Category Archives: Gambling

NSW’s cashless gambling trial expands to include nearly 4,500 poker machines

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Program to start in 2024 with nine times more pokies than initially planned by Labor

Almost 4,500 poker machines across 24 local government areas will be included in the New South Wales government’s cashless gambling trial to begin early next year.

The expanded trial will take place across 28 clubs of varying sizes, with advocates hoping it leads to universal cashless gaming in NSW, after both major parties put forward gambling reform plans at the March election.

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Brexit-backer Richard Desmond invokes EU law to sue Gambling Commission

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Ex-Express owner is expected to claim regulator made errors during bidding war for national lottery contract

Richard Desmond, the Brexit-backing media tycoon, is invoking EU law to sue the gambling regulator after it rejected his “fanciful” bid to run the national lottery, in a suit that could deprive good causes of millions of pounds.

The former owner of the Daily Express has vowed previously to seek damages from the Gambling Commission after his company Northern & Shell missed out on a 10-year contract, worth £6.5bn, to run the lottery from next year.

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Record revenues at UK gambling firms amid rise of online slot machines

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Industry takings top £15bn as government considers curbs on online slots due to association with addiction

Gambling firms are raking in more money than ever from UK punters, fuelled by a surge in the use of online slot machines, which the government is considering curbing due to their association with heavy losses and addiction.

The betting and gaming industry’s revenues reached £15.1bn in the year to March 2023, or £10.95bn excluding the National Lottery, figures from the Gambling Commission released on Thursday show.

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BoM provides El Niño update – as it happened

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Birmingham says China ‘doesn’t appear to be acknowledging the facts’

Shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham is speaking with ABC RN and is asked about sonar pulses from a Chinese warship that left one Australian naval diver injured.

The Australian navy and Australian defence force operates always with professionalism, and I’m confident that Australia’s version of events is a credible.

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Australia politics live: students protesting over climate crisis ‘are being the adults’, Adam Bandt says

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Follow the day’s news live

Shorten reiterates support for two-state solution

Patricia Karvelas then raises with Bill Shorten what was said on Q+A last night, when Nasser Mashni, the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, argued that hopes for a two-state solution “ended years ago”.

Oh, no, our policy has been to support a two-state solution.

There was a policy which we developed many, many years ago about respecting the security of Israel and the right of Palestinians to have a say in controlling their own land. I don’t think that’s a radical policy.

I think it’s unexceptional what the foreign minister said. We’re in very close step to the United States and other western nations. We’ve called for humanitarian pause, but we completely recognise that Israel’s dealing with Hamas who don’t want to negotiate, so the idea that we want an enduring peace, as Penny said, of course, is what we want.

We all know we’re a long way off that and Hamas should be prevailed upon by world opinion to hand back the hostages to say that they’re going to stop trying to kill Israelis and destroy Israel.

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Melbourne Cup: most Australians have little or no interest in ‘race that stops the nation’, Essential poll finds

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Only 11% of respondents to survey say they have ‘high interest’, down five points from before last year’s race

Punters are switching off the Melbourne Cup, with a majority of Australians reporting they have little or no interest in what was once “the race that stops the nation”.

According to the latest Essential poll of 1,049 voters, just 11% reported a “high interest” in the Melbourne Cup, down five points from when the question was asked before the 2022 race.

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Ukraine look to Las Vegas as model for ousting Russians from gambling sector

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Officials to take inspiration from way US authorities rooted out Italian mob in Nevada in bid to reduce Russian exploitation of industry

Ukrainian officials seeking to oust Russian actors from its gambling industry are going to emulate the methods of the US authorities in the 1980s when they rooted out the Italian mob from the casinos of Las Vegas.

Gambling was legalised in Ukraine after a 10-year ban shortly before the full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has since continued to be a profitable avenue for Russians who want to make money in the country and collect the personal data of Ukrainian gamblers.

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Australia news live: devastation revealed in Queensland bushfire aftermath

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There is ‘a lot of anxiety’ in the Western Downs where at least 16 houses have been destroyed, the mayor says. Follow the day’s news live

Civilians in the blockaded Gaza Strip will receive an extra $15m in humanitarian aid from the Australian government.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement at a joint press conference with US president Joe Biden.

The plaintiff served years in prison that he otherwise would not have. At no stage did Victoria Police take positive steps to remedy its wrongdoing by expeditiously informing the plaintiff of Gobbo’s conduct in order to quash his conviction. Victoria Police has not apologised to the plaintiff.

Starting this court case is a significant moment for me. I am anxious about the future but also cautiously optimistic about finally holding police to account for what they did to me.

In the pursuit of justice, vindication came first, and now I see compensation as a measure of accountability.

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Pokies venues owned by AFL clubs claim renovations and pay tv subscriptions as ‘community benefit’

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Venues owned by four clubs legally claimed a total of $8.6m in operating costs under Victorian scheme

Poker machine venues owned by AFL clubs have been spending millions of dollars in revenue on themselves – from kitchen renovations to Foxtel subscriptions – while claiming the costs as a community benefit to lower their tax bill.

Eight venues, owned by Carlton, Essendon, Richmond and St Kilda, collectively spent $8.6m on operating costs last year, legally claiming it under the state’s community benefits scheme.

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Australia politics live: Penny Wong condemns ‘any indiscriminate attacks and targeting of civilian infrastructure’ after Gaza hospital blast

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‘Protection of civilian lives must come first and respect for international humanitarian law is paramount,’ Australian foreign minister says. Follow the day’s news live

Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour speaks on the referendum

Just before the house adjourned for the evening on Tuesday, Labor Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour gave a speech about the referendum which is very much worth your time:

I want to say a few things about what led us to the recent referendum and what it means for those first peoples Australians most affected by the outcome, particularly the first peoples Australians in my electorate of Lingiari.

Because of some arcane parliamentary tradition, which I understand derives from English House of Commons, we are obliged to call the making of a speech at this time and in this place a ‘grievance debate’.

The price tag of Israel’s right to defend itself cannot be the destruction of Palestine.

Israel’s right to defend its civilians cannot equate to the annihilation of Palestinian civilians. I hereby call for an immediate ceasefire to come into effect, alongside many world leaders and experts.

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Sydney venue moves $26m in pokies profits to NRL club as ‘community development and support’

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Canterbury leagues club has given millions to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs since 2014-15

One of Australia’s biggest poker machine venues has shifted more than $26m in gambling profits over eight years to its parent company – an NRL club – while claiming the payments as a community benefit for a tax cut.

In New South Wales, clubs that donate a percentage of gambling profits to community causes receive a tax concession under a scheme called ClubsGrants, which is under review by the state government after years of sustained criticism.

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Gambling firms to be forced to pay about £100m a year to NHS

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Levy will be used to fund addiction research, prevention and treatment as part of government overhaul

Gambling companies will be forced to pay about £100m a year to the NHS to fund addiction research, prevention and treatment, as part of government changes that will replace a longstanding system of voluntary contributions.

Under a mandatory levy, which has been welcomed by clinicians and campaigners, online bookmakers and casinos will pay 1% of what they win from punters.

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News Corp sells stake in gambling startup Betr after initial investment of $70m

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Betr chairman says he is grateful for media company’s ‘initial and ongoing support’ but that it is no longer an investor

News Corp has sold its shares in gambling startup Betr less than a year after its launch and having received a record $210,000 fine from regulators in April.

Betr was established with a reported $70m backing from News Corp, the former BetEasy chief executive Matthew Tripp’s TGW and the Las Vegas firm Tekkorp, with the intention of utilising News Corp’s media assets to promote the company.

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Lotteries should not be exempt from credit card ban for online gambling, experts say

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Proposed laws provide carve out but financial counsellors say lottery products can cause ‘serious gambling harm’

Lottery companies should not be exempt from a ban on credit card use due to the harms they cause people with gambling addiction, according to financial counsellors, anti-gambling advocates and industry competitors.

The federal government has introduced legislation to ban credit card use for online wagering, citing high levels of community harm and people gambling with money they don’t have, but has proposed a carve out for lotteries.

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‘Staggering’ rise of gambling among school-age children leads to calls for urgent inquiry

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Exclusive: Without action, a ‘generation of young people’ could be addicted to gambling, says independent MP pushing for government to urgently intervene

MPs have called for an urgent parliamentary inquiry into the impact of advertising on children and young people by harmful industries after revelations by Guardian Australia of a 16% rise in young people seeking help for gambling in the last financial year.

The call, led by Dr Sophie Scamps, has been supported by the Greens and fellow Independent MPs including Andrew Wilkie, Monique Ryan, Zoe Daniel and Kate Chaney. Scamps said without action, advertising targeting children “at this vulnerable stage of life could create a generation of young people addicted to gambling”.

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Victoria to expand vacant residential land tax across state in bid to increase housing supply

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The surprise announcement came on the first day of parliament since Jacinta Allan became premier

Victoria’s treasurer has shocked the property industry and even some of his colleagues by announcing an expansion of taxes on vacant residential land during Jacinta Allan’s first day of parliament as premier.

Tim Pallas told an industry breakfast on Tuesday that he planned to introduce legislation to parliament this week, which will see the vacant residential land tax expanded to include the whole state from 1 January 2025.

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Hanson-Young labels Dutton’s voice campaigning ‘sinister’ – as it happened

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Residents of Pine Scrub and Leeka in Tasmania urged to leave amid out of control fire

A bushfire emergency warning has been issued to the Tasmanian communities of Pine Scrub and Leeka.

Burning embers may threaten your home before the main fire arrives.

Smoke and ash may make it difficult to see and breathe.

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Betting agency’s $40m payout for Penrith premiership believed to be largest in Australian history

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News Corp-backed Betr attracted controversy last year when it offered 100-1 odds on the 2023 NRL and AFL grand final winners, as well as other sports

The News Corp-backed betting agency Betr is in the process of paying out $40m in bets after Penrith’s grand final win on Sunday, which the company believes is an Australian record.

Betr attracted significant controversy earlier this year over its widely advertised launch campaign offering 100-1 odds on the Melbourne Cup, something that prompted regulatory intervention and a record $210,000 fine.

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In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found through GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In the US, the National Council on Problem Gambling is on 800-522-4700

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AFL criticised for promoting series of bets that have 85% loss rate for gamblers

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Analysis of 90 advertised same-game multis from Sportsbet shows only 15% would result in a win

The AFL has been promoting bets that have an 85% fail rate while taking a cut of the losses, drawing criticism from politicians and harm reduction advocates who want such ads banned.

Sportsbet suggests same-game multis during televised coverage, in segments hosted by the former AFL star Nathan Brown. These bets allow gambling on a combination of outcomes such as possessions and goal scorers, and all must succeed before money is paid out.

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Football fans received 11,000 gambling messages in Premier League opening weekend

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Study for 5 News warns of ‘overwhelming and inescapable’ betting imagery in the game

Football fans were bombarded with 11,000 gambling messages during the opening weekend of the latest Premier League season, according to a study that warns of “overwhelming and inescapable” betting imagery in the game.

Clubs in the top flight agreed earlier this year to ban gambling firms from sponsoring the front of players’ shirts from 2025, but the research – which analysed social media posts alongside hours of TV and radio – cast doubt on the likely effect of that measure, given the saturation of football with other gambling messages.

the sheer volume of gambling messages;

social media content not clearly labelled as ads; and

insufficient safer gambling messaging.

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