SBC News

UK Gambling will apply the regulatory measures of a statutory levy on funding of research, education, and treatment (RET Levy) of gambling harms and online stake limits as a new player protection.

Announced this morning by DCMS, the government has advanced landmark proposals from the Gambling Review’s White Paper to strengthen gambling legislation and improve funding for RET services.

DCMS also confirmed the introduction of online slot stake limits of £5 for those aged over 25 and £2 for young adults aged 18 to 24, as recommended by the White Paper.

Baroness Twycross: DCMS
Prior to the announcement, reports indicated that DCMS Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross was expected to reveal key measures imminently. This morning, she stated: “The introduction of the first legally mandated levy will be instrumental in supporting research, raising awareness, and reducing the stigma around gambling-related harm.

We are also helping to protect those at risk, with a particular focus on young a..

Gambling harms charity GambleAware has highlighted that there’s been a 12% increase in people using its support compared to the previous year.

A total of 11,000 users were treated through the GambleAware-commissioned National Gambling Support Network (NGSN) between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. Around 7,500 of them received ‘structured’ treatment such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), one-to-one support or residential care.

The NGSN report also outlined the number of people receiving early intervention for gambling harms for the first time. A total of 3,291 people used the early intervention service to only discuss their gambling habits, while 3,048 went on to receive further treatment after that.

Among those enlisted in the treatment, two-thirds (66%) said they’ve been put in debt due to gambling, 24% lost relationships, while 11% were left without a job pointing at gambling as a direct cause.

Treatment results showed that 95% of those who completed it showed signs of imp..

UK Gambling has been notified that the government is set to imminently unveil its plans for the framework of the ‘Statutory Levy’ for research, education, and treatment (RET) of gambling harms.

As reported by The Guardian, the government is expected to ‘rubber stamp‘ the plans this week, detailing how the levy will operate and collect £100m from UK-licensed betting operators to fund RET organisations, projects, and initiatives.

“The levy, which multiple sources said could be announced by Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross as soon as Wednesday, is expected to take effect from next April,” The Guardian understands.

Replacing UK Gambling’s ‘voluntary scheme’, the RET Levy was announced as a key proposal in the Gambling Review’s White Paper published in April 2023. A subsequent consultation, launched in October 2023, aimed to ensure fair contributions from all licensed operators and to finalise the levy’s design.

The statutory RET Levy will impose a 1% fee on the gross gambling yield ..

LiveScore and former Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov are joining forces to encourage fans to take “Extra Added Time” for their mental health.

As part of this campaign, LiveScore will donate £250 to charity for every key Premier League moment delivered via its app after the 90th minute throughout November.

The “Extra Added Time” initiative aligns with the recent trend of increased added time across major football leagues. During the 2023/24 season, Premier League matches have seen an additional 38% of play, with the average match duration extending to 101 minutes and 42 seconds.

While fans anxiously await dramatic last-minute goals or even red cards beyond the 90th minute, LiveScore is transforming these pivotal moments into support for the mental well-being of the football community.

In addition to a total donation of £10,000 to a leading mental health charity, Bloomsbury Football—an organisation dedicated to transforming the lives of young people across London through foot..

Australia’s Labor government is expected to announce the delay of long-awaited federal reforms of gambling advertising.

News broke across Australian media networks this weekend that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would push back settling gambling advertising reforms to 2025. The delay was attributed to opposition from the media and sports, who depend heavily on revenue from gambling advertisements.

As it stands, the government has yet to present its definitive proposal on gambling advertising reforms to be implemented as federal law as Labor has insufficient time to finalise and pass the legislation in 2024.

Pledged in its 2022 General Election manifesto, the Labor government has faced severe criticism for failing to address gambling advertising reforms, regarded as the most critical recommendation of the Murphy Report, submitted in 2023.

The late Labor MP Peta Murphy, who led the federal inquiry into gambling reforms, stated in her final report: “Australia must act decisively to ..

DCMS has been urged to intervene and align online gambling advertising protections for Northern Ireland with the rest of the UK.

The demand was made by members of the All-Party Group of the Stormont Assembly on Gambling Harms Reduction, who wrote to DCMS Secretary of State Lisa Nandy to “bridge the gap on gambling advertising.”

Led by Chairman Philip McGuigan (Sinn Féin) and Deputy Robbie Butler (UUP), the All-Party Group considers Northern Ireland an outlier in gambling legislation within the UK.

Gambling in Northern Ireland is governed by the NI Betting, Gaming, Lotteries & Amusements Order of 1985, applied under a separate legal system.

The Order was amended in 2022 to allow gambling venues to operate on Sundays and to introduce new criminal liabilities. However, Stormont failed to approve any amendments related to the governance of online gambling.

MLAs believe that Northern Ireland is exposed by an outdated gambling framework, which provides no legislation for online gambling..

On the latest episode of Footprints in the Market, Adam Gaskell, Head of UK Marketing at Kindred Group, detailed the company’s ambition to derive zero per cent of revenue from harmful gambling.

Speaking to Sharon McFarlane, Managing Director of Digital Footprints, Gaskell explained how Kindred is promoting its mission through Unibet and 32Red’s sponsorship of various football teams, including Middlesbrough, Leeds United and Rangers.

He said: “By using the zero per cent mission, we’ve been able to open up the conversation on safer gambling with friends, fans and punters more easily.

“It’s on the front of shirts and in the front of people’s minds. We know fans are quite inquisitive about what it means and when we are able to explain to them what our initiative is, it’s a great conversation for us to have.

“It’s something that we’re very proud of and we feel like it’s a great initiative and it’s something for us to really champion and go out there and use as part of our sponsorship.

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