Category Archives: Gambling

Rachel Reeves ‘missed opportunity’ to raise £900m from online casinos

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Labour’s links to gambling industry questioned again after decision not to raise tax rate for online gaming

Rachel Reeves has been criticised over a “missed opportunity” to raise £900m from online casinos in her first budget as chancellor, amid concerns about the Labour party’s ties to the £11bn-a-year gambling sector.

Both the Liberal Democrats and Derek Webb – one of Labour’s largest donors – questioned the chancellor’s rejection of proposals to double remote gaming duty (RGD), levied on online games of chance, from 21% to 42%.

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How donations to political parties from gambling companies linked to horse racing have surged

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A total of $2.7m has been donated to the major parties in the past decade from eight companies

Political donations made to the major parties by gambling lobby groups have surged more than 600% in the past decade, new analysis shows, as the debate over whether to implement a total ban on gambling advertising rages on in Canberra.

The figures, reported to the Australian Electoral Commission and analysed by the Parliamentary Library, show donations from the biggest gambling companies involved in horse betting to the major parties have increased from $66,650 in 2013-14 to $488,000 in 2022-23, representing a 632% growth.

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NSW pokies club promoted rewards scheme on first day of gambling harm awareness week, emails show

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Members urged to ‘use your mobile phone to quickly tap and connect to a gaming machine’, potentially at odds with gambling ad ban

On day one of a gambling harm awareness week, one of the biggest pokies clubs in Australia reminded members they could earn rewards by using their machines.

GambleAware week is an annual campaign run by the New South Wales government to raise awareness of gambling harm. It urges people to set limits, to stay sober while gambling, to balance gambling with other interests and not to chase losses.

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Major football codes and gambling firms directly lobbied Albanese’s office on ad ban, documents show

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NRL, AFL and betting companies intensified efforts to try to influence PM in lead-up to finals

Newly released documents show how in the lead-up to footy finals the NRL, AFL and major wagering companies accelerated and intensified their efforts to directly lobby the prime minister’s office to influence a proposed gambling ad ban.

The gambling industry’s peak body sought to bypass the responsible minister and discuss ad ban issues directly with Anthony Albanese, according to documents tabled in parliament on Friday, which revealed details of letters, emails and meeting agendas and memos.

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Shares in UK gambling firms fall £3bn amid talk of higher taxes in budget

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Thinktank reports saying sector should be hit with extra £900m to £3bn in levies prompts market selloff

Shares in British gambling companies have dropped sharply, reducing the stock market value of large operators by more than £3bn, after the Guardian reported that Treasury officials could tap the sector for between £900m and £3bn in extra taxes.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has come under pressure from two influential thinktanks to raise taxes on the industry, as she pulls every available lever to plug a £22bn “black hole” in the nation’s finances.

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Poacher turned gamekeeper: the gambler who turned tables on bookies and lobbies for UK tax rise

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Multimillionaire Derek Webb, a Labour donor, goes all-in with support for levy on online casinos and bookmakers

As a former professional poker player, Derek Webb is used to rising from the table holding more chips than he started with.

Vanquished opponents are left scratching their heads, wondering how they have been bested by a softly spoken, bespectacled septuagenarian with a Derby accent.

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Labour considers up to £3bn tax raid on gambling firms

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Treasury weighing proposals as chancellor attempts to plug £22bn hole in public finances

Ministers are considering a tax raid of up to £3bn on the gambling sector as Rachel Reeves casts around for funds to shore up the public finances.

Treasury officials are understood to be weighing up proposals, put forward by two influential thinktanks and backed by one of the party’s top five individual donors, to double some of the taxes levied on online casinos and bookmakers.

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Assange says he is free because he ‘pled guilty to journalism’ – as it happened

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National weather forecasts

Sticking with the weather, here’s a look at the forecasts across Australia’s capital cities today:

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Gambling companies gifted hospitality to 19 Australian politicians for major sports events

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Alliance for Gambling Reform labels gifts an ‘undemocratic opportunity for lobbying’ but MPs defend hospitality as within rules and properly disclosed

Gambling reform campaigners have accused wagering companies of “showering” federal politicians with hospitality as the government considers advertising restrictions, with new data showing betting groups have given numerous free tickets to MPs.

New analysis from the Alliance for Gambling Reform, informed by a new database collecting all federal politicians’ updates to their parliamentary register of interests, shows at least 19 have accepted hospitality from wagering companies to attend major events including the Melbourne Cup, Australian Open, AFL matches and cricket games.

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Calls for regulation of gambling ads in football as number of promotions soars

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Premier League fans exposed to almost 30,000 messages in one weekend despite restrictions, research finds

Ministers have been urged to intervene to stop football clubs from setting their own rules on curbing gambling advertising, after research showed Premier League fans were bombarded with nearly 30,000 gambling messages on a single weekend.

Clubs in the top flight have so far avoided compulsory restrictions on gambling sponsorship, instead addressing public concern through voluntary measures such as a ban on front-of-shirt logos, starting in 2026.

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Gambling lobby pushes Labor to consider age verification to block minors from betting

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Meanwhile anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello fears Albanese government will ‘squib’ on broad reform

Opponents of a gambling ad ban are pushing the federal government to instead consider using age verification to block minors from sports betting content.

Earlier this month the government announced plans to ban young children from accessing social media using age verification technology.

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Gambling firm appears to trivialise Lebanon pager blasts in social media post

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London-listed Evoke, which owns William Hill, apologises for post on Israeli Facebook page linking to job ads

The gambling company that owns the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green brands has apologised after one of its social media accounts appeared to make light of the pager explosions in Lebanon that killed 12 people and injured thousands.

The explosions on Tuesday were followed by walkie-talkies exploding on Wednesday, killing another 20 people.

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Labor push for vote on help-to-buy bill delayed in Senate – as it happened

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White House marks three years since signing of Aukus agreement

Happy three-year anniversary of the signing of Aukus, to those who observe.

Three years ago, President Biden and our Australian and United Kingdom partners committed to Aukus, an enhanced security partnership that promotes a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable.

As this partnership has grown, it has strengthened the security of our allies in the region as well as our own security here at home. Over the past three years, our countries have made significant strides in supporting Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability.

That is bad news for Australian solar homes.

To create space for inflexible nuclear power plants ramming energy into the grid, millions of household solar systems will be the first casualty.

Solar power is already being switched off in South Australia when it makes so much free power available that it exceeds electricity demand.

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Sky Betting & Gaming reprimanded for unlawfully sharing users’ personal data

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ICO says online gambling company passed customers’ information to advertising technology companies

The online gambling company Sky Betting & Gaming has been reprimanded by the data regulator for unlawfully sharing customers’ information with advertising companies that could then target those users with personalised marketing.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it had investigated Bonne Terre Ltd, trading as Sky Betting & Gaming, after a complaint by the campaign group Clean Up Gambling.

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Calls grow for total ban on gambling ads as Australia’s annual losses surge to $32bn

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Exclusive: On a per capita basis, ACT residents posted the heaviest gambling losses and Western Australia the least, according to new data

Australia’s gambling losses have surged from $25.6bn annually pre-Covid to $32bn in 2022-23, according to new data from the Queensland government.

The data, released on Tuesday, revealed Australians are now losing $1,555 per capita, up from $1,395 in 2021-22.

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National RSL head backs call to stop veterans charity name being used on pokies venues

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Exclusive: Concerns venues ‘don’t share values’ as debate continues over whether poker machines belong in RSL clubs at all

The national head of the Returned and Services League of Australia has backed a push to stop licensed clubs from using the RSL letters in their names amid internal division over whether poker machines should be phased out of the venues altogether.

The RSL president, Greg Melick, said the veterans’ charity was concerned its name was being used by “organisations that don’t share our values” and that licensed clubs should have to ask for permission before using it.

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Key gambling harm advocate ‘saddened’ by Albanese’s statements on betting ads

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Tim Costello says the prime minister has ‘mindlessly’ followed gambling industry’s attempts to present him as a prohibitionist

Tim Costello has rejected Anthony Albanese’s suggestion he wants gambling banned and accused the prime minister of “mindlessly” repeating industry attack lines to justify a partial gambling ad ban.

On Thursday Costello, the chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said he was “very disappointed” at Albanese. Costello insisted in 30 years of advocacy he has “never been a prohibitionist”.

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NSW’s cashless gaming trial has just 32 participants as one in two venues drop out

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Gaming minister insists trial providing ‘a really good picture’, despite low takeup

More than $8bn is funnelled into NSW’s 85,000 poker machines each year, casting doubt on the insight to be gained from a cashless gaming trial involving 32 participants.

The tiny number of players involved in the state’s signature gaming pilot was revealed on Friday, along with news that one in every two venues have tapped out since March.

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Albanese to propose ‘substantial funding uplift’ for family violence services at national cabinet

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PM says plan to end family domestic and sexual violence in a generation will require an ‘all-hands-on-deck approach’ but funding questions remain

Anthony Albanese will propose a “substantial package” at national cabinet to fund frontline services for those fleeing family and domestic violence, including accommodation and legal help.

The package responds to recommendations of the rapid review of prevention approaches, which called for a “significant funding uplift” in certain frontline areas.

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Anti-gambling ads to ‘swarm’ key Labor seats during footy finals season

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Exclusive: Alliance for Gambling Reform to ramp up pressure on Albanese government to impose a full gambling ad ban

Three key Labor seats won at the last election will be targeted by a “swarm” campaign of anti-gambling ads during footy finals season.

The ads, organised by the Alliance for Gambling Reform, will run in the Parramatta, Bennelong and Gilmore electorates in an attempt to pressure the government into a full gambling ad ban.

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