responsible gaming – Bookielink

October 1, 2024

Not much to like about SAFE Bet Act, say industry insiders and addiction advocates

It turns out that no one – not even problem and responsible gambling advocates – are embracing the SAFE Bet Act, unveiled at a press conference earlier this month by US Representative Paul Tonko and Senator Richard Blumenthal. It's already been publicly called “obnoxious” and “insulting”.
The SAFE Bet Act attempts to reverse the 2018 Supreme Court decision to make legal sports betting a states’ rights issue. It does not yet have a bill number and has not been filed. UCLA clinical professor of psychology Dr Tim Fong said the current version of the bill would “do more harm than good”.

Jeff Ifrah, a gaming lawyer and a founding member of iDevelopment and Economic Association (iDEA), told iGB that the bill is a lot to process because “the first suggestion out of the gate [is] to include an unconstitutional registration requirement”. He also said the bill sponsors appear to be trying to “fill some sort of need that doesn’t exist”.

There is much not to like about SAFE Bet Act, say t..

September 10, 2024

US lawmakers Tonko, Blumenthal to introduce federal wagering legislation

On Tuesday (10 September) US Representative Paul Tonko and US Senator Richard Blumenthal announced they will hold a press conference on Thursday (12 September) to introduce new federal online sports betting legislation.
The press conference is set for 1pm ET, and will also be streamed live on Tonko’s X page.

Tonko has previously filed two pieces of federal wagering legislation. Both would have put at least some federal framework around legal sports betting, which is a states’ rights issue. The US Supreme Court in May 2018 overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The act was a federal ban on sports betting.

Within months of the decision, brick-and-mortar casinos in four states were offering in-person sports betting. New Jersey sportsbooks were the first to offer digital betting, starting 6 August 2018. New Jersey governors Chris Christie and then Phil Murphy led the lawsuit that overturned PASPA.

According to a press release, representatives from the..

July 31, 2024

Bill to repeal US gambling excise tax filed

On Wednesday (31 July) a pair of US senators filed a bill calling for the repeal of the US federal excise tax on gambling. The 0.25% excise tax on the amount of any legal wager is levied above and beyond state taxes.
Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi) filed the bill. Called the “Withdrawing Arduous Gaming Excise Rates Act,” the acronym is “the WAGER Act.” The American Gaming Association (AGA), a trade group, almost immediately came out in favour of the bill. The legislation, the AGA said, would save operators tens of millions of dollars per year in taxes.

“The federal sports betting excise tax was enacted more than 70 years ago as a tool to prosecute illegal sports betting operators,” the AGA wrote in a statement. “Today, with sports betting legal in 38 states and Washington DC, this antiquated tax puts legal operators at a competitive disadvantage and rewards illegal offshore bookmakers that pay no federal or state taxes, offer no responsible..

July 24, 2024

Study: Lower-income gamblers take more risks online

A study of more than 700,000 North American online gamblers released on Tuesday (23 July) reveals that 96% of respondents lose money and that lower-income gamblers are more “irresponsible” with their gambling spending than higher-income gamblers.
Researchers at UC-San Diego’s Rand School of Management took a comprehensive look into gambling habits and how legal online betting affects jurisdictions and individuals. States with legal online gambling get increased revenue and more money to funnel to problem gambling initiatives, per the study. And a legal market helps to limit illegal wagering.

But for consumers, gambling is a money-losing proposition with potentially life-changing consequences. And online casino, researchers wrote, caused more “irresponsible” behaviour than online sports betting.

“On the downside, increased accessibility and participation can lead to higher rates of problematic gambling behaviour,” the authors wrote.

Tracking online gambling spending habits
In part..

April 4, 2024

Ontario market growing two years on, shifting focus to consumer protections

In the two years since single-event wagering was legalised in Ontario, Canada, one thing has become clear: consumers are sick of gambling ads. The most recent proof of that is a Maru Public Opinion poll, taken 7-8 February, of 1,534 Canadians who are also Maru Public Opinion panelists.

Of those surveyed, 59 percent said they favour a total ban on wagering advertising. Most also believe that operators are not acting responsibly and that there should be more government regulation.

While polls are often designed and taken to get a certain result, and a significant percentage of those polled by Maru were in the over-55 category, the sentiment matches the hue and cry that has been echoing through Canada since wagering went live on 4 April 2022. Since its launch, televised hockey games were flooded with advertisements for sportsbooks and have been since.

There is similar sentiment in some parts of the US. In 2023, for example, Senator Paul Tonko proposed a federal wagering advertising ..

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

Tag: responsible gaming