Latest in: Problem Gambling News

The man tipped to lead the UK’s second-biggest bookmaker has broken ranks with the industry by offering support for a curb on TV gambling adverts. Betting companies have largely rejected suggestions that their ads are seen by too many vulnerable people and children, but William Hill’s finance director said he understood people’s...

Problem gambling experts have criticised rival factions of the betting industry for waging a “selfish” war of words to protect their own interests amid the threat of tighter regulation. The UK’s leading gambling charity also warned that a “narrow” focus on controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), potentially ignoring online betting...

Problem gambling costs the UK up to £1.2bn a year, according to a report that its authors say should serve as a “wakeup call” to the government. The report, commissioned by charity GambleAware and written by the IPPR thinktank, charts the costs associated with problem gambling, such as mental health...

The founder of Paddy Power Betfair, Britain’s biggest bookmaker, privately lobbied against betting machines frequently dubbed the “crack cocaine” of gambling, it has emerged. Stewart Kenny, the former chief executive of the betting giant he founded, wrote that there was “no public demand” for fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), on...

Nearly half a million children a week gamble and 9,000 are problem gamblers, according to a study by the industry regulator. The Gambling Commission’s Young People and Gambling report(pdf) found that while rates of smoking, drinking and drug-taking among children have declined, gambling rates have remained largely static, with 450,000 11-...

Former Wall Street executive Andrew Caspersen was sentenced on Friday to four years in prison for engaging in what prosecutors say was a Ponzi-like scheme to defraud investors including family members and friends out of $38.5 million. Caspersen, who worked at a unit of investment banker Paul Taubman’s PJT...

Ministers have launched a review of the gambling industry, including fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) that have been accused of being highly addictive. The review was announced by Tracey Crouch, the sport minister, who said it would consider the maximum stakes and prizes for gaming machines. It will look...

A system set up by bookmakers to address problem gambling is in disarray, according to campaigners, after a report exposed vast differences in how firms apply the measures. The report, produced by accountancy group PwC and seen by the Guardian, found flaws in how betting shops use “player awareness...

Online gambling by teenage boys across Europe is becoming a huge public health concern with one in eight now gambling frequently, according to aEurope-wide survey of school students aged 15 and 16. The results of the four-yearly survey, in which 96,000 school students in 35 countries took part, reveal...

This personal and brave investigation by a woman whose partner killed himself after becoming addicted to gambling showed how our high streets have become gaming arcades of misery Go to any high street in the country – apart from perhaps the really posh ones, in very affluent places –...

While Canberrans are spending significantly less on gambling than they were five years ago, problem gambling remains entrenched and almost half of losses come from problem gamblers, a new study has found. Overall, gambling losses have dropped significantly in five years in Canberra, from $288 million in 2008–09 to...

It comes as no surprise to learn almost half of all gambling losses in the Australian Capital Territory are incurred by a relatively small number of “problem gamblers”. This is very much in line with what happens elsewhere in Australia and overseas. The unsurprising statistic, that about $60 million...

An ad for bookmaker Ladbrokes featuring the popular superhero Iron Man has been banned over fears it would appeal to children. The email promoting the Ladbrokes casino featured an image of Iron Man and the text: “Enjoy this exclusive Ladbrokes welcome offer with Iron Man 3.” Ladbrokes said all its email offers...

Sands China held its annual Responsible Gaming Team Training Program at The Venetian Macao, for the fourth consecutive year, Monday and yesterday, attracting nearly 80 participants. In a bid to enhance team members’ knowledge of problem gaming and improving general awareness of the importance of responsible gambling, the gaming...

A new Quebec Internet law that would ban access to some online gambling sites is unconstitutional, says Canada’s wireless telecom lobby, which filed court papers on Wednesday challenging the legislation. Rules governing the country’s telecom industry fall strictly under federal jurisdiction and Quebec’s new law violates the Telecommunications Act by forcing Internet companies to control...

Astonishing acts of self-mutilation afflicting both the Government and Opposition have so dominated the news that serious damage being done to society as a whole has been all but ignored. Thus the latest details of the sums sucked out of the pockets of Britons by the gambling industry slipped...

Tom Lippa says his elderly mother Elfriede was once “a vibrant woman” who was living in her own condo in Victoria and would visit his sister every day to walk her dog. But unbeknown to Lippa and his sister, their mother, now 91, would go to the View Royal Casino after those...

Patients May Be at Risk of Substantial Economic Losses, Psychological Distress Several studies have linked the antipsychotic medication Abilify to the development of compulsive gambling in patients taking the drug, reports the national law firm of Baron & Budd. Patients on Abilify who have suffered economic losses due to...

The Friday morning discussion of new referrals to the National Problem Gambling clinic provides a sharp picture of why pathological gambling is such a catastrophe for those who become addicted and their families. Medical staff gather in an airy upstairs room of the Fulham, south-west London clinic and take...

Advertisements for gambling would be treated like tobacco promotions and banned completely under a policy announced by the Greens. The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, said on Friday the ban would “make it possible for people to sit down with their kids and watch a game of footy without...

A new regulatory system meant to allow staff at betting shops to identify and bar problem gamblers has been criticised as ineffectual by addicts and campaigners. From this week bookmakers will have to conduct local area risk assessments to explain how they are going to mitigate crime and the...