Category Archives: Gambling

Paramedics rushed another critical COVID-19 patient into the emergency room, and Chicago nurse Cynthia Riemer felt her adrenaline kick in.

Your heart starts racing, she said. You're thinking, How quickly and safely can we get them intubated? Because if we don't, in the next five or 10 minutes, they could stop breathing. You're thinking: 'What's my next step? Do we need more help?' The more people in the room, the more exposed, so staff stand outside the glass door and you say, Hey, get me this! Hey, get me that!

Her protective gear: a hospital-supplied yellow gown, foot covers and an N95 mask plus, from Home Depot, a welders mask, which she says "helps conserve what we have.

Riemer is 41, a few years younger than a New Orleans ICU nurse who died last week from the virus. She and others became nurses to relieve suffering, to save lives. But with supply shortages, changing guidelines and evolving science, some now are asking: Did I sign up to be a hero?

One nurse in Baltimore, a father with young children, said he began to think about quitting his job after reading a scientific report that said the virus might spread not only in droplets, but also in tinieraerosolizedparticles. He worries, too, about mask shortages and poor crisis planning.

Nobody wants to go to work and feel like theyre gambling, said the nurse, who requested anonymity because he feared retaliation from his employer. "Very few of us get into this field to be heroes.

Each day brings new questions for nurses, who are deciding how much theyre willing to sacrifice, said Cynda Rushton, professor of nursing and bioethics at Johns Hopkins University.

Who am I? What do I stand for? How can I have integrity in the midst of this chaos?" she said. "How do I live with myself at the end of the day?

One nurse posting in anonline forumwrote Feb. 28: The nightmare is real and it has come home. The posts will be collected and published in a report after the pandemic subsides. It already has a title: Never Again.

For weeks, hospitals and clinics across the United States have struggled to stay afloat amid a crippling shortage of personal protective equipment, including N95 masks, which filter out 95 percent of particulates in the air. The masks are typically thrown away after a single use, but nurses and doctors are now being instructed to clean and recycle their masks, with some using a single mask for a whole week.

Absolutely Im conflicted, said Amber Weber, 38, a labor and delivery nurse at Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, who has been cross-trained in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 patients. An eight-hour shift refreshed her knowledge of central lines and feeding tubes, equipment she hasnt used since she graduated from nursing school 15 years ago.

More than one family member has told me I should quit, that its not worth it, said Weber, who has two young children. But her professional values won out.

I didnt go into the nursing profession to abandon my patients when their need is greatest, she said, or to abandon the other health care workers in the hospital when theyre drowning."

In Baltimore, nurse practitioner Katharine Billipp, 38, works with patients who are poor, very sick and staying in shelters, encampments or abandoned buildings. Two weeks ago, her husband came down with a fever and a dry cough, classic symptoms of COVID-19. She stayed home while awaiting his test results, which didnt come back negative for almost two weeks, making her feel "completely useless as she read about the worsening crisis.

Now back at work at Health Care for the Homeless, Billipp was given one surgical mask to last a week, which comes off only when she needs another cup of coffee.

Reusing masks is a problem," she said. Its a petri dish to collect any airborne particles throughout the day, Still, one mask for a week is better than no mask.

The gray area of all of this, it takes a mental toll, Billipp said. We find ourselves on the front lines, without proper equipment, being the potential vector of disease to our underserved and most at-risk patients.

The University of Illinois Hospital, where Riemer works, last week granted the hazard pay requested by the Illinois Nurses Association.

For his safety, Riemer and her husband are keeping six feet apart inside their house, but you cant just give up because it gets tough. Thats not an option," she said. In her free time, she is sewing cloth masks for co-workers.

Do we cry? Sure, absolutely, we cry, she said of her colleagues. We get angry, we get frustrated. But the majority of us are not willing to give up.

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Nobody Wants To Go To Work And Feel Like Theyre Gambling: Nurses Weigh Principles Vs. Safety In Virus Fight - WBEZ

Speaking during a Bet 2020 online conference, gambling consultant Steve Donoughue made some regulatory forecasts in regards to the UK gambling industry.

After the Gambling Commission put an end to credit card usage for betting purposes earlier this year, Donoughue believes affordability will be the next focus for increased regulation.

He says: Well have affordability; that will be the killer. I think well have increased regulation and basically I think we will end up with a limit to what you can lose per month.

Itll be purely arbitrary it will be say, 500 ($623). If you want to lose more than 500 a month, you will have to go and prove to your gambling operator all about your sanity, your wealth, your source of wealth, probably the size of your feet and what you like to eat on a Tuesday.

Donoughue believes increased regulation stems in part from a new national health approach towards problem gambling.

He argues that regulators need to avoid placing gambling in the same category as alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs.

Donoughue says: The idea is the more gambling is restricted, the more you will reduce problem gambling.

There is absolutely no evidence that this is the case. Problem gamblers will then go to the black market, where there is no obligation to protect them.

There is an 80% chance gambling turns into the new tobacco with no advertising, real restraints on marketing.

There is a 20% chance of nationalising gambling one gambling organisation run by the state and thats it.

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UK gambling consultant: 80% chance gambling turns into the new tobacco - Gambling Insider - In-depth Analysis for the Gaming Industry

Gambling online is not an easy hobby to master especially if you are just going to start. This is a new way to gamble and is patronized by a lot of players because of how easy it is to place bets and win money, even by just staying at home. To get started, there are a few things that you need to know before gambling online.

The popularity of online gambling has allowed fraudulent sites to appear everywhere. Newbies easily fall into the traps of the anomalous sites just because of how good and irresistible their offers are. Since it is difficult to know if a certain site is legitimate for sure, you should do further research before committing and signing up with any website. To be sure, ask around friends and frequent casino goers if they have any recommendations. It is easier to trust a website if people you know in real life can attest to it. Even though you likely have verified the authenticity of a site, you still have to be careful in giving out your personal details especially your identification and bank details. These can be used by online scammers to extort money and identity from you.

If you are starting to play online gambling then you would notice how common free games are offered together with other bonuses and promotions. Legitimate sites would offer such and it is recommended that you take advantage of it. As stated on Allvideoslots, an online casino website, most free games are offered to players to entice them in trying out more games on the website. This will allow a player to grow more on experience and expertise. Since newbies most likely have no idea where to start, this can give them a preview of what to expect in a game.

Do you know if online gambling is legal in your country? You should know for sure because laws differ from one place to another. There are countries that prohibit certain types of online games while some allow it in all forms. There are also differences in claiming prices which depends on how much the winning is. When it comes to tax, there are countries that require its citizens to declare all their gambling winnings for the right taxation while some allow their people to enjoy it for themselves fully. When it comes to age limit, most countries allow people over 18 while it varies again in other parts of the world. Not knowing where you might get in trouble can result in jail time or fine. To be sure, consult with your lawyer or legal adviser.

Playing games online is a good way to spend your time at home whenever you have the time to spare and the money to bet around. As long as you choose a safe website to try it out, there is no harm in trying online gambling for yourself. You just have to ensure that you are within the law and you maintain self-control all throughout.

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Here's What You Need to Know Before Gambling Online - - JuveFC

Whenever you are looking forward to getting engaged in,it is a must for you to understand about your limit. If you feel like that you are done winning and you are done losing, then quit the game. Do not feel like again, and again by investing the money, you will be able to earn the more. Therefore it is a must for you to understand that you are not getting engaged in the things which are unnecessarily full for you.

Also, when you have earned good money this time, and you feel like that you can earn more, then make sure you are not the surrounding yourself with reading at all. If you surround yourself with the agreed, then you are just creating some unnecessary issues for your upcoming task.

Apart from this, you must have an idea about the donts linked with it. Here all the donts of it are mentioned:-

Dont chase your losses:

At the very first, it is a must for you to understand that you are not chasing your losses at all. Sometimes the scenario is being so that we are in loss, and we try to get rid of it by investing some more money in it. Therefore it is a must for you to understand when you feel like you are losing this time dont get engaged in it for more. Try to quit the game and try next time. Do not feel like that at one time, we will be able to recover The Lost you have done.

Dont drink too much:

Usually, people have a habit that whenever they are getting engaged incasino Korea, they used to drink as well. Drinking is not bad, but it is a must that you are drinking in the limit as well. If you have drunk too much, then you will lose your senses, and it is a must for a gambler that he is in his senses. If they are not in his sense, then they are just on the verge of facing the loss. If you do not wish to be among them, then do not reply to drink too much.

Dont rely on betting systems:

It is also a suggestion to you that you do not rely on the betting system at all. There might be a chance that with whom you are playing, they will fascinate you to get engaged in the betting system. But do not go with it because the betting system is another name of loss. If you have lost this time, then there is no coming back from it. Therefore it is a must for you to recognize whether you wish to enjoy it by playing individually or not. If you feel like that betting will be the right choice for you to consider, then you just have a myth only. It is not the right choice, for example, because there are very few chances of winning.

Dont be Rude:

Sometimes frustrations make you feel worried, and also you feel like that it is not working, and you become rude. It is a suggestion that with all the dealers and with all those with whom you are saying, you are not rude. You are listening to everything they are saying. It is unacceptable behavior, and they will not tolerate it at all. If you do not become among those who will not be able to enter the casino hall again, then make sure you are not rude to them. It is a must for you to maintain your limits, and also you are letting others do their job as well.

Dont let yourself miss out on extra value:

If you become among those, who are you getting fascinated by the offers provided to you bycasino Koreawhenever you are getting engaged in the casino, make sure you are not doing the same at all. Sometimes in the moment of winning some more, we lose whatever we have in our hands. Therefore make sure you are not going to eat at all. Some of the offers will be available to you, which will let you feel like you must get angry. But search for the same effect and then further get towards a decision.

These are the things which are a must for you to remember whenever you are looking forward to getting engaged incasino Korea. Make sure you are not focusing on the thing which is not letting you feel like you are playing the game badly. Focus on every aspect and then for the get engaged in it.is a game with multiple factors. Therefore get aware of it and then further become the part.

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Dont's of Casino gambling before going to play - - VENTS Magazine

During these unprecedented times when the gambling industry is among the most impacted from the coronavirus due to the closure of land-based gaming facilities, Enrique Razon, Chairman and CEO of Manilla-based Bloomberry Resorts Corp, is one of the few that places human beings before businesses.

The billionaire that ranked 565 in Forbes Worlds Billionaires List 2020 shared his expectations that he had already written off 2020 as the global economy had already been hit hard by the outbreak of the virus.

His company, Bloomberry Resorts, owns and operates Solaire Resort & Casino in Entertainment City on Luzon Island in the Philippines. Starting March 15, the casino has been shut, after the countrys gaming regulator, PAGCOR, issued a directive and ordered gaming facilities to temporarily close doors, to minimize the person-to-person transmission of the virus. Initially, the closure was expected to last until April 12, but was later extended until the end of the month.

We will have to tally up the losses later on. The only thing that counts now is defeating the virus.

As much as any other casino operator, Bloomberry would feel the impact on its revenue from the ongoing health crisis and implemented mitigation measures to contain the spread of the disease. Enrique Razon, however, did not have much concerns related to cash depletion, claiming his group was standing pretty healthy and would be able to weather the storm.

The real test for the business would be when the quarantine measures are being lifted, the billionaire that also owns and chairs a port operator company, stipulated in the interview. Enrique Razon is convinced that the virus and the lockdowns impacted everyone, and even after the restrictions are off, people would focus spending only on basic needs such as food, and even prefer to save money instead of spend on things they do not need to survive. Therefore, the economic recovery would be painful and slow, Mr Razon concluded.

Lifting lockdowns in this environment is going to be very tricky. There has to be a plan, its not just one day to the next, so I think a lot of people are under-estimating what this is going to take.

His opinion is opposite to the voices raised from the US, where billionaires called for the authorities to bring back people to work, even at the expense of losing more human lives, as the damage of continuing to keep the economy closed could be worse than that. Such a controversial rallying call, coming from the people that stand to lose the most, and especially when hospitals are at a tipping point capacity-wise, can very easily split the society and have unpredictable effects.

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Bloomberry Resorts Have Enough Cash to Weather the Storm - GamblingNews.com

Their favourite GTA cafes, restaurants and gyms are closed and theyre uncomfortable meeting their associates on the streets, to walk and talk the business.

And the severe travel restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic mean they cant jet off to Italy or Mexico or even just Montreal or New York make deals.

Social isolation has hit the underworld hard, including in the GTA and Hamilton area, experts say.

Everyone is cash poor, said one GTA private investigator who often bumps up against local mobsters.

Theyre suffering like the rest of us, said Federico Varese, a global organized crime expert and author who teaches criminology at Oxford University.

A lot of wiseguys and bikers have money in property, so theyll lose like every other landlord, said Paul Manning, a former Hamilton undercover police officer who investigated organized crime. Debt collection will be an issue, he added.

Some southern Ontario mobsters have interests in construction firms, which are now shut down, and even those who make money stealing construction machinery are hurting, Manning said.

But probably the hardest-hit segment of the underworld involves illegal sports gambling.

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The pandemic means theres suddenly no NBA, NHL, international soccer or U.S. college sports to bet on and no prospect of anything to come in the summer, including football and baseball. Even old standbys like horse racing are but a fond memory.

Sports gambling has been devastated, obviously, said Declan Hill, an author and professor at the University of New Haven, in Connecticut.

Sports gambling was big-business in the GTA. At a 2018 Toronto trial, prosecutors said the site Platinum Sports Book, which was run by the Hells Angels and the old Rizzuto crime family of Montreal, had grossed more than $100 million in five years before it was shut down.

At that trial, the court heard that alternate gambling websites were set up almost immediately after the Platinum sites were disabled, on Super Bowl Sunday in 2013.

Now there are plenty of frustrated gamblers and mobsters and no big-time pro sports, Hill said.

The sports gambling market has nothing to bet on, he said not even obscure sports like caber-tossing or jai alai.

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During the pandemic, some hardened gamblers have resorted to betting on things like virtual horse racing or extremely minor-league soccer, still being played in remote spots in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe where there havent yet been such severe crackdowns on public gatherings.

Such low-level competitions where games are too unskilled to be televised are ripe for match-fixing, Hill said.

Elsewhere, GTA mobsters continue to make money from illegal drug sales, but supply and distribution remain uncertain and, as a result, prices for illegal drugs like cocaine have fluctuated wildly, sources say.

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In Montreal, Daniel Renaud of La Presse found that cocaine prices shot up after COVID-19 hit. Meanwhile, social isolation also has made it tougher for criminals to distribute their drugs, and home delivery was tried, with mixed results.

Whats more, its become tougher to sell drugs like methamphetamine as raves and festivals have disappeared.

The Mexican drug cartels that supply GTA mobsters have had their shipments of chemicals from China disrupted by the pandemic, said Luis Najera, a GTA investigative journalist who fled Mexico after his life was threatened by drug cartels.

Najera said he anticipates violence between crime groups if the pandemic drags on.

I think in the long run those groups without a solid chain of supplies will begin to attack others in order to steal products or chemicals to keep their operations running, he said.

Experts say the pandemic may push organized criminals to put more energy into money-lending, a traditional source of income.

Varese notes that during the Great Depression, the New York Mafia moved heavily into loan-sharking.

Anna Sergi, an expert on international organized crime who teaches at the University of Essex, agreed that loan-sharking activity may increase if the pandemic drags on.

Not immediately, but surely this can happen in the medium-term, Sergi said. We know that in the past some criminal groups, Mafia-type, have turned to loan-sharking on those businesses they were once extorting. Or they have the opportunity to buy bankrupt or nearly bankrupt businesses now for cash and enter the legal markets unnoticed.

Generally, underworld experts agree that organized crime will soldier on through the pandemic.

I doubt well see the Mafiosos wearing N95s (breathing masks) but I could certainly see the odd shipment being hijacked, said a long-time GTA police officer who specialized in organized crime. These guys will never quit. The monthly nut is too big.

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Their clubhouses are closed, travel is out and gambling has dried up. How COVID-19 is changing organized crime in the GTA - Toronto Star

Sports betting on the Internet can be a thrilling experience for anyone. If you want your sports betting experience to go off without a hitch, however, you need to find the right website. Thankfully, the Internet is home to quite a few appropriate sites that can provide users with top-notch experiences. Be sure to check them out as soon as you get the chance.

If youre keen on sports betting online, then there arent many website options that can even compete with Bovada. People who have penchants for gambling on the Internet often cant turn away from this option. It presents users with an abundance of diverse choices as well. Some examples of these are baseball, basketball, and golf. It doesnt matter what your specific sport preferences are. Bovada can help you attain an online betting experience thats one for the record books, period. When youre on the lookout for the best sports betting sites, then Bovada without a doubt should be on your radar. Fans of sports betting online frequently gravitate to Bovada and to all of its choices. Registration with Bovada can be a delight as well. Thats due to the fact that newbies can receive thrilling perks as incentives. If you like the concept of betting on hockey, basketball and the like, then you wont be able to resist paying a visit to Bovada. Tennis bets have never been quite so pleasant online.

BetOnline.ag is another haven for people who adore wagering on their favorite sports. If youre looking to streamline and simplify your sports betting journey in a significant way, then you should go to BetOnline.ag as soon as possible, no exceptions. This website caters to individuals who adore betting on favorites such as tennis, soccer, golf, hockey, baseball, football, and basketball. The sky is honestly the limit for fans who head over to BetOnline.ag these days. BetOnline can be a true haven for individuals who are searching for all of the best sports betting sites. BetOnline accommodates individuals who wish to place efficient wagers on preferred sports of all different varieties. If youre in the mood to gamble in a productive and hassle-free manner, then this user-friendly site may be able to come to your rescue. It welcomes seemingly countless bet enthusiasts on a daily basis.

If youre attempting to pinpoint all of the greatest online sports betting sites going at the moment, then you should take the time to explore SportsBetting.ag right now. This website successfully accommodates people who are in the mood to place bets on basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, golf, and hockey. If you want to wow the planet with your basketball bet abilities, then SportsBetting.ag can make things simple and stress-free for you. Signing up with SportsBetting.ag is in no way a complex process. SportsBetting.ag is a tried and tested powerhouse among individuals who revel in bets on the Internet. If you want to place wagers without having to worry about any of your choices, then you should check this website out without a hint of delay or reluctance. When you need online sports betting sites that are 100 percent uncomplicated, then SportsBetting.ag doesnt have many competitors whatsoever. Registering for this website isnt at all overwhelming or complex. Its actually a pretty enjoyable thing. If you want to relish wagering on options that tick off all sorts of boxes, then you should take the time to learn everything you can about SportsBetting.ag as soon as possible. The website has a sizable fanbase. It has some of the most conscientious and pleasant customer service representatives out there as well.

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Best 5 Sports Betting Sites Online 2020 | Top Sportsbooks

Gambling sites are turning to virtual sports during the coronavirus lockdown

Theyre under starters orders for the 15:56 from Puntwell Park. Theres a large field of 15 horses and the slight favorite is Laughing Lola, ridden by Simon Schuster, at 11/2.

Lolas slow away. She immediately gets bunched at the back of the pack and her names not even mentioned in the opening few furlongs by the race commentator. But then he doesnt mention any horse by name, impersonally referring to each of the runners and riders by their number alone. Still, its his 20th race this hour alone he can hardly be expected to remember all of the horses names.

Lola makes a strong recovery in the second half of the race, but she cant get close to the runaway leader, Loveit, who storms home by three or four lengths, delighting punters who backed him at 20-1.

Theres no time for photos in the winners circle, however, as theres a new race starting in just a few seconds. And if the jump racing doesnt take your fancy, theres live World Cup soccer, motor racing, greyhounds and more all taking place now, on this Monday afternoon at the beginning of April, in the midst of a global pandemic that has all but eliminated live sport across the world.

But who needs real sports when virtual sports can keep the punters money rolling in?

Yes, lest anyone think that one of the few side benefits of a global lockdown would be fewer opportunities for gamblers to blow their money, virtual sports have filled the vacuum. Whether that be betting on the computerized thoroughbreds at Puntwell Park on sites such as Betfair, or betting on real human players in esports tournaments. The gambling industry doesnt need actual sport to part punters from their cash.

Thats why, with Betfair listing only four real live events on Monday afternoon two tennis matches, one darts, one volleyball the gambling sites have become increasingly dependent on providing their own entertainment. Almost all of the major betting sites in the U.K. are hosting these virtual sports events and they run around the clock, every two minutes, like clockwork. No virus is going to wipe out Ecuador vs Ivory Coast in the PaddyPower virtual soccer World Cup or cycling from the Michaux Velodrome on Betway. Well, only a computer virus.

Whats striking is how these virtual events give punters even less chance of beating the bookmakers than the real events do. Take the race mentioned at the top, for example, which incidentally was listed as race 70,879,877 on Betfairs graphics, giving you some indication of the frequency of these virtual events.

Races run every couple of minutes on Betfair

The runners and odds of winning are listed on the site for a just a couple minutes before each race, but the punters are otherwise starved of information to make any kind of informed judgement about which virtual horse might win. Graphics showing each horses recent form are briefly flashed up before the race, but thats as close as punters get to actual form and they have no time to study or compare it to the other horses in the race, as they would with regular racing. Gamblers are effectively betting blind.

Its the same with the Monaco Kings vs Barcelona Braves football match being played out on Betway. There are loads of markets to bet on match winner, total goals, correct score, away team goals and so on but no information on which to base a bet other than the bald odds. Even before the match kicks-off, no more bets is announced as it is before the start of all the virtual sports Ive watched on betting sites meaning the player has no chance to change their bet once the action gets underway and they can see which way the wind is blowing. And when I say matches, I mean a short set of FIFA-style match highlights. Theres no way these sites would leave 90 whole minutes between opportunities to place wagers. The next one kicks off in no more than three minutes.

Football, cycling, motor racing... take your pick on Betway

Charles Ritchie from Gambling with Lives, which was set up by families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, worries that people who might normally gamble on regular sports will be drawn to these much more frequent, much less predictable virtual sports during the coronavirus crisis. While virtual sports betting has so far accounted for only a small proportion of overall betting activity, they have become increasingly popular amongst regular online bettors, he says.

But these are not real sports events these are events constructed entirely to provide an opportunity to bet, indeed multiple and frequent bets. No one is interested in the result per se. There is no form to be studied, no skill in picking a winner. They owe more to so-called slots and casino games, based on high speed random number generators, which are associated with incredibly high addiction rates. And thats where the worry lies. Will more people who either dont bet or bet on traditional sports be drawn into this dangerous activity, essentially through boredom?

Virtual sports arent mere sideshows on the gambling sites, tucked away from general public view. Theyve been turned into televised substitutes for mainstream sporting events during this crisis.

ITV, the U.K.s second biggest television channel, last weekend broadcast The Virtual Grand National an AI version of the countrys biggest horse race, at the exact same time the real race was meant to be held. The virtual race included all 40 of the horses and jockeys who were most likely to have qualified for The Grand National and viewers were encouraged to place wagers on the race, with bookmakers donating profits to National Health Service charities.

People watching the Virtual Grand National on a TV in Leicester. (Photo by Joe Giddens/PA Images via ... [+] Getty Images)

The race was won by 18-1 shot Potters Corner, but Charles Ritchie fears the losers wont only be the punters who backed the other 39 virtual nags, but anyone who registered with a gambling site to bet on the charity race in the first place. The worry for campaigners for gambling reform is that this was just a Trojan Horse for gambling companies, with people having to sign up for an online account in order to place their bet who will now be subjected to the relentless marketing by this voracious industry, he says.

Of course, it will have also introduced many people to the whole concept of betting on a virtual sport, which is the only sport to bet on in these days of lockdown. The event raised 2.6 million for charities a tiny proportion of the industrys 14.5 billion winnings (and punters losses). But for how many people was this the first step on the path to addiction? That 2.6 million will be swamped by the costs of harms caused by gambling and the deaths by suicide to add to the estimated 500 gambling related suicides every year in the U.K.

The gambling companies arent purely relying on virtual sports to entertain bored punters. Look at any of the major bookmakers sites over the past couple of weeks and you will have noticed eSports climbing up the menus and appearing in the in-play screens much more prominently than they were pre-coronavirus.

Betfair alone is taking bets on tournaments in games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Dead or Alive 2, NBA2K and Starcraft 2. Though figures on the volume of bets being placed on such events are hard to come by, there are signs of a huge upswing in eSports gambling. The Online Betting Guide claims it has seen a 943% increase in traffic to its esports betting tips page, suggesting gamblers are seeking out new ways to spend their money. Dead or Alive 2 alone saw a 245% month-on-month increase in betting tips placed on the site from February to March.

The COVID-19 crisis is potentially going to be disastrous for gambling disorders in the U.K. and across the world, Charles Ritchie warns.

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All Bets Are On: How Virtual Sports Are Feeding Gambling Addiction During The Coronavirus Crisis - Forbes

There was a federal law in place in the United States which blocked gambling on sports. This was enforced across the majority of the states in America and it prevented people from betting on sports including football, basketball, ice hockey, and baseball. Therefore, the option to place bets on competitions including the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB were very restricted in the United States.

However, that all changed in May 2018 when the supreme court ruled 6-3 to remove the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which had been in place since 1992. The act ensured that Nevada was the only state where a person could wager on the result of a single game in any sport.

For those living outside of Nevada, options for sports betting were very limited. That being said, there were and still are other ways to enjoy gambling and sports without having to actually bet on a real sporting event, especially when it comes to basketball. A great example is Basketball Star Slots.

This slots game has been created by Microgaming and was released towards the end of 2015. This 5-reel video slot offers 243 ways to win and features a stunning design with excellent graphics, symbols, animations and crowd effects. You play with the backdrop of a basketball arena with symbols including the coachs chalkboard, drinks bottles, sneakers, gold medals and basketball players in action. The Basketball Star logo is the wild and you will find over 40 of them on the reels. These can trigger up to 25 free spins.

For fans of the NBA, Basketball Star Slot certainly hits the spot and the theme comes across perfectly but what if you would like to place a bet on a real NBA game?

New Jersey was one of the leading states who was battling to have the 1992 Act struck down having fought for many years to make sports gambling legal. However, the major sports leagues in the United States were initially against the move. The NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB had previously argued that New Jerseys gambling expansion would hurt the integrity of their games. If there were to be large sums of money placed on the potential outcome of games, this would have a significant impact on the result of those games.

They made their point in the courtroom but outside, the leagues were more open to the suggestion of sports gambling being made legal in the country. The NFL was one of the leading organizations seemingly open to a change in the ruling but once it happened, every professional league in the United States was surely going to get involved.

Going back to 2014 and NBA commissioner Adam Silver seemed willing to accept gambling as part of the National Basketball Association. An article appeared in the New York Times in 2014 in which he advocated for the legalization of sports betting. He said, In light of these domestic and global trends, the laws on sports betting should be changed. Before continuing, Congress should adopt a federal framework that allows states to authorize betting on professional sports, subject to strict regulatory requirements and technological safeguards.

What Silva was actually pushing for was for the NBA to receive 1% of all bets made on NBA games. 1% may seem minimal but if you consider the number of bets which are sure to be placed on NBA games in a single round of fixtures and then multiply this figure throughout the season, you have a huge amount of money.

However, once sports gambling was made legal in the United States, one of the first steps the NBA took was to announce an official gambling partner for the league. This came in July 2018, just two months after the announcement that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was no longer binding. On Tuesday the 31st of July, the NBA announced that MGM Resorts International would be the leagues official gambling partner. This was a historic moment as it was the first time a major sports league in the United States created a partnership with a betting company in this way.

What exactly did the deal mean for both parties? In terms of MGM Resorts International, they would have the right to use official NBA data on its betting platform plus the right to use NBA and WWNBA marks and team logos. The data would not only be used to enhance the gambling experience for wagers but also to detect and prevent fraud and game-fixing. Fraud and game-fixing were the main reasons why some people involved in the NBA were against sports gambling being made legal. So, it was a little surprise to see steps being made to try and avoid any issues resulting in the integrity of NBA games.

Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner who outlined the 1% plan highlighted above, said the leagues collaboration will result in the best possible gaming and entertainment experience for consumers through the use of accurate, real-time NBA and WNBA data, and our collective efforts to maintain and enhance the integrity of our games.

Despite MGM Resorts International being announced as the exclusive gambling partner for the NBA, this was mostly for marketing purposes. Therefore, the NBA could make other deals with gambling companies in the future and thats exactly what has happened.

One of the leading sports bookmakers in the United Kingdom is William Hill. They have a long history when it comes to sports betting in the UK but what many British people do not know is how popular William Hill has become in the United States. As mentioned previously, prior to the abolishment of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, Nevada was the only state in America where it was possible to legally bet on individual sports games. Therefore, in 2012 William Hill expanded to Nevada by purchasing three chains of sportsbooks. This allowed William Hill to control 55% of the sportsbook locations in Nevada and gave them a very strong presence in the United States sports betting market.

That meant that as soon as sports gambling became legal across the United States, William Hill was in a great position to strike up a partnership with the NBA.

On the 2nd of October 2019 a statement on the NBA website read, The National Basketball Association (NBA) and William Hill, one of Americas leading sportsbook operators, today announced a new partnership that will make William Hill a Proud Partner and an Authorized Sports Betting Operator of the NBA in the United States.

This deal came just over two months after the partnership with MGM Resorts International was announced and showed the NBA was keen to make immediate strides in the sports gambling world. By striking the deal, William Hill had access to official NBA betting data and league marks for both its mobile platform and sportsbooks in the United States. The Association did not end there and in return, the NBA would promote William Hill, with the logo appearing across several of its digital platforms including NBA.com, the NBA App, and the NBAs social media such as Facebook for example.

As always, the NBA was keen to point out that both they and William Hill would be working hard to ensure the integrity of individual games and the league as a whole would be protected.

The value to William Hill of having the official NBA data can be seen in their live betting markets. Having access to the NBAs feed means all the live information displayed at William Hill will not only be accurate but will also be updated efficiently, which is vital for a successful live betting experience.

Fast forward to February 2020 and they are now 11 gambling deals in place involving betting companies and the NBA. The Australian-founded PointsBet is the latest betting company to make a deal with the NBA. They join MGM Resorts International, William Hill, DraftKings, Unibet, Tabcorp, BetEasy, Supermatch and theScore among others to have agreed on an official partnership with the NBA. As with all the other deals, PointsBet will gain access to the official NBA data feed and NBA marks to use on their digital betting platforms.

At the time of writing, the NBA still prohibits teams from agreeing on deals with sports betting companies unless the state in which they reside allows sports betting to take place. The Philadelphia 76ers are a good example and they became the first NBA team to agree on a sponsorship deal in the sports betting industry. They have a partnership with Fox Bet which means the betting company presents sponsorship of radio game broadcasts and the video on the Wells Fargo Center video board heading into the fourth quarter. They can also display Fox Bet signs in the arena and promote the company using the teams digital and social media.

This is another big step in the future of the NBA and partnerships with sports gambling in the USA. It will be interesting to see how it develops over the next decade with more NBA teams and the league itself sure to take advantage of the relaxing in the sports gambling laws in the United States.

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NBA Moving To Legalize Gambling And Partnering With Leading Companies In The USA - LakersNation.com

Singapores gambling regulator, the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), will be overhauled, combining the functions of multiple branches of land-based and online casino regulation starting in 2021.

Singapore will be overhauling its gambling regulations the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced, with a planned new Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) to reunite different watchdogs under the same roof starting in 2021.

The changes will be implemented next year with the re-purposing of the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), the current casino authority in Singapore, and the Gambling Regulatory Unit, the online casino authority, merging into the new unit.

Adding to the scope and remit of the GRA, the regulator will also take up the functions of the Singapore Totalizator Board as well as the Singapore Police Force, which is responsible for enforcing responsible gambling under the supervision of the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

The news was announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which remained optimistic about the prospects of the gambling industry and the results achieved this far. The MHA specifically said that only 1% of all crime in the country stemmed from gambling activities and illegal gambling had gone down 28% between 2011 2019.

Commenting further on its motivation, the MHA added that new technology has made the experience vastly more accessible, bringing new challenges to the regulatory sector. One particular emphasis was on the fact that many traditional products have evolved to the point they now offer gambling, even though they are not traditional gambling.

One area where GRA will act is electronic sports and loot boxes in video games. The newly-emerging agency will also make sure to enforce penalties to operators that had been consistently breaking regulations.

In light of these changes, the MHA hopes that the GRA will help consolidate the regulatory footprint in the country and streamline gambling oversight by bringing all resources under the same roof and coordinate gambling policies.

The MHA expects to remain fairly prohibitive of gambling operations and continues to run as a regulator that tries to eliminate risk for consumers. Starting in 2015, the MHA has been busy clamping down on illegal gambling in the online sector. The increase in operations came with the Remote Gambling Act, which came into effect in 2014.

Amid the planned gambling regulation overhaul, the country is also temporarily shutting down its casinos to combat the spread of the coronavirus, starting today, April 7. The measure will run through May 4. A number of high-profile casinos, including Marina Bay Sands, Las Vegas Sands, and Resorts World Sentosa have complied and shut down.

Singapore has only used travel restrictions so far to help combat the virus. Under the new measures, the country will also seek to restrict all non-essential services. Singapore is also responding to the virus by ussing a $33 billion economic stimulus package issued last weekend.

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Singapore to Overhaul National Gambling Regulator for 2021 - GamblingNews.com