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A nationwide parliamentary inquiry focused on people hooked on online gambling will involve issues such as advertising of live sports betting services and so-called loot boxes available in video games. A probe into online gambling and its impact on gambling addicts, as well as underage individuals, will be heard by the chair of the standing committee on social policy in the lower house of Parliament, Peta Murphy MP, who has previously shared with her colleagues that she is willing to further crack down on gambling advertising during sports events. She…

The Government of Tasmania announced a special, “nation-leading” pre-commitment scheme that would make sure local residents will be prevented from spending over AU$5,000 a year on pokies unless they file an application to increase their limit. The new cashless card, which is expected to be officially implemented in the state by the end of 2024, will be mandatory. It will feature default poker machine spending limits of AU$100 per day and $500 per month but players will be allowed to adjust these limits upwards or downwards. However, the authorities said…

The Premier of New South Wales (NSW) has warned The Star casino in Sydney that it could be forced to close in two weeks in case the gambling operator does not comply with a court order to provide a detailed explanation of why its services should not be ceased. Dominic Perrottet warned the Australian gambling giant about the possible consequences for the Sydney-based gambling venue only a day after the damning inquiry into the company unveiled it as unsuitable to operate its casino there. Mr Perrottet explained that The Star…

The Government of New Zealand is being urged to prevent Lotto from offering their gambling products to children to buy. For the time being, the only age limit on the games offered by the Lotto is an R-18 restriction on Instant Kiwi. As revealed by research held by the director of the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre at Auckland University of Technology – Maria Bellringer – underage individuals are currently able to purchase Lotto tickets, as well as Keno and Bullseye. Ms Bellringer studied the gambling habits of almost 900…

Racing businesses across the UK have been expecting to get more details regarding the assistance they are set to receive from the country’s Government as a measure aimed at helping them to reduce the negative financial effect of constantly rising energy bills. According to reports, racecourse owners have been preparing themselves for a rough period, especially in the winter, because of the increase in energy prices. In August, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) – the trade body representing the British gambling industry – shared that the sector needed urgent…

A long-awaited change in the oversight and control of the Irish gambling sector has finally happened this week. A senior civil servant has been appointed to the role of the first-ever gambling regulator in the country. Anne Marie Caulfield was chosen as a chief executive officer representing the Gambling Regulatory Authority in Ireland as a result of an open competition for the position. In the period from 2008 to 2016, Ms Caulfield headed the Residential Tenancies Board and was responsible for the execution of several briefs while being part of…

Political life in the UK has been shaken hard by the turbulence associated with the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and a number of crucial figures in his Cabinet in July. A month and a half later, Liz Truss has taken over as Prime Minister but, sadly, the beginning of a new era in the country’s political life does not mean a new era for the local gambling sector is to start anytime soon. In fact, market experts believe that a gambling reform in the UK could be…

A reputable gambling researcher has called for the Queensland Government to make it mandatory for local gamblers to impose some spending limits on so-called pokies, praising the measure as a powerful tool to reduce gambling-related harm. The head of the gambling and social determinants unit of the school of public health and preventive medicine at Monash University, Charles Livingstone, explained that a requirement for poker machine players to preset such limits should be implemented across the clubs’ and pubs’ pokies in Queensland. Currently, there are more than 40,000 poker machines…

Australian people’s losses to the local poker machines have totalled AU$11.4 billion in a single year, a recent report has shown. According to the research data compiled from the Gambling and Social Determinants Unit at Monash University, more than 3.3 million people used the machines, which are also popular under the name “pokies”, in the states of Victoria, New South Wales (NSW), South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania in 2021 and 2022. Each of them generated an average loss of AU$3,429 over the past year. Charles Livingstone, an associate professor at…

The chief executive officer of the Betting and Gaming Council (CEO) urged the new UK Prime Minister to get gambling reform right. Mr Michel Dugher reminded that the nation is set to have a new Prime Minister and a new Government in a few days but people should not make haste and celebrate because no matter who wins the keys to 10 Downing Street a tsunami of trouble will be on the way. A constantly increasing cost of living, energy bills, and inflation are expected to soar to an enormous…