This Week in Gambling

ABC News – Organizations and advocates on all sides of the online gambling debate are cheering a Congressional hearing on the state of online gambling. The hearing took place Tuesday before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. In his testimony, American Gaming Association President Geoff Freeman praised the hearing as timely. He said the gambling lobby appreciated Congress’ leadership. The Gaming Association is pushing for a national regulatory structure for online gambling. On the other side of the spectrum, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling applauded Congress for “taking seriously the threat of Internet gambling” The coalition said…

iGaming Business – Online payment processor Skrill is to exit the Canadian online gaming market after confirming in an email to customers that it is to cease processing gambling payments in the country at the start of 2014. The email stated that payments to gambling merchants would no longer be processed from January 2, while payments from merchants will be halted on January 31. The firm said that it will be notifying active gamblers of the decision next week and will communicate this to its broader Canadian customer base. Skrill advised customers to “liaise with appropriate departments within your business…

ESPN – Leaders across a range of sports in the United Kingdom have been invited to a Government meeting to discuss best practice in the wake of the recent match-fixing allegations. Maria Miller, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, invited senior officials from football, tennis, cricket, rugby union and rugby league to discuss methods of combating the issue. Representatives from the Premier League, the Football League, the Gambling Commission and the British Horseracing Authority will be present and a Government source told Press Association Sport: “We want to make sure no stone is left unturned in the…

iGaming Business – Alex Horne, general secretary of the Football Association, the sport’s governing body in England, believes ‘fixing’ matches is not a widespread occurrence in the English game, but has warned against complacency in the fight against match fixing and corrupt betting. Horne was among representatives of football, cricket, horseracing, rugby league, rugby union and tennis who attended a summit on Tuesday morning with UK government officials, including Culture Secretary Maria Miller. The meeting took place against the backdrop of a major scandal to emerge in English football, with six people, including Blackburn Rovers striker DJ Campbell, having been…

iGaming Business – The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has highlighted the need for guidance in the app industry to protect consumers following a recent sweep of more than 350 app games in the Google Play and Apple App Stores. The ACCC discovered in its sweep that many ‘free’ games that appeal to children were not accompanied with ‘adequate disclosure’ about costs associated with app-based games. In addition, the ACCC found that less than 20% of children’s ‘free’ game apps across both platforms included information about how to restrict devices to prevent inadvertent in-app purchases. The sweep also highlighted the…

Australian gambling laws were adjusted during the Gillard administration to include warnings on video poker machines about the dangers of over indulgence in the activity. With the Abbott government now in power it has decided to overturn pre-commitment laws brought in by the Labor government only one year ago. The mandatory technology in the ACT, where punters have to select how much they were prepared to lose before the start of play will not be implemented. Another restriction on gamblers included a nationwide prohibition on withdrawing more than $250 at automated teller machines in gambling areas other than those in…