Category Archives: Gambling

NSW government failing to measure or reduce gambling harm, damning audit finds

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Gambling losses and calls to helplines both up but Minns government has no benchmarks or measures to assess its harm minimisation strategy, report says

The New South Wales government has not set targets to reduce the harm caused by about 90,000 poker machines in the state and does not know if it is protecting people, according to a damning audit.

The state’s auditor general has also said the NSW government is doing “relatively little” to assess whether pubs and clubs are identifying and preventing gambling harm at their venues.

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NSW gamblers losing $24m to poker machines every day, analysis shows

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Wesley Mission says the ‘devastating impact deepens every day’ with one western Sydney area averaging $2m a day lost to pokies

The New South Wales government has failed to prevent serious gambling harm with $2.7bn lost to poker machines in the first 90 days of this year, according to a charity group pushing for tougher regulation.

Analysis of state government data by Wesley Mission has found the amount of money lost to poker machines during the first quarter of 2025 increased by 5.7% when compared with the same period in 2024.

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Gambling company offered Melbourne man $25,000 on condition he withdraw complaint to regulator and be liable for ‘adverse media’

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Exclusive: Conditions on settlement negotiations common in many industries but consumer advocates concerned they could be used to ‘silence victims and avoid scrutiny’

A Melbourne man says he was offered $25,000 by a gambling company on the condition that he withdraw a complaint to an industry regulator, agree to confidentiality provisions and indemnify them, including against adverse media coverage.

Gordon Burns, 23, argues his 2022 betting frenzy with two bookmakers showed “consistent patterns of addictive behaviour” and alleges that no one from either company checked on him to minimise gambling harm.

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Number of vape shops in England rises by almost 1,200% in a decade

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Research also shows deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent high streets

The number of vape shops on high streets across England has increased by almost 1,200% over the past decade, while deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent ones, according to research.

In 2014, only 33.8% of 317 local authorities in England had a vape shop, rising to 97.2% in 2024. Similarly, in 2014 less than 1% of local authorities in England had 10 or more vape shops, rising to 28% in 2024.

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‘Proud to’: Liberal MP spruiks tougher gambling proposal, but says Coalition plans good ‘first step’

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Exclusive: Keith Wolahan launched ads supporting stronger stance two days after federal election called, but also says Coalition policy important ‘first step’

A Liberal moderate who was part of a bipartisan parliamentary committee that urged the federal government to adopt a total ban on gambling advertising has paid for campaign material, stating he was “proud to” do so, inadvertently highlighting different policy positions within the Coalition.

The Coalition has resisted calls from advocates to take a policy to the election that would ban gambling advertising outright, instead pledging to ban “gambling ads one hour before, during and one hour after live sports broadcasts”.

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‘We stuffed a lot of things up’: Sportsbet CEO slams his company’s past advertising campaigns

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Barni Evans laments being involved in an advertising ‘arms race’ and says company did not do enough to stop integrity threats to major sports

Australia’s largest online gambling company has conceded it failed to properly understand its responsibility to prevent financial crime and did not do enough to stop serious integrity threats to major sporting codes.

The Sportsbet chief executive, Barni Evans, told an industry conference in Sydney on Wednesday that the company “forgot to do some grownup things” and “stuffed a lot of things up”, including its involvement in an advertising “arms race”.

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Australians lose more money to gambling in a year than government spends on aged care, report finds

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The $31.5bn lost each year likened to a ‘hidden, unspoken black hole’ that cost-of-living policies have not addressed

Australians are losing more money to gambling each year than the federal government spends on aged care and almost as much as it spends on the national disability insurance scheme, a new report has found.

The report by Equity Economics found that despite the cost-of-living crisis, the amount of money being lost to gambling has significantly increased. Expenditure on gambling has also risen faster than the cost of education, housing and inflation.

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Gambling companies threaten to ramp up betting promotions to counter AFL revenue grab

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Exclusive: Critics say inducements are harmful and urge a ban as recommended by Murphy inquiry

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Gambling companies are preparing to ramp up their use of harmful inducements that encourage people to spend more money, in response to the AFL’s push for a bigger slice of gambling revenue.

Earlier this week, Guardian Australia revealed AFL executives had cited concerns about serious shortcomings in the integrity system to justify a campaign to seize a bigger share of money gambled on its games.

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AFL admits it has lost control of online gambling oversight amid spike in ‘integrity risks’

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Exclusive: Leaked documents reveal the AFL struggles to detect if players are using inside information to manipulate betting markets, despite close ties to industry

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The AFL has admitted its integrity system for online gambling is seriously deficient and struggles to identity whether players, coaches and staff are using inside information to manipulate betting markets, in breach of their contracts.

Leaked documents seen by Guardian Australia reveal executives have expressed alarm about an “unprecedented” increase in “integrity risks” posed by the wagering industry, which has exploded in popularity since the pandemic with more than 80 bookmakers now taking bets on its games.

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AFL plan to extract more money from gambling faces potential legal challenge

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Exclusive: Bookmakers consider fighting proposal to increase fees from 0.9% to 1.5% of turnover from most bets

The AFL’s bid to secure a bigger share of gambling losses – despite public health warnings and criticism of sports betting – faces a potential legal challenge from bookmakers who believe it is already taking too much.

A draft proposal sent to bookmakers shows the AFL wants to significantly increase the cut it takes from bets placed on its matches. The cut, known as a product fee, is a percentage of a bookmaker’s turnover or revenue, whichever is highest.

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Streaming giant broadcast ads for offshore gambling company during A-League match

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Exclusive: Paramount+ blames an international feed for the 8Xbet ad’s broadcast, while the regulator is considering action

Streaming giant Paramount+ broadcast ads for an offshore gambling company known for its bikini-clad croupiers during an A-League match last week in a potential breach of advertising rules.

Ads for the gambling company 8Xbet were digitally imposed on the sidelines of a match between Wellington Phoenix and Brisbane Roar in New Zealand on Thursday.

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UK betting giants under fire for ads targeting at-risk gamblers

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Judge condemns firm for use of customer’s data after problem gambler was sent 1,300 emails over two years

Gambling companies in Britain could be forced to overhaul their advertising practices after a betting firm was ruled to have unlawfully targeted a problem gambler who was bombarded with more than 1,300 marketing emails.

In a ruling at the high court, a judge found that Sky Betting & Gaming sent the man personalised marketing without proper consent after gathering hundreds of thousands of pieces of data about him and his gambling habits.

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Gamblers complain to Bet365 over outage during Champions League matches

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Online gambling firm’s service ‘issues’ left bettors apparently unable to ‘cash out’ on busy night in European football

The online gambling company Bet365 has been flooded with complaints after it suffered an outage during one of the busiest nights of European football this season.

Customers claimed to have lost out on thousands of pounds owing to what the company called “issues with our service” during the second half of Wednesday night’s 18 Champions League games.

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MPs in new freebie row after accepting darts hospitality from betting firm

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Labour’s James Frith and Conservative Caroline Nokes gifted tickets by Paddy Power worth up to £1,000 each

Two MPs received VIP tickets for the sold-out World Darts Championships courtesy of a betting company – weeks after a national outcry over politicians accepting freebies.

Labour MP James Frith, who has campaigned for safer gambling, and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, the deputy speaker of the House of Commons, were gifted “platinum” hospitality tickets by Paddy Power worth up to £1,000 each.

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KPMG under investigation over audit of gambling company Entain

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FRC confirms inquiry into accounting firm’s 2022 audit of Ladbrokes, Coral and Sportingbet owner

The accounting firm KPMG is under investigation by the sector’s UK regulator over its audit of the 2022 accounts of the gambling company Entain.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said its enforcement division would be examining the conduct of the “big four” accounting firm, without saying what the investigation related to.

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Victorian RSL clubs spent only 1.5% of pokies revenue on veteran welfare, study finds

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Financial analysis shows clubs took $2.1bn in gambling revenue over 10-year period but spent 12 times more on business expenses than support programs

Only 1.5% of the money lost by gamblers in poker machines in Victorian RSLs over several years went towards improving veteran welfare, new research shows.

The study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, analysed records submitted to the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission over a 10-year period.

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University of Sydney has invested in world’s biggest poker machine maker and global betting giant

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Experts say ‘disappointing’ relationships with gambling industry, including funding for research, should be scrutinised

The University of Sydney has financial stakes in the world’s biggest poker machine manufacturer and a global sports betting giant, both of which have funded its academics and bankrolled specialist gambling research centres.

Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show the university held shares in Aristocrat, and in Entain, which runs the Ladbrokes and Neds brands, between 2021 and early 2024. Shares may have been held before and after this period, beyond the scope of the FoI.

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Australian father calls out Spotify for allegedly playing Sportsbet ads during Frozen and Bluey songs

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Man says gambling ads ‘potentially damaging’ for his children who regularly listen to Disney and the Wiggles on his account on music streaming app

The Australian gambling agency Sportsbet has paused advertising with the music streaming company Spotify, after its content was allegedly played between children’s songs.

The pause comes after Guardian Australia reported on a complaint by a father who alleged the “potentially damaging” ads were inserted between Disney songs.

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Victoria clubs give more money to themselves in guise of ‘community benefits’ for tax breaks

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Latest disclosures include clubs who claim millions spent on their own golf and racecourses as donations to broader community

Poker machine venues in Victoria have significantly increased the amount of gambling revenue they are spending on themselves, while justifying it as a “community benefit” to get a tax cut.

Victoria’s community benefit scheme provides a tax cut to clubs that reinvest 8.33% of gambling revenue back into the community. But these clubs are able to list upgrades to their own golf courses, renovations and operating costs – which help keep gambling rooms open – as community benefits.

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Communications minister’s office admits gambling ad reform taking ‘longer than hoped’

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Exclusive: Emails seen by Guardian Australia from Michelle Rowland's office say they ‘can’t commit to a revised timeframe’ on the long-awaited reforms

The communications minister’s office has apologised to multiple people harmed by the gambling industry after delaying long-awaited advertising reforms, admitting government action has taken “longer than hoped”.

Emails seen by Guardian Australia shows Michelle Rowland’s office “can’t confirm a revised timeframe” for when it will formally respond to a report from the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, which called for a total wagering ad ban some 18 months ago.

“I acknowledge the ongoing toll this is taking on you and others, and I’m personally very sorry that we have not been able to secure an outcome thus far,” a staffer for the minister said in an email.

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