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The new gambling white paper is delayed once again due to there being a change in the conservative party. It seems though that a few proposals have slipped out, I read via racing post, coral and a couple of other online news sites. With the uk gambling scene already taking a big hit with many operators leaving the uk market and many punters already taking the BIG risk with using crypto casinos will these extra proposals of things like a potential max stake of £5 or £2 on slots, more detailed affordability checks on net losses of 1k in 24hrs, £125 net loss for the month etc finally finish it all off. For me as a punter it would, at the moment with my own gambling it doesn't have too much of a major impact but it has been increasingly removing the entertainment/fun factor for me and I think if this white paper comes out and good or bad its kinda a win win scenario for me. If its shite I will simply hang up the gloves with online gambling and finally give me the kick to focus more on poker and if it doesn't then meh will continue as now and see what happens but the end wouldnt far away anyway. For others though and with all this crypto casino promotion out there with celebs, streamers etc I think it will be a massive boost for them but a massive loss for all the players at risk, players on gamstop and even those that were in control now playing on sites where maybe even for the first time being exposed to no safer gambling tools, reverse withdrawals and basically no protection. For me there has to be a line, if you're going to have gambling allowed in the country then they should be properly regulated and players looked out for with all the extensive checks they do now, working alongside sites like Gamstop and Gamban but there has to be a limit as to just how much you can do to protect someone from themselves. I really hope with any new proposals they've done their research properly and maybe even acknowledged the situation with current black market and ways to combat that but I think it will be probably done by people who have no clue about the industry and for me they would be better off just banning online gambling! Anyway just my 2 pence as been thinking about it recently

Irish government to establish new gambling regulator 21 March 2019 The Republic of Ireland Government has set out plans to form a new gambling regulatory authority with oversight of the country's online and land-based market. An Inter-Departmental Working Group has published a new report on the issue, in which it focuses on the future licensing and regulation of gambling in Ireland. In the report, Minister of State David Stanton says Ireland is currently applying a “mid-20th century approach” to gambling activities and not taking into account the advances in digital technologies in recent years. Stanton said comprehensive reform of the industry is required in order to bring the market up to date, but this will not be possible without establishing a new independent regulatory authority. Current Irish legislation does not provide for a coherent licensing and regulatory approach to gambling aside from specific legislation governing the country's National Lottery, the report noted, with oversight for the sector divided between a number of government departments and agencies. This body would assume responsibility for regulation of the Irish market, which would include awarding licences to operators that want to offer gaming services in the country. The regulator would also have enforcement powers, such as the ability to impose fines on operators and suspend or revoke licences. The new authority would also be responsible for the management of a social fund and subsequent disbursement of monies to approved addiction treatment centres and organisations, as well as raising awareness of gambling-related issues, carrying out industry research and running educational initiatives. In addition, the regulatory body would act as the lead Irish agency in European Union and cross-border cooperation in combating betting-related match-fixing and money laundering. It is intended that the authority would be funded primarily from fees and levies on regulated gambling activities in Ireland. “As the gambling industry changes, and indeed as the demographics and motivations of its customers change, so must the State’s licensing and regulatory approach,” Stanton said in the report. “The Working Group is firmly of the view that without a new independent regulatory authority of sufficient scale, the comprehensive reform required will not be possible. “Effective modern licensing, regulation and monitoring of the gambling industry will come at a cost. The Working Group concludes nevertheless that such an authority can in time be substantially self-financing, through income from licence and other fees charged to gambling operators.” The Irish Bookmakers Association (IBA), the representative body for betting operators in Ireland, has welcomed the new report. Chairperson Sharon Byrne said the new regulatory authority should be introduced as soon as possible. Byne added: “We are hopeful that this will be the final step towards completion and enactment of a Gambling Control bill and independent regulator. Our members have already introduced many of the advertising standards, customer monitoring and customer protection measures recommended by regulators in other countries. “An independent regulator and gambling control bill, will ensure enforcement and compliance by all gambling operators, not just betting shops, which will lead to better consumer protections and support for those who may be vulnerable to addiction.” *Citation from here

Online gambling operator 32Red has been hit with a £2m penalty for failing to protect a problem gambler. One customer was allowed to deposit £758,000 with the firm with no money laundering or social responsibility checks. The Gambling Commission said the penalty also related to money laundering failures. Kindred, which owns 32Red, said it accepted the penalty and was "working hard" to improve its processes. The Gambling Commission's investigation focused on 32Red's dealings with the customer between November 2014 and April 2017 during which time there were at least 22 incidents indicating the customer was a problem gambler. "Instead of checking on the welfare of a customer displaying problem gambling behaviour, 32Red encouraged the customer to gamble more - this is the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be doing," said Richard Watson, the commission's executive director said. "Operators must take action when they spot signs of problem gambling and should be carefully reviewing all the customers they are having a high level of contact with." Bonuses offered There had also been previous incidents highlighting the gambler's problems but instead of scrutinising these, the customer was offered bonuses to carry on placing bets. The Gambling Commission said 32Red should have reviewed the customer's accounts in August 2016 but one was only conducted in January 2017, when a win of more then £1m was instantly gambled again. 888 hit with record £7.8m penalty The customer took five weeks to respond to requests about their financial position and failed to offer support when the information was provided, the commission said. The payslip and report of commission for work was "not credible and showed volatility in receipted income", according to the Gambling Commission. These showed a monthly net income of £13,000 but average monthly deposits were in excess of £45,000. The customer's average monthly net salary was actually £2,150. The £2m penalty includes £709,046 divestment of the financial gain, a £1.3m payment to be used on the National Responsible Gambling Strategy, intended to tackle problem gambling, and £15,000 towards the cost of the investigation. Asked if the customer had stolen the money to gamble, the Gambling Commission spokesman said: "The source of the customer's wealth was not known to 32Red because they failed to fulfil their anti-money laundering obligations. We cannot comment on any other proceedings that may be active." The largest penalty imposed by the Gambling Commission was the £7.8m penalty on betting firm 888 in August 2017. 32Red was taken over by Kindred, a Swedish online betting company, in June 2017. Citation

"Firm marketed to self-excluded customers and took bets worth up to £200,000 over two months" Online gaming company LeoVegas has been fined £600,000 by the UK Gambling Commission for misleading advertising and its handling of problem gamblers. The Gambling Commission says that it identified and sanctioned 41 misleading adverts, but also proof of ill treatment of customers at the end of their self-exclusion period. The Gambling Commission found that LeoVegas didn’t return funds to 11k customers after they chose to self-exclude and also to close their accounts. It let 413 previously self-excluded customers gamble without speaking to them first or applying a 24-hour “cooling off period” before letting them play again. “The outcome of this case should leave no one in any doubt that we will be tough with licence holders who mislead consumers or fail to meet the standards we set in our licence conditions and codes of practice. We want operators to learn the lessons from our investigations and use those lessons to raise standards,” said Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive. Read Original Article Here Below Quoted from the Guardian The regulator found that 1,894 LeoVegas customers were sent marketing material despite having signed up to its self-exclusion scheme. More than 400 customers were allowed to bet £200,000 over two months, without the company speaking to them first or applying a 24-hour “cooling-off” period. The commission also found that LeoVegas, whose adverts feature the TV comedian Johnny Vegas, failed to return funds deposited by 11,205 customers who chose to self-exclude and close their account. LeoVegas will return more than £14,000 to the customers as part of the settlement.