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Senior gambling industry figures have admitted concerns that children are being exposed to too many betting adverts on TV and have called on the government to act. The growing consensus among of industry bosses prompted calls from Labour for the government to crack down on “out of control” gambling ads. Philip...
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The online casino company 32Red has been fined £2m for missing 22 opportunities to help a problem gambler, offering the customer VIP status and free bonuses instead of advice. The Gambling Commission said 32Red should have intervened after the customer, who deposited £758,000 over more than two years, admitted to staff...
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Editorial – Opinion The World Cup starts next week, a truly global festival that unites bookmakers all around the planet in pursuit of gamblers’ cash. Whichever team wins on the pitch, the firms which advertise on the virtual hoardings all around it and in the commercial breaks will profit. Sports gambling is...
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Editorial – Opinion (Fixed-odds betting terminals) The government’s promise to slash the maximum stake for fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to just £2 is both welcome and long overdue. Matt Hancock, the digital, culture, media and sport secretary, was right to describe the UK’s 33,000 machines as a “social blight” preying...
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Editorial – Opinion The fine of £6.2m levied on the bookmakers William Hill today by the Gambling Commission represents a small victory in the constant struggle against the abuses of a system that lends itself to exploitation. In this case, the firm was found to have been astonishingly trusting about where...
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Alex Hern Opinion In a tale of gambling addiction posted to Reddit shortly before Christmas, the numbers were as shocking as they were unsurprising. First the anonymous addict frittered away $200 (£149), in November 2016. Then $700 more, later that month. Then $300, $400, $1,500 … eventually, by December 2017, a credit...
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Editorial | Opinion The worlds of late childhood and early adolescence are absorbing, often overwhelming, and at best partially accessible to the adults orbiting them. So it is shocking, but not perhaps surprising, to discover that around 25,000 11- to 16-year-olds are problem gamblers, according to new research. Another 36,000...
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Editorial | Opinion The record fine levied on 888, an online gambling company, today, is a sign that Britain has a gambling problem. A technical failure meant that 7,000 customers who had chosen to bar themselves from the firm’s betting terminals were still able to gamble. The public is starting...
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Editorial | Opinion The UK Treasury has cold feet about the department of culture, media and sport’s review of fixed-odds betting terminals, expected to recommend swingeing cuts to the maximum bet. The chancellor is said to be alarmed about losing a lucrative tax stream. Absurdly, FOBTs, which seduce gamblers to play...
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At least£40.5m has been gambled so far on the outcome of the EU referendum, making it the biggest political betting event in British history. The looming vote has prompted some people to place bets for the first time, including a woman from central London who has placed her first...
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My 25-year-old son is depressed and in the habit of gambling. His manual job seems to get him down and he feels worthless as in our family both parents are graduates, as is his younger sister – he feels the only way out of his “inadequacy” is going to...
Senior gambling industry figures have admitted concerns that children are being exposed to too many betting adverts on TV and have called on the government to act. The growing consensus among of industry bosses prompted calls from Labour for the government to crack down on “out of control” gambling ads. Philip...
The online casino company 32Red has been fined £2m for missing 22 opportunities to help a problem gambler, offering the customer VIP status and free bonuses instead of advice. The Gambling Commission said 32Red should have intervened after the customer, who deposited £758,000 over more than two years, admitted to staff...
Editorial – Opinion The World Cup starts next week, a truly global festival that unites bookmakers all around the planet in pursuit of gamblers’ cash. Whichever team wins on the pitch, the firms which advertise on the virtual hoardings all around it and in the commercial breaks will profit. Sports gambling is...
Editorial – Opinion (Fixed-odds betting terminals) The government’s promise to slash the maximum stake for fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to just £2 is both welcome and long overdue. Matt Hancock, the digital, culture, media and sport secretary, was right to describe the UK’s 33,000 machines as a “social blight” preying...
Editorial – Opinion The fine of £6.2m levied on the bookmakers William Hill today by the Gambling Commission represents a small victory in the constant struggle against the abuses of a system that lends itself to exploitation. In this case, the firm was found to have been astonishingly trusting about where...
Alex Hern Opinion In a tale of gambling addiction posted to Reddit shortly before Christmas, the numbers were as shocking as they were unsurprising. First the anonymous addict frittered away $200 (£149), in November 2016. Then $700 more, later that month. Then $300, $400, $1,500 … eventually, by December 2017, a credit...
Editorial | Opinion The worlds of late childhood and early adolescence are absorbing, often overwhelming, and at best partially accessible to the adults orbiting them. So it is shocking, but not perhaps surprising, to discover that around 25,000 11- to 16-year-olds are problem gamblers, according to new research. Another 36,000...
Editorial | Opinion The record fine levied on 888, an online gambling company, today, is a sign that Britain has a gambling problem. A technical failure meant that 7,000 customers who had chosen to bar themselves from the firm’s betting terminals were still able to gamble. The public is starting...
Editorial | Opinion The UK Treasury has cold feet about the department of culture, media and sport’s review of fixed-odds betting terminals, expected to recommend swingeing cuts to the maximum bet. The chancellor is said to be alarmed about losing a lucrative tax stream. Absurdly, FOBTs, which seduce gamblers to play...
At least£40.5m has been gambled so far on the outcome of the EU referendum, making it the biggest political betting event in British history. The looming vote has prompted some people to place bets for the first time, including a woman from central London who has placed her first...
My 25-year-old son is depressed and in the habit of gambling. His manual job seems to get him down and he feels worthless as in our family both parents are graduates, as is his younger sister – he feels the only way out of his “inadequacy” is going to...
