National Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM) kicks off tomorrow (March 1) in the US with numerous events planned across the country. This year’s theme, “Seeking Understanding,” focuses on increasing awareness of problem gambling as a serious but often misunderstood mental health condition. The states of Pennsylvania and Virginia were among the first to hold events…
Mackenzie Slade and her colleagues are on a mission to create responsible regulated gaming markets through reliable research data, behavioural science and proven regulatory strategies Mackenzie Slade and her colleagues have spent the past five years working with regulators on the rollout of regulated cannabis markets across the US. Now, they are turning their attention…
In this episode of the Safe Bet Show, Martin Lycka is joined by Sarah Ramanauskas, Co-Founder and CEO of the The Game Safety Institute and a partner at Gambling Integrity, to discuss her life and career, from Dickens and M experiences at Betfair and William Hill and the evolution of online gambling.
A new study by University of California San Diego researchers reveals an increase in internet searches for ‘gambling addiction’ and terms such as ‘helpline’ since the repeal of PASPA by the US Supreme Court in 2018. The study counted Google searches per 10 million queries that mentioned ‘gambling’ and ‘addiction’, ‘addict’, ‘anonymous’, or ‘hotline’ (for…
Love is not the only thing in the air on Valentine’s Day as the rise in romance scams continues to become a far too common plague among vulnerable people. Romance scams, the fraudulent practice of duping people into sending money by convincing people they have a genuine relationship with them, has seen an increase among victims over…
For years, affordability checks have been like a boogie man for most markets. It lurks as a threat but it has yet to manifest into something operators and regulators have ever had to actually confront.
That is starting to change, though. The UK Gambling Commission began a pilot program on affordability checks in August of last year. The government assures the program will implement a “light touch” in regards to assessing whether players or gambling responsibly or not, but for many the concept at all is a non-starter.
For now, the pilot is looking at users with £500 in deposits a month, but the plan is to drop the number to £150 next month.
In North America, the idea of affordability checks still feels unlikely, but these developments at least raise the question of whether or not Canada will consider them in the future.
Privacy and politics pose challenges
During a presentation as part of SBC’s Player Protection Day, Vixio’s Gaming Compliance Managing Editor Joe Ewens said it is an ..
The Gambling Commission has announced that Stake will leave the UK market following an advertising campaign with controversial adult film star Bonnie Blue. The video, which featured the actress offering to sleep with Nottingham Trent University students, prompted an investigation from the UK Gambling Commission after it went viral across social media allegedly featured Stake branding. The…
The rise of the black market presents various threats to the safety of the gambling industry and to player safety, one of the less reported is the stark rise of fake games. Duncan Garvie, Founder of BetBlocker, sits down with iGaming Expert to discuss the issue. While researching the rise of fake games, Garvie says…
In this episode of the Safe Bet Show, Martin Lycka interviews José Francisco Manssur, a key figure in the regulation of the gambling industry in Brazil. The duo discusses the realities of Brazil beyond common myths, Manssur’s journey in sports law and the challenges he faced in regulating the betting industry. Also on the agenda…
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has fined BetMGM $260,905 for 152 instances of allowing individuals on the Board’s self-exclusion list to gamble on their sites between 2021 and 2023.
A Consent Agreement provided to SBC Americas shows that an internal audit of the BetMGM and Borgata Pennsylvania player database in March 2021 found that a total of 148 accounts showed betting activity while on the iGaming self-exclusion list. Across those incidents, a total of $252,035.55 was deposited and $82,460.30 withdrawn for a total difference of $169,575.25.
Over $430K deposited by self-excluded players over 3 years
In two separate self-reported incidents in April 2021 and July 2022, two single self-excluding gamblers were able to access their Borgata accounts. In the first instance, a player deposited a total of $580 without withdrawing; in the second, an individual deposited a total of $700 and withdrew a total of $100.
Finally, in July 2023, a review found that two self-excludin..