This week’s gambling news is all about the growing threat of problem gambling. As sports betting and online betting spread across America, more and more states are becoming concerned with the possible rise in gambling addiction. Now, some media outlets have even begun to attack betting operators. Are their worries and criticisms founded? Or is the issue of problem gambling overstated? Welcome again to This Week in Gambling, where we have more record revenue to report, and more gambling expansion to discuss. But some dark clouds are on the horizon, and that is this week’s big story. Last week we…

As our industry grows, it becomes an easier target. Now, at least one member of the main-stream media has labeled the lottery as predatory gambling. And, in what could not be considered actual gambling news, another member was willing to go as far as to call sports betting operators “idiots”. But do these claims have any merit? Or is it just the usual industry opponents with their usual negative rhetoric? To be sure, some people simply don’t like gambling. And within that group of haters there are several types. There are the ones who don’t enjoy the activity themselves, but…

With the rapid spread of betting on sports across our nation, we’ve been worried about the potential for problem gambling. But it’s not just our legitimate concerns for players mental health that has us troubled. It’s also the advertising blitz, sponsorships, media partnerships, and bonus offers that we are seeing everywhere. Not only do they overwhelm, they give gambling opponents the bullets they need to shoot use with. We actually voiced our concerns over a possible gambling backlash in a video we made back in September, just as football season was kicking off. Our very real fears were based off…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has said that the industry must do more to tackle issues related to problem gambling. The national regulatory body recently undertook a review of gambling across Great Britain, focusing on rates of participation, at-risk gambling and problem gambling, and explored the associated characteristics and behaviours. Tim Miller, executive director of the UKGC, said the report found that operators must take further action to ensure they are properly addressing problem gambling, adding that the “pace of change” has not been fast enough. “Whilst overall problem gambling rates in Britain have remained statistically stable, our research suggests…

There are zero legal online gambling sites in Massachusetts, but that doesn’t mean people don’t gamble online in the Bay State. In the United States, online gambling is only legal and regulated in the following locales: New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada. That being said, online gambling (poker, casino, sports betting, and beyond) is widely available across the United States. In most states, including Massachusetts, online gamblers don’t have the same protections as gamblers in New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada. They have no choice but to play on offshore, unlicensed, and unregulated online gaming websites – sites that have a spotty…

In February 2016, Paddy Power came under a great deal of fire when it was discovered that they had encouraged a known problem gambler to continue gambling. The whole fiasco resulted him losing five jobs, his home, and access to his children. Not a brilliant situation. The Gambling Commission noted that some large operators such as Paddy Power were not doing enough to protect problem gamblers. It also noted that the betting machines that it was using were making it easy to launder money. Paddy Power ended up making a voluntary donation of £280,000 to various causes. Politicians are campaigns…