes where…

British gambling company Rank Group disclosed today it has suffered operating losses of £93 million due to the coronavirus pandemic. The restrictions forced the London-listed company to shut down its brick-and-mortar venues for almost 60% of the year. The firm reports its yearly net gaming revenue has dropped almost in half, from £629.7 million the previous year to £329.6 million. Rank Group, which owns the Grosvenor Casinos, Enracha, and Mecca brands, says its underlying net gambling revenue dropped to £288.2 million compared to the previous year’s results of £575.6 million.…

Ireland’s republican and democratic socialist party Sinn Féin condemned the state of the country’s gambling regulation yesterday, accusing the local government of “doing nothing” to combat problem gambling and gambling-related harm. Mr. Thomas Gould, the party’s spokesperson on Addiction, Recovery, and Wellbeing referred to the lack of regulatory oversight in the local betting industry as “frightening” and “unbelievable”. The party made several proposals to boost the level of regulation in the sector. One of them is to prohibit the broadcasts of gambling advertisements on local radio and television between 6…

GambleAware, the independent charity organisation that combats gambling-related harm, announced today it is to donate £4 million for the establishment of the Research Hub, the UK’s first academic institution to specialise in problem gambling research. The announcement comes as part of GambleAware’s commitment to expanding research capabilities in the sphere of gambling-associated harms in the UK and around the globe. The grant charity will donate the sum over the course of eight months. The organisation will focus on introducing new disciplines to the field of problem gambling research, whilst developing…

The plans for building an arcade and adult gambling centre in Monmouth, Wales, have been met with strong opposition on behalf of the local community. The Monmouthshire County Council has received over 200 objections to building the centre along with a petition with 419 signatures from residents. The property in question was previously occupied by a DS Music shop and has recently gained a gaming license approval from the Monmouthshire County Council. The license application was filed by Mr. Henry Danter who owns the Barry Island Pleasure Park and is…