SBC News

GambleAware has published findings from a study that looked into the engagement between people from marginalised communities and gambling.

The research, conducted by The National Centre for Social Research, suggests these groups may be more likely to use gambling as a ‘coping mechanism’.

This was found using data from 138 previous studies to explore how socially excluded groups are impacted by gambling.

Zoë Osmond, Chief Executive at GambleAware, said: “Our new report shows how people from marginalised communities, who are already dealing with many different issues in their lives, struggle with gambling harms.

“There needs to be more engagement with these communities to build awareness around the risks of gambling harm, and service providers need to ensure they can appropriately meet the needs of people in different circumstances.”

The research looked into several groups, including people who experience or are at risk of homelessness, older people, people living with disabilitie..

The New Zealand government has initiated plans to regulate online casinos, aiming to have the new regulatory framework in place by early 2026.

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden stated that the government has agreed to a high-level approach for online casino regulation. This approach aims to minimise harm, support tax collection, and provide consumer protections for New Zealanders.

Van Velden explained that there will be a licensing system for online casinos. Operators must comply with specific criteria before offering services to New Zealanders. It will be illegal for unlicensed operators to provide services.

“We regulate most forms of gambling domestically through licensing. This regulation is not intended to increase gambling but to ensure operators meet consumer protection and harm minimization requirements, as well as paying taxes,” Van Velden said.

The government will allocate a limited number of licenses via auction, each lasting three years and conditional on me..

The National Gaming Authority of France (ANJ) has announced a new partnership with the Addiction Federation.

In 2019, France’s Gaming Observatory estimated the number of at-risk players at 1.4 million, with nearly 400,000 being at a pathological level. This means that problem gambling generates over 38% of the sector’s turnover and 21% for excessive players alone.

It was Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, President of the ANJ, and Catherine Delorme, President of the Addiction Federation, who agreed to the deal last week.

The partnership now specifically looks to strengthen the prevention of excessive gambling and the protection of minors, through the implementation of joint actions.

Meanwhile, according to new data from the ANJ, sports betting in the country grew 24% as €5bn (£4.2bn) was placed on sports during Q1 2024.

In its 2024/2026 strategic plan, the organisation has prioritised reducing the share and number of excessive gamblers and to strengthen the ability of gamblers to better c..

LeoVegas AB has confirmed the inbound appointment of Carl Brincat, former Chief Executive of the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), as the new Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs.

Joining in August, Brincat will form part of LeoVegas’ regulatory compliance team led by Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Abby Cosgrave.

An expert in all disciplines related to igaming policies, licensing, and the development of regulatory safeguards, Brincat served as Chief Executive of the MGA from 2021 to 2024.

Of significance, his tenure saw the MGA apply new systems and controls to enhance money laundering protections, customer care duties, and tighter inspection of licences.

As detailed, Brincat will “spearhead the Group’s policy efforts and coordinate relationships with industry trade bodies to support LeoVegas Group’s rapid global expansion.”

Commenting on the appointment, Abby Cosgrave, LeoVegas Group Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, said, “I’m very happy to welcome Carl Brincat to LeoVegas Group. ..

Professor Sian Griffiths (CBE) has called on the Labour Government to ensure that a robust national strategy protects Britain from gambling harms.

Appointed as the new Chair of Trustees of GambleAware, Griffiths, a former Faculty President of Public Health England (PHE), is recognised as a distinguished public policy expert in the management and administration of healthcare networks.

Writing in the Commons news source PoliticsHome, Griffiths stated that the General Election tainted by the gambling scandal serves as a “stark reminder of how normalised gambling has become in our society”.

“In Britain, up to 4.8 million people experience harm from their own or someone else’s gambling – but how did we get here?”

As such, the Labour government must rectify the Gambling Act of 2005, which liberalised gambling within British society. This framework, implemented during Labour’s last tenure in office, has had devastating impacts compounded by further governments.

A comprehensive national s..

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has put out a statement following the publication of the Gambling Survey of Great Britain (GSBG).

A BGC spokesperson explained that the methodology used in this survey is different to those previously conducted into betting and gaming.

Their statement emphasised: “As a result, the Gambling Commission has been clear, GSGB should not be used to make direct comparisons with results from prior surveys, as a measure of addiction, or to gross up problem gambling prevalence to the whole population.”

The survey collects the official statistics on gambling behaviour in the country, and is one of the largest surveys of its kind in the world, collecting data from 20,000 respondents each year.

The spokesperson added that BGC members are ‘concerned these findings may be unreliable’ because there is a significant risk GSGB overstates gambling participation and gambling related harm.

“Surveys using predominantly online self-completion consistently produce hig..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published the year-one statistics and datasets of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) for 2023.

The survey is a key directive of the Commission, which in 2021 launched a pilot programme to re-model how data is collected on “adult gambling participation and problem gambling prevalence statistics”.

Adopting a new methodology and data-collection approach, the survey will replace previous datasets provided by the NHS on problem gambling prevalence.

As noted: “The Gambling Commission has today launched a new gambling survey which is set to become one of the largest in the world and establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain.”

Commission CEO, Andrew Rhodes, has supported the application of the re-modelled survey as the most comprehensive evaluation of gambling participation undertaken by a regulatory authority.

Speaking at December’s GambleAware conference, Rhodes noted: “The Gambling Survey for Great Britain h..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published the year-one statistics and datasets of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) for 2023.

The survey is a key directive of the Commission, which in 2021 launched a pilot programme to re-model how data is collected on “adult gambling participation and problem gambling prevalence statistics”.

Adopting a new methodology and data-collection approach, the survey will replace previous datasets provided by the NHS on problem gambling prevalence.

As noted: “The Gambling Commission has today launched a new gambling survey which is set to become one of the largest in the world and establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain.”

Commission CEO, Andrew Rhodes, has supported the application of the re-modelled survey as the most comprehensive evaluation of gambling participation undertaken by a regulatory authority.

Speaking at December’s GambleAware conference, Rhodes noted: “The Gambling Survey for Great Britain h..