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GAMSTOP has announced that more than 500,000 people have registered for its self-exclusion service since its inception in 2018 and that the age of those registering is falling.

The UK’s self-exclusion service allows consumers to exclude themselves from gambling sites licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, for a period of six months up to five years.

According to GAMSTOP, over 440,000 people are currently excluded, with approximately one in two opting for the longest time frame possible. April 2024 had the highest volume of monthly registrations since the service’s launch with 8,686 new registered users.

GAMSTOP noted that it uses insights from the UKGC’s most recent research to inform its outreach strategy.

Fiona Palmer, CEO of GAMSTOP, commented: “We have come a very long way since our launch in April 2018 and GAMSTOP is now widely recognised as an important tool to help vulnerable consumers take a break from their gambling.

“We are proud to have been able to help hundreds of t..

UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom has highlighted a positive change in Twitch’s accuracy for labelling mature content after evaluating the streaming platform’s classification guidelines.

In June 2023, Twitch updated its content classification guidelines after the platform witnessed an increasing amount of content targeted to mature audiences, including gambling streams.

The platform applied new rules to the ways in which content is labelled, requiring streamers to apply content classification labels to indicate that the streaming content they are broadcasting contains certain mature themes.

Streamers were given six mature labels to apply to their streams: mature-rated games; sexual themes; drugs, intoxication or excessive tobacco use; violent and graphic depictions; significant profanity or vulgarity; and gambling.

As the UK’s regulator for video-sharing platforms and online safety, Ofcom published an evaluation of Twitch’s rule changes earlier this month.

The 66-page report co..

FanDuel has launched a new program and resource hub called ‘Trusted Voices: Conversations About Betting’, designed to provide tools and resources to trusted adults to talk to young people about gambling and its associated risks.

Launching during Responsible Gambling Education Month in the US, ‘Trusted Voices: Conversations About Betting’ comes from a new partnership between the Flutter Entertainment operator with former NBA player and basketball coach Randy Livingston and his wife, sports agent Anita Ondine Smith.

Created in consultation with EPIC Global Solutions, the program and resource hub has been developed “to equip trusted adults, including parents, guardians and coaches, with tools and resources to talk to young people about gambling, associated risks, how to recognize warning signs and where to go for support”.

In the ‘Trusted Voices: Conversations About Betting’ video series, Livingston and Ondine Smith detail Livingston’s basketball career, including his time in the NBA, ..

Finnplay, an igaming platform provider, has formed a partnership with Mindway AI, integrating the Danish software company’s safer gambling technology onto its platform.

The Nordic-based platform supplier noted that the collaboration will assist operators with their safer gambling practices by providing them with “enhanced tools to detect and monitor at-risk gambling behaviours in real time”, helping to promote responsible gaming and safeguard players’ well-being.

“Our strategy in Finnplay is to be a platform of cooperation and bring together the best operators, the best providers and the best solutions to ensure players and regulators have the best and safe experience for gambling,” stated Jaakko Soininen, Managing Director of Finnplay.

“We’re excited about partnering with Mindway AI. This partnership is at the core of this strategy, bringing world-class responsible gambling tools available for our operators to enhance the player experience.”

Finnplay added that operators using the..

New Zealand’s government has opened a consultation to ask for the country’s opinion on the next three-year strategy to prevent and minimise gambling harm.

Matt Doocey, the Minister for Mental Health, published the comments on gambling harm prevention and minimisation in a statement on the government’s website, encouraging the public to voice their views so that the right initiatives and interventions can be put in place.

The government’s comments also come as Gambling Harm Awareness Week takes place in New Zealand this week.

“While many New Zealanders enjoy gambling as a pastime without issue, the statistics are clear that harm from gambling can have a significant impact, therefore it is important that we put in place initiatives and interventions that prevent and minimise harm from gambling,” stated Doocey.

“I would encourage you to have your say on this consultation document by 6 October 2024 to help inform its development. In talking to people about mental health and addiction,..

Publishing its evaluation report on the ‘Credit Card Ban for Gambling in Great Britain’, the National Centre for Social Research, aka Natcen, has revealed that the credit card ban has been felt most significantly by those experiencing low level or no levels of gambling harm.

It did, however, add obstacles to the process of borrowing money for gambling, which was one of the ban’s principal aims.

The NatCen report stated: “The ban seemed to have a more noticeable impact on those experiencing a low level of, or no reported problems from gambling, who were less likely to (directly and indirectly) use credit cards for gambling after the ban.

“We saw a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of people experiencing a low level of, or no reported problems from gambling.”

On gambling behaviours, NatCen concluded: “Overall, among all people who gamble, the proportion of people using credit cards to borrow money for gambling has remained fairly stable. In the pre-ban wave in Ma..

The Star Entertainment Group has requested a trading halt on the Australian Stock Exchange as a second investigation into the operator highlighted continuing regulatory shortcomings.

Adam Bell, a lawyer appointed by the NSW Independent Casino Commission, conducted an initial investigation into the Australian casino operator in 2022 which cited “serious regulatory failures” and deemed the company to be “unsuitable to hold a casino licence”.

As a result of those findings, Bell was tasked with conducting a second investigation into The Star which was finalised on 31 July 2024. Almost a full month later, the findings have been issued to The Star ahead of being made available to the public.

According to a statement issued by the NICC, the second Bell Report has “validated the concerns that prompted the second inquiry”, causing The Star to postpone the release of its fiscal year 2024 financial results and request the trading halt from the ASX.

The statement referred to “four complian..

An update on affordability checks has been provided by the UK Gambling Commission as the regulator prepares to launch a six-month pilot for financial risk assessments.

The Commission announced on 1 May 2024 that it would look at launching a pilot of its frictionless ‘light touch’ financial risk assessments from 30 August, this upcoming Friday.

A four-stage plan was initiated by the UKGC back in May, hoping to adopt regulatory changes that will impact “remote game designs, terms and conditions on direct marketing, light-touch financial vulnerability checks, and tightening processes to support age verification checks in premises.”

Once launched on Friday, the pilot will run for six months to apply light-touch affordability checks with an initial threshold of customer deposits of £500 a month. Subsequently, the pilot aims to reduce the deposit threshold to £150 a month by 28 February 2025.

This figure will stand as a mandatory limit for affordability checks to be applied by online ..