News

A retail betting shop located in Swords, Dublin, became the site of an armed robbery on Saturday morning. As reported by the Sunday World, the perpetrator is also facing accusations of having been connected to two robberies that occurred in the area last December. Local authorities were able to successfully detain the suspect following the Saturday incident, and he was subject to questioning under Section 4 of Ireland’s Criminal Justice Act, 1984. According to a spokesperson of Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police force, the suspect worked alone and threatened the…

January 4th saw GambleAware’s CEO, Zoë Osmond, issue a statement in response to the Government’s consultation regarding the statutory levy that is set to affect all businesses licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). The levy is one of the most crucial proposals in the Government’s Gambling White Paper. Although Osmond noted that GambleAware views the levy in an overall positive light, she did raise concerns regarding a number of issues that could negatively impact the levy’s effectiveness. A lack of clarity regarding money distribution and the Government’s failure to…

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled on January 3rd that a Halloween-themed ad posted by Buzz Bingo on Facebook last October was in breach of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code). The advert in question was scrutinised for its potential to appeal to children on a platform frequented by individuals who are no older than 17, and it has since been removed. The cartoon artwork of the post was deemed to be particularly problematic, seeing as it included animated pumpkin heads, bats, and…

In a recent interview with the BBC, Andy May, who spent two years in prison for theft, talked about his struggles with gambling and how they ultimately drove him to steal more than £1.3 million to fund his addiction. May is currently volunteering with the independent charity GambleAware, which this November revealed that, according to survey data, 64% of UK adults who suffer from gambling addiction are afraid of opening up about their struggles due to stigma. This led to the launch of a campaign that aims to address the…

In December 2023, pensioner Anthony Whelan from Dalkey, Dublin, accused Paddy Power of withholding over €13,800 in winnings from him, but lost the case after the Circuit Civil Court ruled in favour of Paddy Power. As reported by the Sunday World, Mr Whelan has decided to take the case to Ireland’s High Court with the hopes of invoking Irish and EU consumer protection law. Mr Whelan’s lawyer, John W Carroll of Crowley Millar, stated that his clients’ arguments centre around how the terms and conditions of the promotion were unfair…

In a statement issued this Wednesday, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) put an emphasis on how crucial it is for the Government to deliver its planned gambling reforms in the first half of 2024. The council focused specifically on how, despite the lack of clarity on exactly when the White Paper’s policies will officially come to pass, there are outside factors and changes that will definitely have a profound effect on the gambling industry in the upcoming months. The first major change is that of the national living wage.…

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Anne Marie Caulfield, CEO of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), revealed the watchdog’s plans to carry out further recruitment of experts in an effort to address the close ties the sports industry has with gambling and the issue of problem gambling as a whole. This interview follows an Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study published earlier this year, which outlined a range of findings on how Irish residents are affected by gambling and found that over 130,000 people in Ireland…

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the United Kingdom’s primary gambling industry lobby group, responded to the recommendations and findings of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s report, published yesterday. As CasinoGuardian already reported, the CMS Committee’s suggestions focused on various improvements to the Gambling White Paper, with particular attention paid to reducing the volume of betting adverts seen in stadiums during sports events. Instead of completely prohibiting gambling advertising, the committee’s report suggested multiple areas for improvement, which the Government has two months to address. Following the publication of…

In a report, published today, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee calls for stricter measures aimed at reducing the volume of betting adverts seen during sports events. The Government has two months to respond to the recommendations of the report, which besides advertising, focuses on further improvements to the Gambling White Paper. According to MPs, the Premier League, along with other sports governing entities, should minimise the ads seen in stadiums to protect vulnerable groups, especially children. The report highlights that the industry has changed and evolved dramatically following the…

A long list of gambling industry participants have requested or secured meetings with Australia’s communications minister, Michelle Rowland. Gaming and betting operators, associations, and broadcasters have queued up to address a proposed nationwide ban on gambling ads. According to the recommendations of a parliament inquiry, introduced six months ago, ads for online gambling should be completely banned in Australia within three years. The late Peta Murphy, Labor MP at the time, said the phased ban on gambling ads would “give major sports and broadcasters time to find alternative advertisers and…