SBC News

Members of the Dutch Parliament continue the debate around the adoption of a motion to ban online gambling advertising over target audience concerns.

As reported by Casinonieuws.nl, Dutch Secretary of State for Legal Protection Teun Struycken responded to a number of questions during a Parliamentary Q&A session regarding a research done by media firm De Groene Amsterdammer.

In it, the news publisher suggested that there is currently a high number of online gambling ads circulating in the Netherlands that are “explicitly aimed at young adults”.

The July report predicted that the State Secretary will most likely be faced with ensuing questions, which did eventually happen during last Friday’s House of Representatives meeting.

Struycken, who is a member of the New Social Contract Party (NSC), became a central figure for the gambling industry as soon as he was appointed State Secretary as part of the new cabinet under PM Dick Schoof following the last election cycle.

He is tasked..

AI-powered gambling solution supplier Mindway AI has partnered with igaming platform provider Finnplay in an effort to advance safer gambling practices.

Finnplay will integrate Mindway AI’s technology onto its platform to provide igaming operators with the necessary tools to detect and monitor at-risk gambling behaviours in real-time.

Jaakko Soininen, Managing Director of Finnplay, said: “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.

“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.”

Rasmus Kjaergaard, CEO of Mindway AI, added: “Mindway AI is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that enhance the safety and enjoyment of gaming experiences. By par..

The ongoing debate on how Australia will choose to reform its gambling advertising laws has reached the boardrooms of TV networks.

This weekend, the Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) launched a campaign targeting the shareholders of Australian TV networks to support a blanket ban on gambling advertising.

The campaign is led by the ‘chief advocate’, Reverend Tim Costello, who is the brother of Nine’s former Chairman, Peter Costello, as gambling advertising conflicts turn into family affair.

The campaign urges shareholders of Nine and Seven West Media (SWM) to bring forward a resolution for a blanket ban on gambling advertising to be voted on at the broadcasters’ upcoming AGMs.

The AGR states that it requires 100 shareholders to mobilise and propose its shareholder resolution to Nine and SWM as a matter of ethical investing and shareholder advocacy.

The investors and boards of Nine and SWM will decide whether to end all gambling advertising across the broadcasters’ networks, includ..

Glücksspielbehörde (GGL), the Federal Authority of German Gambling, has initiated a new coordination strategy with state authorities to combat gambling addiction.

Coordination meetings began last week as GGL Chairman Ronald Benter met with Konrad Landgraf, Managing Director of the State Office for Gambling Addiction in Bavaria (LSG).

Benter is scheduled to speak with individual state authorities to improve cooperation and exchange ideas on how to strengthen the laws of the Fourth Interstate Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV) to combat gambling addiction.

The GGL’s individual meetings aim to “better understand the challenges faced by state coordination offices and to develop joint approaches for intensified cooperation.”

The leadership of the GGL identified coordination challenges during its first meeting of interstate authorities in Halle in January 2023, shortly after the Saxony-Anhalt agency assumed the role of Federal Authority for German Gambling.

Seeking to apply a new strategy, Ben..

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) has published its evaluation report on the ‘Credit Card Ban for Gambling in Great Britain’.

In April 2020, Great Britain became the first nation to implement an outright ban on the use of credit cards for gambling transactions. The ban was implemented based on evidence that the use of credit cards was associated with greater harms amongst people who gamble.

Research pointed to GambleAware data gathered between July 2018 and July 2019 from 139,152 gambling accounts across seven gambling operators, which detailed that 5.7% of overall deposits into online gambling accounts were made using credit cards.

Although credit card transactions remained relatively low in usage, GambleAware noted that gamblers with significant wins or high losses were more likely to use credit cards, as indicated by 26% of players with losses exceeding £5,000.

Furthermore, evidence showed that 19.8% of account holders who had received an intervention had used cre..

The government of Sweden has granted additional powers to the Gambling Inspectorate, Spelinspektionen, to intervene directly in cases of ‘excessive online gambling.’

Yesterday, the government announced that the Inspectorate would be allowed to set individual “requirements on the content of license holders’ action plans to counter excessive gambling.”

This measure was described as a ‘sharper tool’ for Spelinspektionen to ensure that operators maintain consistent online safeguards, protections, and customer care duties for gambling consumers.

“This decision represents a tightening of efforts against gambling problems and strengthens consumer protection.”

Effective from 1 October , the Inspectorate will be permitted to change or modify the action plans of individual licensees concerning duty of care requirements.

Under the terms of the Gambling Act, Swedish online gambling operators are required to maintain an action plan outlining their duty of care procedures, protocols, and routin..

GambleAware has named Nicola Jaques as the new Chair of the group’s Lived Experience Council (LEC).

The gambling harm charity emphasised that the LEC plays an ‘integral part’ in informing, developing and monitoring its plans. It includes a variety of people whose lives have been impacted by gambling harm, including affected others.

Jaques commented: “It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to lead GambleAware’s Lived Experience Council.

“I am proud to be part of the ongoing fight against gambling harm with GambleAware and exceptionally grateful to help guide plans for the charity which has helped improve the lives of families like mine.”

GambleAware also emphasised how the LEC builds on its commitment to ensure its work is collaborative and best placed to support the communities most in need.

Meanwhile, Robert Parker has also joined the LEC and is the first member from Wales. He joined the LEC to share and use his personal journey of gambling harms to provide hope to others.

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Gambling harm prevention charity GambleAware has reported around £300k in Research, Prevention and Treatment (RET) donations received between April and June (Q1).

With the exact total standing at £294,722.99, the contributions list generally follows a rule of thumb where GambleAware receives a relatively small proportion of donations in Q1, gradually leading up to a greater proportion in Q4 (January-March).

The biggest RET donation was made by Skill on Net Ltd – a total of £40,000 – followed by Star Racing Ltd with £27,547.37 and ProgressPlay Ltd with £24,346.

The least amount was donated by GameBeat Studio with £7, while Angus Wallace (trading as Gus Bookmakers) made a total of £10 in Q1 contributions.

It is expected that the 2024/25 fiscal year will be the last year in which operators make their donations directly to the charities listed on the UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC) LCCP registry of approved organisations.

The change precedes the introduction of a statutory levy th..