Category Archives: Gambling

July 17, 2017 9:54 AM by Robert Mann

The island nation of Malta, already the gaming-friendly home base to numerous worldwide gambling companies may soon improve on that status.

Thats because the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has proposed major reforms to the legal framework surrounding the island countrys gambling industry, with the goal of decreasing unnecessary regulatory burdens.

Leadership at the MGA say its licensing process is too complex is counterintuitive to properly regulating gambling operators.

Malta, situated in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily, serves as a popular remote-gaming licensing jurisdiction because of the countrys low tax rate and inclusion in the European Union (EU). A gaming license in Malta allows online casino companies to operate across the 28-member EU.

The MGA, in a recently issued report, suggests that the country should replace its existing laws in favor of a new regulatory framework that would simplify licensing.

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Malta Gaming Authority proposes major gambling reforms - GamingTodaySlotsToday

A baseball game is a great summer pastime and fun for the whole family. Thats why the Springfield Park Board should reject video gambling at the Sliders stadium.

Springfield has the most video gambling machines in the state. Area residents have lost over $103 million in the 592 video gambling machines operating in Springfield establishments. There are more than enough opportunities for people to gamble in Springfield.

A child was left outside a video gambling parlor in northern Illinois, with some toys and a bag of chips while his father went inside to gamble. Will this happen at the Sliders stadium if the park board approves video gambling machines?

Robin Roberts Stadium and Lanphier High School share a parking lot. Underage gambling is also a concern. The Illinois Gaming Board recently fined seven video gambling establishments for allowing underage gambling and drinking.

Will the Springfield Jr. Blues hockey team ask for park board approval for video gambling at the Nelson Center?

An armed robbery at a local video gambling parlor on July 12 is Crime Stoppers crime of the week, according to The State Journal-Register. Keep Springfield parks safe for families. The Springfield Park Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. July 20 at Bunn Park. Contact members at http://www.springfieldparks.org to voice your concerns.

Anita Bedell

Executive Director of theIllinois Church Action on Alcohol & Addiction Problems

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Letter: Springfield Park Board should reject video gambling at Sliders stadium - The State Journal-Register

Sarah Harrison is happy to hear from punters groups in her role as the Gambling Commissions chief executive. Photograph: gamblingcommission.gov.uk

Far more willing to show her teeth than her predecessors were is the first thing a betting industry source says when asked to assess Sarah Harrisons first two years in charge at the Gambling Commission. The chief executive has ruffled feathers with her determination to enforce standards and bookmakers are now keenly aware that exposure of a significant lapse may lead to them being belted with a six-figure fine.

Harrison undoubtedly has a reputation for having slipped some lead into the Commissions glove. Just this month she heralded a new enforcement strategy with the words: We will take robust and effective action when gambling companies dont meet their obligations. Misleading or ambiguous advertisements have attracted fines of 300,000 and 150,000 this year. Betfred, Coral and Paddy Power found themselves having to pay six-figure sums last year after being found at fault in other ways.

Harrison does not welcome a suggestion that she has been handier with the big stick than those who went before. I dont think thats the right basis to look at this at all, she says, insistently moving the conversation away from her and towards the job. Its quite simple really. The thing that were focused on now is, we want people to enjoy gambling but we want them to do it safely, we want them to be treated fairly. And the message to operators is: work with us to achieve that, raise standards with us, but those that fail to do that, then well tackle them.

Harrison feels no one should be surprised to see her standing up for the punter, pointing to her previous work in regulation. As a senior partner at the energy regulator, Ofgem, she recalls much of her work involved tackling issues around fuel poverty. More than 20 years ago she was the first director of Icstis, overseeing premium-rate phone services and concerning herself with bill-payers whose phones were being used, possibly without their permission, to run up debts. A lot of my career has been in and around consumer protection, consumer empowerment, she says. So, for me, coming into the Gambling Commission was a great opportunity.

Consumer empowerment is certainly a novel concept in gambling. It is only 10 years since gambling debts became enforceable by law. For centuries punters have been used to the struggle of getting a decent bet on and then the still greater struggle of getting paid if said bet turns out to be a winner. They have been lured with dubious offers, subjected to unfair suspicions, had their accounts closed capriciously and generally been kicked around. Now, thanks to Harrison, punters have the ear of power for the first time.

Last month she met the organising figures behind Justice for Punters, who are delighted by the investigation the Commission is pursuing in tandem with the Competition and Markets Authority into firms suspected of unfairness in their terms and conditions. The Horserace Bettors Forum is also encouraged by Harrisons work and has had officials in attendance at two of its meetings. HBF figures will shortly make a return visit to the Commissions Birmingham headquarters.

Quite right, too, Harrison says when it is noted she has been meeting punters groups. Theres nothing more powerful than being able to hear from individuals or organisations that represent those individuals, who can give you the insight and some evidence as well that helps us understand what their experience is in practice. We will want to talk to any organisation or any individual thats got issues that are concerning them as consumers.

And then we will look at what needs to be done. If it means that there need to be further changes to our laws and regulations and the evidence is pointing in that direction, then we will do that.

She notes the Commission is not a consumer redress organisation and that it has recently told firms to review and improve their procedures for handling complaints and resolving disputes.

Punters groups would rather the Commission was much more vocal when it comes to firms accused of excessive or unjustified delay in paying out. The Guardian reported in May on the case of a punter owed 245,000 by Seanie Mac and the licence-holder confirmed that other high-staking gamblers had been inconvenienced, but the Commission declined to discuss the case.

We are aware and we are investigating, Harrison says. The investigation is in its early stages and she cannot even confirm if the Commission is in talks with Sportsbetting and Gaming Services, the relevant licence-holder.

Asked what she would say to any Seanie Mac customers who might be anxious about the implications, she says: My message to them is that were concerned, were investigating this and, if theres action to be taken against the licensee, if theres evidence of issues there, then we will look to take that action.

It is another of the many aspects of Harrisons job, overseeing what she describes as the largest regulated online gambling market in the world.

She is satisfied, for now, that she has the powers and staffing levels needed to get the job done and believes that betting firms, for the most part, want to work with her.

My experience is that all operators engage well and effectively with the Gambling Commission. As they should, theyre licensed by us, they have a responsibility to make sure they live and breathe the terms of that licence and pay regard to what the regulator says. But thats not to say there isnt always a place for improvement.

Theres a place for the big stick and theres a place also for working with businesses who are serious about raising standards.

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Sarah Harrison the punters' champion at the Gambling Commission - The Guardian

Updated 8 hours ago

In all the back-and-forth about how to pay for Pennsylvania's budget, gambling fans should take one point to heart: Legalized online casino gaming, daily fantasy sports betting and online lottery sales are almost certain to be part of the ultimate agreement. The main question appears to be whether other expansions of legalized gambling are in store. Satellite casinos, airport gaming areas, skill-based gaming and even sports betting are being considered.

That's quite a list for the state second only to Nevada in commercial casino revenue. Whatever winds up being added will mark a significant shift in the gambling landscape in a relatively brief time. Pennsylvania's first legal casino opened in 2006. Mohegan Sun and its successors were slots-only operations until table games were approved in 2010. In November 2011, Pennsylvania topped New Jersey in monthly gaming revenue for the first time.

Now the Keystone Sate seems about to become the fourth and by far the most populous state to approve Internet gaming open to people physically within its borders. In addition to providing an influx of tax revenue and protections for Pennsylvania gamblers using unregulated offshore sites, that move could herald approval of Internet gaming in other states that want to help their casinos grow.

Predicting what the Legislature and governor will do, and when, is difficult. Gov. Tom Wolf let the 2017-18 spending plan become law without his signature, and his office and legislative leaders are wrangling over how to come up with the money for it. House and Senate members were sent home July 11 but put on notice that they could be called back to Harrisburg with six hours' notice.

We're in one of those periods where everyone needs to take a step back, says Rep. George Dunbar, R-Westmoreland, a longtime backer of legalized online gaming and daily fantasy sports. According to multiple media reports, those measures were uncontested parts of a revenue plan in negotiations before legislators left Harrisburg.

Dunbar says Internet gambling and daily fantasy sports wagering are already common on unregulated sites.

Why don't we give the consumer protection and collect the tax revenue that we need? he says. It makes sense to me.

If online gaming is approved and carries a tax rate that doesn't keep operators away, it would take about six months for regulations to be written and the sites set up, experts say.

Pennsylvania's plan would give the states' 12 land-based casinos first shot at operating online gaming sites offering slots, table games and poker. That's an effective approach, says a recent nationwide report by Spectrum Gaming Group, an independent research firm.

Harnessing online gaming to land-based licensees will not only grow online and land-based revenue, but will also do more to increase employment, generate capital investment and encourage other sources of revenue, such as sales taxes, says the report, presented to the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States.

The study found that online gaming attracts primarily new customers and that existing customers of land-based casinos who also wager online typically increase how much they spend at the casino.

Online gamblers tend to be younger than those who currently frequent traditional casinos.

People are hard-wired to enjoy games of chance and to take reasonable risk, regardless of the decade in which they were born, the Spectrum study says. People are also hard-wired to enjoy social settings, and to seek entertainment experiences with other adults.

The Spectrum study advises states with both casino gaming and lotteries to find common ground when those operations go online, as Pennsylvania is considering. Lotteries' online instant-game tickets will evolve into the equivalent of an online slot machine, the study says. There will be competition between the two, unless policymakers encourage joint ventures or similar arrangements to boost convergence, rather than competition, Spectrum says.

Mark Gruetze is the Tribune-Review's gambling columnist. Reach him at PlayersAdv@outlook.com

Western Pa. players rack up cash at WSOP

Western Pennsylvania players have combined for more than $300,000 in winnings at this year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The 74-event series is wrapping up its 48th year of competition. Local players finishing in the money in the final tournaments before the $10,000-per-seat Main Event are:

Event 19, The Giant: No Limit Hold 'Em, $365 buy-in, 10,015 entries (ended July 9): Shannon Milasincic of Butler, 598th, $532; David Lundie of North Huntingdon, 932nd, $720; Alan Chute of Pittsburgh, 1,005th, $652; Dalaine Ofchinick of Braddock, 1,192nd, $595

Event 49, Pot Limit Omaha, $3,000 buy-in, 630 entries: Jeff Hakim of Wexford, 83rd, $4,516

Event 50, No Limit Hold 'Em Bounty, $1,500 buy-in, 1,927 entries: Robert Mazzie of Pittsburgh, 50th, $4,687; Jeff Hakim of Wexford, 88th, $2,513

Event 57, Omaha High-Low 8 or Better/Seven-Card Stud High-Low 8 or Better Mix, $2,500 buy-in, 405 entries: Adam Stoller of Wexford, 26, $5,200

Event 58, No Limit Hold 'Em, $1,500 buy-in, 1,763 entries: Samuel Ganzfried of Pittsburgh, 221st, $2,329; Travis Hartshorn of Sarver, 244th, $2,249

Event 60, Eight-Handed No Limit Hold 'Em, $888 buy-in, 8,120 entries: Simon Mattsson of Pittsburgh, 535th, $2,023; Nicholas Immekus of Jefferson Hills, 542nd, $2,023; Griffin Abel of Pittsburgh, 556th, $1,949; David Eldridge of Cranberry, 901st, $1,473; Billy Pilossoph of Presto, 1,006th, $1,334; Ryan Milisits of Pittsburgh, 1,068th, $1,332; Jeffrey Francia of Monessen, 1,093rd, $1,332

Event 61, Online No Limit Hold 'Em High-Roller, $3,333 buy-in, 424 entries: Jeff Hakim of Wexford, 34th, $7,613

Event 63, No Limit Hold 'Em, $1,000 buy-in, 1,750 entries: Richard Tatalovich of Pittsburgh, 47th, $4,587

Event 65, No Limit Hold 'Em (30-minute levels), $1,000 buy-in, 1,413 entries: Mark Ayoub of Pittsburgh, 208th, $1,503

Event 66, No Limit Hold 'Em, $1,500 buy-in, 1,956 entries: Griffin Abel of Pittsburgh, 75th, $4,639; Mark Ayoub of Pittsburgh, 226th, $2,494

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More legalized gambling seems to be a sure bet in Pa. - Tribune-Review

Sir, We are writing in relation to a letter from Dr Colin OGara (June 30th) on gambling addiction in Ireland and the urgent need for the enactment of the Gambling Control Bill. We are in complete agreement with Dr OGara and strongly urge the Government to enact the legislation as soon as possible.

As mentioned by Dr OGara, the Bill would create a social fund, which would provide much-needed funding for problem gambling treatment, prevention and research, through the creation of a levy on gambling industry turnover. We strongly believe that, as in other jurisdictions, the gambling industry must be compelled to mitigate the harm caused by their products and services. Currently there is no dedicated statutory funding for problem gambling services in Ireland, and gambling addiction is not part of the HSEs service plan for 2017. Unfortunately, even with the best efforts of government, it may take years before the social fund is active.

The Department of Finance recently held a review of betting duty. Betting duty in Ireland is among the lowest in the world, at 1 per cent of gambling industry turnover. The equivalent turnover rate in the UK is roughly 1.5 per cent. In our submission to the Department of Finance, we proposed that the betting duty be increased to 1.1 per cent, with the additional funds ring-fenced for problem gambling services. We proposed that this would be an interim measure, until the social fund is activated. While we are aware that Government is generally not in favour of ring-fencing funds, a precedent has been set in relation to betting duty, as the entire tax-take from this duty is ring-fenced for the Horse Racing & Greyhound Fund. Betting duty receipts amounted to approximately 50 million in 2016. This 50 million, plus an additional 30 million, was allocated to the Horse Racing & Greyhound Fund in 2017 and yet zero funds were allocated to addressing the harm caused by problem gambling.

We believe our proposal to the Department of Finance to be a simple, effective and expedient way to resource services which deal with the rapidly escalating issue of gambling-related harm in Ireland. Yours, etc,

BARRY GRANT,

Chief Executive,

Problem Gambling Ireland,

Viewmount House,

Viewmount Park,

Dunmore Road,

Waterford City;

MAEBH LEAHY,

Chief Executive,

Rutland Centre,

Templeogue,

Dublin 16.

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Tackling gambling-related harm - Irish Times

Having spent more than 40 years living in the Fairfield area and lost more than $500,000 gambling, it was gratifying to finally see Fairfield City Council stand up and be counted last week on the enormous damage caused by poker machines.

I'm now 77 and have been off gambling for 17 years but still require monthly counselling to keep me safe.

The Fairfield area is ground zero of the predatory gambling industry in NSW and I feel much safer having moved away to the South Coast in the 1980s.

Looking back on my time in Fairfield it is easy to understand how the pokies became so embedded in NSW society.

The problems start with the registered clubs and the way they control so much of the great game of rugby league, effectively on behalf of the pokies industry.

Over the years I played league for Mounties, Smithfield and the Liverpool Colts all of which were funded by pokies. They normalised poker machine gambling into everyday life.

Sure, I also used to punt on the races and even worked as a greyhounds judge for a while, but it was the pokies that really cleaned me out, especially after the Carr government introduced them into hotels in 1997. A lot of my old rugby league mates have also been cleaned out by the pokies, leaving us to rely on federal government support to see out our twilight years.

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There are 38 pokies venues in Fairfield and I lost money at many of them, including the Guildford Leagues Club, the Canley Heights RSL Sports Club, the Cabramatta Leagues Club and, of course, Mounties in Mount Pritchard which drains almost $100 million a year from the Fairfield community.

The Mounties directors proudly declared in the 2015-16 annual report that they are "currently ranked No.1 in NSW for gaming machine profit". But at what cost to the community?

Back in the day of the coin-operated one-armed bandits, you could only lose so much in a single session, but the modern pokie is far more addictive.

In fact, Australian-style pokies are the most dangerous in the world and NSW is the worst in Australia with $10 maximum bets. The Productivity Commission recommended $1 maximum bets in 1999, Victoria has moved to $5 bets, but NSW remains immovable because of political capture of the Coalition and Labor parties. We still haven't even banned ATMs at venues, like the rest of Australia.

The Herald was right to use the word "political blackmail" in Thursday's editorial when describing how ClubsNSW influences our state politicians. It has donated millions to the Liberal and Labor parties, both of which have failed to protect the community.

The Liberals are locked up by a so-called Memorandum of Understandingwith ClubsNSW which runs until 2019 and totally favours the pokies industry and Labor runs its own pokies venue at the Randwick Labor Club.

The 1400 registered clubs in NSW have become so rich from the pokies that they are now an economic force in their own right and can deploy their familiar arguments about community grants and jobs. I used to work behind the bar at the Liverpool Bowling Club and the Marconi Club;I was just a foot soldier for the gambling industry inflicting damage on members and visitors to these clubs.

Len Ainsworth and his family have built more of the NSW pokies than anyone through their companies Aristocrat Leisure and Ainsworth Gaming Technology. It's all very well for them to be worth more than $3 billion, but what about the people they harm along the way? If you're worried about rising inequality in Australia, just compare Len Ainsworth and me.

It is a shame registered clubs have become so entangled in everyday community life when an overwhelming majority of their revenue comes from a dangerous addictive product. In the case of Mounties Group, it raked in $127 million in revenue in 2015-16, but $107 million of this was from the pokies at seven different sites across NSW.

The state government should introduce a rule that says no pokies venue can derive more than 50 per centof their revenue from pokies. That would force a few changes.

Ralph Bristow is member of the NSW Gambling Impact Society which assists people harmed by gambling. For further information: http://gisnsw.org.au/

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I lost $500,000 living in Fairfield, NSW's ground zero for predatory ... - The Sydney Morning Herald

TWO suspected operators of illegal gambling machines and a bettor were arrested in separate operations in Barangay Jubay, Liloan, Cebu, on Sunday evening, July 16.

Authorities caught Jessie Vargas Emit, 40, an illegal gambling machine operator, and bettor Jorino Pogoy Miro, 34, around 6:30 p.m. Sunday in Sitio Pamutungan, Barangay Jubay. Emit yielded a video carrera machine that was placed at the back of Emits store.

Fifteen minutes later, another operator, identified as Consorsio Bastatas Tapsadan, 54, was caught in the act of maintaining the video carrera machine outside his house in Sitio Fatima, Barangay Jubay.

Town Police Chief Melbert Glade Esguerra said they will determine the manufacturers of the machines.

Esguerra said they are going after illegal gambling activities as one of the methods in curbing illegal drug trade.

He added that some pushers are into illegal gambling, so they can gain more profit. (SunStar Cebu)

Latest issues of SunStar Cebu also available on your mobile phones, laptops, and tablets. Subscribe to our digital editions at epaper.sunstar.com.ph and get a free seven-day trial.

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2 illegal gambling machine operators arrested in Liloan | SunStar - Sun.Star

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News Gaming Business Japan to Slash Pachinko Payouts by Half as Part of Problem Gambling Review

Shares in Japans Pachinko companies fell this week on the news that the government is planning to tighten regulations on the machines and slash payouts by 50 percent.

Japans pachinko parlors have escaped the kind of oversight imposed on other forms of gambling because they are classed as amusements, but with the advent of casinos, thats all about to change. (Image: CNN Travel)

According to the Japan Times, the National Police Agency wants to lower the amount that can be won within four hours play from 100,000 ($880) to 50,000 ($440). This is part of its initiative to combat problem gambling as the country prepares to legalize and regulate casinos.

The colorful, noisy machines, which can be found in parlors throughout cities in Japan, have in the past escaped the stricter regulatory oversight imposed on other forms of gambling because they are classified as amusements, like fairground attractions.

A kind of slot/pinball hybrid, pachinkos dont pay out cash directly. Instead, players trade captured balls for tokens that can be exchanged for money elsewhere.

But thats all about to change. The NPA wants to apply exactly the same kind of rules to pachinko machines as they will to the slots that will line the casino floors of its future integrated resorts.

It believes that limiting the amount that can be won in one sitting will make people less likely to chase their losses.

The pachinko market has actually shrunk dramatically over the past 20 years, from 18,244 parlors at its 1995 peak to 10,986 in 2016. But its still huge. The Japanese spent $209 billion playing pachinko in 2015, around 4 percent of the countrys GDP.

The Japanese are concerned that they may have a pachinko problem. A 2014 study found that 5.36 million Japanese, or 4.8 percent of the adult population, could be problem gamblers.

With the new casinos coming, the government has promised to devote more resources to research into dependency. Its plans to legalize casino gaming have been met with little public enthusiasm and it wants to deflect criticism that it is allowing gambling to run rampant.

The NPA said it will call for managers of pachinko parlors to educate employees about problem gambling and provide information to customers to how they can get help if their gambling is out of control.

Stock in major pachinko operators and manufactures Sega Sammy Holdings and Universal Entertainment plummeted seven percent and five percent, respectfully, in the wake of the news.

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Japan to Slash Pachinko Payouts by Half as Part of Problem ... - Casino.Org News