Bookmakers have been advised to try and educate MPs on the issue of gaming machines in order to make sure that the industry is not hamstrung by the bad press generated over the past few years. Speaking to Betting Business interactive, Conservative MP for Shipley Philip Davies suggested the industry has been too sluggish in this regard and that his …
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Scottish punters will pocket up to £10 million in winnings in the event of a yes result in the referendum according to Ladbrokes. With 70% of bets placed north of the border favouring independence, the betting industry is preparing for a multi-million pound payout should the YES campaign defy the odds. Despite the confidence in a breakaway as far as …
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Gambling Consultant Steve Donoughue takes a look at the attempt of bookmakers to replicate the alcohol industry’s Portman Group. Yesterday saw the launch of the Senet Group by the big 3 Bookmakers and Irish upstart Paddy Power. For those of you who missed it, which is odd because it got some good news coverage, the Senet Group will be an …
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William Hill has taken what it is suggesting is the biggest political bet ever taken after one of its customers from South West London staked £400,000 on the outcome of the Scottish Referendum. The punter, who apparently did not have a Scottish accent, has bet on the referendum returning a No vote at odds of 1/4. Even more surprisingly, the …
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The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) has warned that any changes to betting shop regulations to tackle problem gambling should be ‘based on facts, not scaremongering’. In response to the government’s new plans to impose greater restrictions on gaming machines, gambling advertising and LBO planning laws, the ABB has accused the government of failing to listen to the one million …
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Today Helen Grant MP described gambling advertising as ‘pervasive’ while announcing a set of measures clamping down on the betting industry, put together as much for enhanced player protection as they have with one eye on next’s year’s General Election. While it obviously isn’t a good sign for the gambling industry (or indeed the TV companies), the government has actually …
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Gambling firms who want to open up new betting shops on the high street may find they are stopped from doing so under new plans to give local authorities more control over the make-up of their high streets. Bookies who want to open new shops will have to submit a planning application and local councils will be able to refuse …
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Minister for gambling Helen Grant MP has made this statement to Parliament: “The 2005 Gambling Act was introduced by the then Government with the aim of liberalising the gambling market in Great Britain. Nearly seven years on from the Act’s implementation, the gambling industry has developed in innovative ways, with new products now marketed and made available on a greater …
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The UK government is expected to introduce new mandatory measures for bookmakers today as it looks to stave off pressure from Labour on the gambling industry. Among the changes will be a tightening up on advertising, a shift in the planning laws to put betting shops in their own category and the enshrinement of the recent ABB machine code into …
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Betting shop staff are to present a petition signed by 1m people to Downing Street today in a bid to get the government to push back its current relentless changes to the regulation of bookmakers. Campaigns against FOBTs, so called ‘clustering’ of shops and the accusations that the industry is targeting poor areas has left the government feeling vulnerable to …
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