Category Archives: Gambling

Ex-White House teleprompter operator fined $172,000 for Trump speech bets

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Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Gabriel Perez wagered on Kalshi about words president used in speeches

A White House teleprompter operator who left his post amid accusations that he used inside knowledge to make bets on Donald Trump’s speeches on an online prediction market has been fined $172,000, according to federal regulators.

Gabriel Perez exploited “material, nonpublic information” that he gathered through his work for the president in order to place wagers on the Kalshi platform “for his personal benefit”, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) maintained in a news release on Friday.

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Former Liberal MP condemns Coalition for backing gambling reforms that ‘let down’ vulnerable Australians

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Jenny Ware, member of inquiry that recommended wagering advertising ban, says ‘public health crisis’ demands stronger response from major parties

The former Liberal MP Jenny Ware has condemned her one-time Coalition colleagues for backing Labor’s gambling legislation, claiming “vulnerable Australians have been let down”, as the parliament failed to back a full ban on wagering ads.

Ware, a member of the Peta Murphy-led inquiry in 2023 that recommended entirely ending wagering advertising and inducements, called gambling a public health crisis that demanded a much stronger response from both sides of politics.

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Peta Murphy called for gambling reform three years ago. Her husband says Labor’s changes fall ‘well short’

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The government’s gambling ad changes are expected to pass the Senate on Wednesday night or Thursday morning with the Coalition’s support

The husband of the late Labor MP Peta Murphy has said the government’s gambling reform “falls well short” of what she called for in 2023, lamenting that its shortcomings were due to the “considerable lobbying power” of the wagering, sporting and media industries.

Rod Glover said he had “mixed emotions” about Labor’s reforms, which are expected to pass parliament by Thursday, praising Anthony Albanese and minister Anika Wells for changes he said would reduce harms. But he said reform had taken too long and could have gone even further in meeting Murphy’s recommendations, which called for a full ban on gambling ads and inducements.

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Labour urges Gambling Commission to investigate firms linked to Reform UK donors

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Bridget Phillipson writes to watchdog asking it to look into claims Tether.bet and Fispay operated without a licence

The Gambling Commission has been urged to investigate claims that companies linked to Reform UK donors and allies of Nigel Farage have been operating without a licence.

The Labour party’s chair, Bridget Phillipson, has written to the watchdog asking it to look into Tether.bet, a Montenegro-based gambling company, and Fispay, a UK company owned by Reform’s data protection officer, Mowbray Jackson.

Whether Tether.bet, and its operators, provided or advertised remote gambling facilities to consumers in UK without the required licence

Whether Fispay Ltd, or any other UK company, provided or supported gambling facilities or services to consumers in the UK without the required licence.”

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Labor pledges opt-out register for online gambling ads akin to Do Not Call register for spam calls

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The new measure falls short of calls for gambling ads to move to an opt-in model, or for an outright ban

The Labor government has pledged a new single-service opt-out register for gambling ads – an idea similar to the Do Not Call register for spam calls – as part of amendments to its wagering ad bill, as well as restrictions on inducements and limiting commissions for agents.

The communications minister, Anika Wells, has also confirmed gambling companies will face a new levy to pay for the register, a beefed-up measure to curb wagering ads, after concerns were raised through a Senate inquiry that people would struggle to find or complete individual opt-out options on each online service.

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Labor open to ‘sensible amendments’ to gambling laws after inquiry hears alcohol and cocaine offered to punters

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Sources say Albanese government willing to tighten rules on betting inducements but less likely to budge on TV and online advertisements

The Albanese government is prepared to tighten rules on gambling inducements, but is less likely to budge on advertising rules, as negotiations continue on wagering legislation, which so far has lacked the support needed to pass parliament.

Federal Labor is open to considering amendments to its legislation from the Coalition when MPs return to Canberra this week, sources say.

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High-street slot machines and casinos could face £460m tax rise under Burnham

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Thinktank finds 43% of the public would support a move by Labour to raise taxes on adult gaming centres

All-night slot machine shops and casinos could face a £460m tax rise if Andy Burnham acts on his concerns about the gambling industry as prime minister, after an influential thinktank found the policy would have public support.

Known by some in the gambling sector as “slot sheds”, adult gaming centres (AGCs) have flooded UK high streets in recent years, disproportionately targeting economically deprived areas.

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‘We’re concerned’: US-based prediction markets taking bets on Australian elections and Albanese’s word choices

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Regulators and gambling harm advocates have been closely watching the rise in popularity of Polymarket and Kalshi

US-based “prediction market” websites are taking tens of thousands of dollars in bets on Australian elections and even specific words the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says in parliament, with gambling harm advocates and the wagering lobby raising alarm.

Australian financial and media regulators said they were monitoring the explosion in popularity of platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, which operate financial exchanges where users buy “shares” in contracts on the outcome of events.

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Green MP: Labour caricatures working-class people over greyhound racing

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Hannah Spencer says minister ‘continuously offends people by saying working-class people don’t care about dogs’

Labour is “offensively caricaturing” working-class people by saying they do not want a greyhound racing ban in England, the Green party MP Hannah Spencer has said.

The sport has traditionally been associated with working-class culture and has historically been popular in so-called red wall areas, which Labour insiders suggest is part of the reason why there are no plans for England to follow bans announced last month in Scotland and Wales.

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Native Americans were gambling with dice 6,000 years earlier than anyone else, study says

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Archaeological record suggests hunter gatherers were playing games of chance at the end of the last ice age

Native American hunter gatherers were using dice for gaming and gambling more than 6,000 years before the practice appeared anywhere else, a new study argues.

It says dice were being made and used on the western great plains of North America at the end of the last ice age, more than 12,000 years ago.

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Arizona charges Kalshi, alleging illegal gambling with election bets

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Kalshi calls Arizona’s case ‘paper-thin’ and says the platform should not be overseen by ‘inconsistent state laws’

Arizona’s attorney general on Tuesday filed criminal charges against Kalshi, accusing the prediction markets platform of operating an illegal gambling business in the state and unlawfully allowing people to place bets on elections.

The charges filed by Kris Mayes, the Arizona attorney general, marked the first time a state has pursued a criminal case against Kalshi, which has been at the center of an escalating battle over the ability of state gaming regulators to police prediction markets operators.

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Federal MPs accept free sport tickets from gambling companies amid calls to restrict wagering ads

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Tabcorp and Sportsbet provided tickets to at least six Liberal and Labor politicians, register of interests shows

At least six federal Labor and Liberal politicians, including an assistant minister and shadow ministers, have disclosed they accepted free tickets to lucrative sporting events from major gambling companies in the past six months, as the government faces calls to restrict wagering ads and better regulate the sector.

Anthony Chisholm, the assistant minister for regional development and agriculture, has declared twice in recent months taking tickets and hospitality from Tabcorp for major horse race meets in Victoria and Queensland. Sportsbet, Australia’s biggest online bookmaker, also provided tickets to rugby union, the Australian Open or race meets to the Labor MPs Raff Ciccone and Dan Repacholi, Coalition shadow ministers Dan Tehan and Tim Wilson, and Liberal MP Mary Aldred.

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Key aide to Nigel Farage was frontman for Premier League billionaire’s betting syndicate, lawsuit claims

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Exclusive: George Cottrell ‘gave control’ of gambling accounts to syndicate headed by Tony Bloom, the owner of Brighton & Hove Albion FC

George Cottrell, a close associate of Nigel Farage and a key figure in Reform UK’s inner circle, acted as a front for a major gambling syndicate that was “given control” of his betting accounts, a high court document alleges.

Cottrell acted as a stalking horse for a syndicate involving one of the world’s most successful gamblers, Tony Bloom, it is claimed in the public documents, filed at the high court.

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Australia’s heaviest betters undeterred by key gambling reform, research shows

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Exclusive: Report finds ban on credit card use for online wagering results in most gamblers switching to transaction account payments

One of the Albanese government’s flagship gambling reforms, a ban on using credit cards for online wagering, had the least impact on Australia’s heaviest betters, new research shows.

The ban saw most gamblers swap their form of payment to transaction accounts and left open a range of loopholes dedicated wagerers could exploit, according to a report by the e61 Institute.

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More than 670 NSW pokies venues to be stripped of ability to stay open after 4am

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Exclusive: Government to end exemptions to mandated closing times for pubs and clubs, including those that allow 24/7 gambling

More than 670 poker machine venues across New South Wales will lose their “outdated exemptions” to operate after 4am as the state government responds to pressure to address “a public health catastrophe”.

The decision, announced by the state’s gaming minister David Harris, will ensure gaming rooms are closed at the mandated 4am deadline. Some venues are allowing them to be played 24/7.

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Couple from Kazakhstan allegedly used hidden camera and earpieces to win $1.18m from Sydney’s Crown casino

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Woman, 36, and her husband, 44, arrested at Barangaroo and charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage

A married couple from Kazakhstan has allegedly won more than $1m from Sydney’s Crown casino using a tiny camera hidden in a Mickey Mouse T-shirt and “deep-seated earpieces” that allowed them to communicate.

New South Wales police said on Sunday the couple, Dilnoza Israilova and Alisherykhoja Israilov, were charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, after being arrested in the Barangaroo casino.

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Princess of Wales calls for end to ‘stigma’ around addiction

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Forward Trust patron says ‘compassion and love’ is needed to end fear and shame felt by those affected

The Princess of Wales has called for an end to the “stigma” surrounding addictions, saying the experiences of those dependent on drugs, alcohol or gambling are “shaped by fear, shame and judgment”.

Catherine, who is a patron of the charity Forward Trust supporting recovering addicts, said more open conversations were needed to bring the issue “out of the shadows” and for society to show “compassion and love” to those affected.

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Labor urged not to ‘go soft’ on gambling ads after reports the government may resist a total ban

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Crossbenchers and gambling harm advocates criticise suggestion the long-delayed recommendation may not happen due to under-16s social media ban

Crossbench politicians and gambling harm advocates have urged the Albanese government to follow through on the late MP Peta Murphy’s long-delayed recommendation to ban wagering ads, amid media reports Labor may baulk at putting major restrictions on television and online promotions.

The Australian Financial Review reported on Thursday the government may not pursue a total ban on online gambling ads, partly due to the under-16s social media ban helping stop children seeing digital advertisements.

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Australians still betting big on Melbourne Cup, despite many saying they’re losing interest in race

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But money spent betting on horse racing overall has sharply declined amid cost-of-living pressures and regulation

Australians say they are losing interest in the Melbourne Cup and the animal welfare campaign against it has never wavered, but the amount of money gambled on the race has barely changed since the pandemic.

Wagering turnover on the Melbourne Cup has fallen only slightly from the $221m recorded in 2020 to $214m last year. The five-year average spend, according to Racing Victoria figures, remains $220m.

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Addicts who opted to be banned from gambling in Australia targeted to bet with overseas firms

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Media regulator condemns ‘deeply concerning’ third-party websites that seek to entice bets from self-declared addicts

Offshore gambling companies are using third-party websites to entice Australian addicts to resume betting, even after gamblers have placed voluntary restrictions on themselves.

The new trend, targeting those registered with the federal government’s BetStop service, has been condemned as “deeply concerning and opportunistic” by the media regulator, which has begun contacting the websites to “make them aware of Australia’s interactive gambling laws”.

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