Daily Archives: February 23, 2017

The gambling commission believes betting breaches are widespread.

Former FIFA and Interpol adviser Chris Eaton has told BBC Sport that 53 footballers that have been reported for breaching betting rules are only "the tip of the iceberg."

Eaton, who is now a sport integrity expert, added that only "naive or careless players" would be caught and highlighted specifically ones who use their own name and account.

BBC Sport obtained the numbers from the Gambling Commission's Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) after making a Freedom of Information request.

SBIU confirmed it received 53 allegations of footballers placing bets on matches between Aug. 1, 2014 and Dec. 23, 2016, but that figure is reported to relate to uncorroborated reports rather than confirmed instances of rule breaking.

However, SBIU also confirmed more alleged breaches were being investigated as a result of its own intelligence work.

As a measure against corruption in football, new rules came into effect as of August 2014 that applied to not just players but anyone involved in football.

Wayne Shaw, who was asked to resign from his position as Sutton United goalkeeper and fitness coach, is one player currently being investigated following a potential breach of betting rules.

Follow @ESPNFC on Twitter to keep up with the latest football updates.

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Gambling Commission believes insider betting is rife within football ... - ESPN FC

Dan Le Batard comments on Wayne Shaw's pie-eating during Sutton's FA Cup match against Arsenal. Wayne Shaw steals the show in the FA Cup, Conan O'Brien joins Gio dos Santos and more in The Sweeper.

Former sports minister Richard Caborn labelled gambling within sport a "serious problem" after Wayne Shaw's pie-eating stunt in Sutton's FA Cup clash with Arsenal.

The 46-year-old reserve goalkeeper handed in his resignation on Tuesday as he prompted a betting probe after he was shown on television tucking into the snack towards the end of the 2-0 loss.

Discussing gambling within sport on BBC Radio 5 live, Caborn said: "It is a serious problem. People are jesting about it, particularly the incident the other night, but there's a very serious question underlying this, and the responsibility of the gambling industry itself.

"It's not just football -- we've seen what's happened in cricket, in snooker. You can in many sports.

"This is an area of some concern about the integrity of sport. If we are going to see the central point, as an ex-sports minister, I would be saying, 'The integrity of sport is absolute -- it should not be compromised.'

"We've seen that, whether it's been in anti-doping, now gambling -- you don't have to throw the result, but you are creating a situation which is not fair on the playing field."

Sutton held their own against a strong Arsenal side, only for manager Paul Doswell to be left dealing with the fallout of Shaw's antics.

The departing keeper admitted after the match he was aware Sun Bets -- who also sponsored Sutton's shirts for the night -- were offering 8-1 on him to be shown eating in the dugout during the game.

Both the Football Association and Gambling Commission announced independent investigations into the stunt, which Doswell felt had taken something away from his players on the biggest night of most of their careers.

"Wayne has offered his resignation to the chairman this afternoon and that has been accepted. It's a very sad end to what was a very good story," he said.

"He's absolutely devastated -- tears down the phone this afternoon. There's no joy and nothing good coming out of this particular situation for him.

"It's taken the gloss off my players' performance and gone on to something it shouldn't have gone on to. I feel very sorry for the players in many regards that that spotlight has been taken away from them.

"It was an honest error but one that's had quite sad ramifications. Wayne's been swept along with what's happened in this last three or four weeks."

The FA announced on Tuesday that it will launch an inquiry to determine whether Shaw breached its gambling regulations.

There could also be fall-out for the bookmakers, with the Gambling Commission confirming its own investigation into the incident to decide whether Sun Bets had breached its licence requirement by offering such a bet in the first instance.

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Richard Caborn: Gambling within sport a serious problem - ESPN FC

CARSON CITY A bill that would significantly increase the amount of funding available to address problem gambling in Nevada saw no opposition Wednesday during a Senate committee hearing.

Senate Bill 120 would increase funding from the approximately $1.8 million in fiscal year 2018 in Gov. Brian Sandovals proposed 2017-19 budget to as much as $2.8 million a year.

Anthony Cabot, a member of the Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling, said the current revenue comes from a $2 fee on slot machines. But the number of machines has been declining, reducing the amount of money available for the program.

The bill would change the source of funding from the $2 per slot machine fee to a set amount of license fees that would see an annual increase for inflation.

The change would end the link to the number of slot machines and provide for a more stable funding source going forward, Cabot told the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.

Sen. Tick Segerblom, one of two sponsors of the bill, said the gaming industry is supportive of the bill.

Nevada is a live and let live state, but it also needs to support programs for people who suffer from addictive behaviors, he said.

There was no testimony in opposition to the bill during the hearing. No immediate action was taken on it.

Cabot said the original legislation approved in 2005 opted for the $2 per slot tax with the belief that the number of machines would continue to increase over time. But the number of slot machines has declined by 50,000 in that time, reducing the revenue to combat problem gambling, he said.

Slot fees from the current program are estimated at about $1.3 million a year for the coming two years.

Denise Quirk, chairwoman of the advisory committee, said the fees have been as low as $800,000 a year during lean times in Nevada.

Nevada is a leader in global gaming, and the state should also be a leader in reducing problem gambling, she said. The state has the second-highest incidence of problem gambling in the nation, Quirk said. An estimated 142,000 Nevada residents are problem gamblers.

The funding change would mean about $1 per capita to combat problem gambling, up from the current 60 cents, she said. Nevada is among the states with the lowest funding for such programs, with Delaware at $1.40 per capita and Oregon at $1.30, according to information provided to the committee.

The funds go to programs administered by the state Department of Health and Human Services that address several areas, including prevention and research.

The bill also proposes to change the composition of the advisory committee to include additional professionals who can participate in the effort to combat the problem.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.

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Bill to raise funding for problem gambling draws no opposition - Las Vegas Review-Journal

MGM Resorts International by the end of the year will introduce a new program to reinforce responsible gambling among its players in a bid to normalize the conversation about compulsive play.

The company on Wednesday is announcing a partnership with the British Columbia Lottery Corp. to license its GameSense responsible gambling program at all of MGMs U.S. properties, including its 10 Las Vegas resorts.

MGM also will donate $1 million over five years to UNLVs International Gaming Institute to conduct research on compulsive gambling using data collected through the GameSense program.

UNLV will share its findings with compulsive gambling researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University with whom UNLV has had long-term relationships.

Addiction experts say about 2.5 million gamblers suffer a compulsive gambling disorder, with 3 million more considered problem gamblers and 15 million more at risk of becoming problem gamblers. Thats about 2.9 percent of the adult gambling population, although percentages are greater in Nevada where its estimated that between 2.2 percent and 3.6 percent of players suffer some form of addiction.

DEFINING COMPULSIVE GAMBLING

Compulsive gambling is defined as having a preoccupation with gambling and the uncontrollable urge to gamble despite the negative consequences it may produce. Addicts often play to recover their losses and will lie, steal and cheat to support their habit.

When MGM was licensed to build its MGM Springfield resort, due to open next year in Springfield, Massachusetts, the states gaming regulators ordered MGM to institute GameSense at the property as a condition of licensing. When MGM reviewed the program, executives were so impressed with it that they decided to integrate it in all its U.S. locations.

Initially, MGM will set up signage and kiosks at its properties with personnel to counsel players about addictive gambling behaviors. As the program develops, MGM officials hope to integrate it into the companys mLife loyalty card program to enable players to set time and spending limits on play to alert them when they are approaching the levels they set.

The partnership announcement was scheduled to be made Wednesday afternoon at the three-day New Horizons in Responsible Gambling conference in Vancouver.

OK TO STOP

Alan Feldman, executive vice president of global government and industry affairs for MGM, said the core of GameSense is reinforcing healthy gambling behavior.

If the customer believes that this program is the problem-gambling police coming to get you, theyre going to run and hide, Feldman said in a telephone interview. If the public, on the other hand, sees this as were just here to remind you that youre supposed to be having fun, it should help.

If at any moment its not fun and its not affordable, its totally OK to stop, Feldman said. Were not going to be upset. Were going to still appreciate you and value you as a customer, in fact, maybe even more because youve made that decision and good for you.

Feldman said GameSense signage and collateral material giving facts about gambling and slot machines will be available on the casino floor. He said its too early to determine how many GameSense advisers will be hired, but he added the company is planning for 24/7 coverage and the size of a casino floor may determine how many advisers there will be.

BETTER INFORMED CHOICES

For the British Columbia Lottery Corp., which operates GameSense in Canadas casinos as well as in lottery ticket sales locations, the company will receive an undisclosed licensing fee from MGM as well as a relationship with a well-known U.S. operator.

The use of the system at MGM properties should help enhance the effectiveness of the program, said Jim Lightbody, president and CEO of the British Columbia Lottery Corp.

Lightbody said the GameSense concept is to be more inviting and transparent with players to encourage them to make better informed choices when gambling.

In each of our gaming facilities we have 36 of them here in British Columbia we place GameSense information centers within the facilities and they have advisers in them. The centers are bright and attractive where people can come sit down and talk to somebody about their own behavior, or maybe a friend of theirs is having a problem or needing some counseling.

Staff members are trained to look for players who may be in distress and to counsel them about taking breaks from play if they are spending too much time or money in their play.

RESEARCH TEAM

Bo Bernhard, executive director of UNLVs International Gaming Institute, said its too early to determine what kinds of problem gambling research will emerge when a team of scholars gets access to GameSense data.

Bernhard said an interdisciplinary team will be formed with policy, regulatory, operations and addiction specialists working together with the quantitative and qualitative data UNLV expects to gather.

He said he hopes the research will better educate playing customers with information that will enable them to make better consumer decisions, much like nutrition labels that provide information on consumable products.

WYNN AND PENN

Wynn Resorts, which operates Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Encore, and Penn National Gaming, operators of the Tropicana and the M Resort in Southern Nevada, also are being licensed in Massachusetts and will be required to implement the GameSense system at their properties in Everett and Plainridge Park, respectively.

Wynn and Penn National officials did not respond to inquiries on whether GameSense would be used by them in Las Vegas.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.

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MGM Resorts will launch responsible gambling program at all its US ... - Las Vegas Review-Journal

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Casino Companies Seek Foothold in Georgia, the US's Last Big Untapped Gambling Market Wall Street Journal (subscription) The world's largest casino corporations have set their sights on Georgia this year, hoping state legislators will consider opening up one of the nation's last untapped regional markets to full-service gambling. Even though Georgia's constitution bans ... Bill in works to legalize casino gambling | Local News ...Cherokee Tribune Ledger News Five 'tells' that casino gambling is bad for GeorgiaMyAJC Vegas casinos wrote off fewer bad gambling debts in 2016CalvinAyre.com CompatiblePoker -The Hollywood News (blog) all 19 news articles »

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Casino Companies Seek Foothold in Georgia, the US's Last Big Untapped Gambling Market - Wall Street Journal (subscription)