Gambling

Coalition, Greens and crossbenchers all say the planned reforms are too weak and the proposals are ‘half-arsed’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor’s reforms to gambling advertising have been branded a “capitulation” and “half-arsed” by opponents, as the Liberals and Greens combine to urge the government to go further in cracking down on wagering.Three years this week since the Murphy report recommended a full ad ban, Labor’s proposed wagering reforms have underwhelmed the parliament, with the Coalition, Greens and crossbenchers all saying the changes are too weak – making it unclear whether the government’s bill will have enough support to pass into law. Continue reading...

Former parliamentary private secretary to Rishi Sunak admits offence relating to betting on date of 2024 electionA former Conservative MP who was Rishi Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide when he was prime minster has pleaded guilty to cheating at gambling with bets on the date of the 2024 general election.Craig Williams, who was the MP for both Montgomeryshire and Cardiff North, admitted in court to using confidential information to place bets on the timing of the contest. Continue reading...

State budget suggests Minns government is addicted to pokies revenue, with tax take predicted to jump from $1.6bn to $2.2bn annually within four yearsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnti-gambling advocates say surging tax revenue from poker machines in New South Wales is a betrayal of the Minns government’s promise to reform the industry.Tuesday’s state budget forecasts the annual revenue from all gambling taxes will rise from $3.8bn in 2025-26 to $4.7bn by 2029-30. That includes an annual rise in revenue from poker machines in pubs and hotels of 7.5%, outstripping inflation, meaning the government expects to pocket $2.2bn from pokies in 2029-30 compared with $1.6bn this financial year. Continue reading...

Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket operating in areas with limited resources for people with gambling problemsPublic health resources across the US are failing to keep pace with the rapid growth of online gambling, problem health advocates warned, after Donald Trump endorsed the controversial nationwide surge of prediction markets.Prediction market platforms, where users can wager on everything from Tony Award winners to World Cup goals, have pushed betting even further into American life. Continue reading...

Success would establish for first time that a betting firm had duty of care to customers with signs of problem gamblingThe widow of a gambling addict who took his own life after falling £18,000 into debt begins a legal claim on Thursday against Betfair that could have far-reaching consequences for the UK’s gambling industry.Luke Ashton, 40, from Leicester, died in April 2021 after suffering from a gambling disorder that led him to place thousands of bets with the company, which sent him promotional “free” bets.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

• The Athletic has launched an eight-month investigation into the rise of sports gambling and match-fixing scandals currently affecting the NBA and MLB. • The report examines the rapid explosion of legal betting in the U.S. and the resulting increase in gambling-related arrests and integrity breaches. • By analyzing Europe's decades-long struggle with fixing, the series aims to identify systemic vulnerabilities and regulatory failures in the American sports landscape.

Prediction sites, which allow bets on all topics from weather to politics, may be in breach of country’s rulesSpain’s ministry of consumer rights has blocked access to Polymarket and Kalshi while it investigates whether the leading prediction market sites are violating Spanish law by operating without a gambling licence.On Tuesday the ministry said it had launched disciplinary proceedings against the two platforms, which allow users to bet on everything from the weather to political events, amid allegations that they lacked the “necessary administrative authorisation” to operate in Spain. Continue reading...

Kalshi announces two-year investment to National Council on Problem Gambling ‘focused on trader health and safety’The prediction market Kalshi, which maintains it is not a gambling platform, has announced plans to give $2m to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) as it continues to ride a nationwide surge.While prediction markets allow users to bet – or “trade” – on the outcome of almost anything, from elections to sports to geopolitical events, the industry has vehemently fought efforts by state officials to regulate its platforms like those of conventional gambling giants. Continue reading...

The government’s response to the Murphy report is hardly dynamite. Harm advocates, gambling operators and advertisers are all waiting to see whether Labor’s rhetoric will be matched by action The Labor government decided to release its contentious, much-delayed response to Peta Murphy’s report on gambling on one of the biggest political news days of the year.They dropped it while the nation’s federal political journalists were trapped in budget lockup. Continue reading...

• More than a dozen individuals connected to high-profile organized crime families and NBA leadership have been implicated in an alleged illegal gambling ring investigation. • The conspiracy involves suspected coordination between crime organizations and prominent basketball industry figures, raising concerns about league integrity. • Federal authorities are examining the scope and nature of illegal wagering operations allegedly involving NBA personalities and organized crime connections.

Ellen Mulvey ran up huge betting losses online and wrote ‘addiction is the worst disease’ before she diedA family is calling for wholesale reform of the gambling industry after an inquest heard details of the life and death of Ellen Mulvey, a “generous and caring” woman with a high-flying City job who also had a secret addiction.Mulvey’s family believe she lost hundreds of thousands of pounds gambling without their knowledge, first via mainstream operators and then on unlicensed platforms. Continue reading...

The gambling crisis ‘demands a public health response’ and should be regulated like alcohol or tobacco, expert says Gambling addiction is spiraling “out of control” in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry.The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, “demands a public health response”, according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene. Continue reading...

Archaeological record suggests hunter gatherers were playing games of chance at the end of the last ice ageNative American hunter gatherers were using dice for gaming and gambling more than 6,000 years before the practice appeared anywhere else, a new study argues.It says dice were being made and used on the western great plains of North America at the end of the last ice age, more than 12,000 years ago. Continue reading...

‘Predatory industry’ adept at pivoting quickly to target new mediums and markets, says independent senator David Pocock Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor’s plan for a partial ban on gambling advertising is ripe for exploitation, say experts and crossbench MPs, including David Pocock, warning rules applying to podcasters, social media platforms and influencers need to be tightened.But industry sources say podcast companies including Apple could consider removing all wagering advertising if there were no simple mechanism to work within the rules. Continue reading...

Report by the prime minister’s office says a total ban would have a ‘higher net benefit’ but would hit sporting codes very hardFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Albanese government’s plans to restrict gambling advertising will reduce Australia’s annual gambling spending by $62.7m a year – or just 0.8% – according to a government report which said a full ad ban would have had “a higher net benefit” but a large burden on media and sporting codes.The report from Anthony Albanese’s Office of Impact Analysis (OIA) also revealed podcasts, app stores and even the NRL and AFL websites will be subject to Labor’s gambling reforms, which ban online wagering ads unless those platforms build an opt-out feature for adults. Continue reading...

State legislation due to be introduced on Tuesday will give authorities powers to seize high-powered e-motorbikes. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol told 7.30 last night that the “world is facing the greatest global energy security threat in its history” and Australians are feeling the pain at the petrol pump. We’ll have more coming up. Continue reading...

Kalshi calls Arizona’s case ‘paper-thin’ and says the platform should not be overseen by ‘inconsistent state laws’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxArizona’s attorney general on Tuesday filed criminal charges against Kalshi, accusing the prediction markets platform of operating an illegal gambling business in the state and unlawfully allowing people to place bets on elections.The charges filed by Kris Mayes, the Arizona attorney general, marked the first time a state has pursued a criminal case against Kalshi, which has been at the center of an escalating battle over the ability of state gaming regulators to police prediction markets operators. Continue reading...