Gambling Addiction Clinic To Open in Northern England

Gambling addiction or problem gambling has been one of the most significant emerging issues in as far as gambling is concerned. With more and more gambling facilities and platforms being introduced and becoming even more accessible, regulators and various authorities have begun to look deeper into the issue of problem gambling which means that there is still hope for people with the problem. One of the most recent developments in this regard is the decision by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service to open a clinic that will be treating people who have gambling addictions in the north of England making it the very first clinic of its kind outside London.

This new clinic is set to be opened in before the summer of 2019 and was made possible by a $1.5 million grant from a charity which happens to be funded by GambleAware. This is particularly great for people outside London since, as it stands, gambling addicts must travel to south London to get treatment. The problem gambling clinic will be called the NHS Northern Gambling Clinic and it will be run with a partnership of the GamCare network and the NHS Foundation.

Among the services that the clinic will be providing will be mental health counseling as well as social services for the gambling addicts – researches have found that people with gambling disorders need help with a number of different problems including debt, bankruptcy, crime, drug use, suicide, and even job loss. In essence, the goal of the clinic is to not only help the gambling addicts break their addiction but also give them the necessary psychological treatment and counseling so that they are able to get back on their feet financially. All these will be complemented with group therapy sessions which will help the patients to open up about some of the issues that they face.

United Kingdom’s Gambling Statistics

Gamblers in the United Kingdom have so many options and a number of critics have pointed out that the availability of gambling products is part of the problem. Gamblers area able to wager online or at land-based facilities for almost all of their favorite sporting activities. The same goes for online casino and online poker games.

Research shows that almost two million in the United Kingdom are problem gamblers and nearly 400,00 of them are said to be gambling addicts. However, the government has been allegedly ignoring the issue of problem gambling because of the money that gambling brings into the coffers of the country. However, there have some moves by the British government to regulate the gambling industry further in the hopes that they would be able to deal with the issue.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.

Offshore Gambling in Australia To Drop Significantly

The online gambling market in Australia has undergone some significant changes over the course of the past few years, as lawmakers aim to cut down on offshore gambling. Now, it has been reported that offshore gambling activity is expected to drop by over half in the coming year.

Online Gambling Reform

In 2017, Australia authorities enforced reforms that gave the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) more power to take action against unlicensed online casino operators. This meant that offshore gambling sites would face maximum penalties of $8 million per day if they continue to offer services to Australian players.

“Over the past year, we’ve moved decisively to disrupt the provision of illegal offshore gambling to Australians,” says Nerida O’Loughlin, Chair of ACMA. “If you provide prohibited or unlicensed gambling services to customers in Australia, you are breaching Australian law and we will take enforcement action.”

Since then, the ACMA has investigated nearly 140 websites. It was found that 58 weren’t offering their services to Australians after all, but the figure increased to 83 after the reform was introduced. As such, ACMA’s compliance action is certainly working in helping Australian authorities do away with unlicensed online gambling.

As a result of the reforms, ACMA anticipates that online gambling activity will drop by 50 over the course of the next year. In 2017, $450 million was spent at offshore casino websites, and it is expected that the number will drop to $200 million by the end of this year.

The reform has been an effective method of culling unlicensed gambling operators. It is quite an interesting stance, considering most countries are moving towards online gambling regulation while Australia is trying to get further and further away from it.

Australia’s Gambling Problem

For years, the Australian government has been working hard to reduce problem gambling rates across the country. In 2016, it was found that Australians lost more money to gambling than in any other developed country. Australians lost $990 per person – much more than players in Singapore, the runner-up, who lost $650 per person.

It seems that authorities in the country are targeting offshore gambling because it provides players with yet another outlet for spending money on casino games and sports betting. As such, Australian lawmakers refuse to license online casino websites and want to stop any online operators from doing so.

There’s no telling if these reforms to stop offshore gambling will actually reduce problem gambling rates in Australia. However, it is still an effective campaign that has reduced the number of offshore casino sites in the country. Only time will tell if this will be a good thing for Australians, stopping problem gambling from becoming an even bigger problem.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.

Pennsylvania Online Gambling Applications Under Review

The laws have been made, the applications have been submitted and online gambling is finally coming to Pennsylvania. The recent move to permit local casinos to offer games online to state residents will be a huge boon to Pennsylvania, generating more taxes and even helping to bring more business to land-based casinos.

Nine Applications Submitted

Of the 13 casino licensees in Pennsylvania, nine have submitted applications for licenses that will allow them to offer online gambling activities to players. After being reviewed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), they will have to pay a $10 million fee to receive their licenses. The casinos that have submitted applications are:

  • Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack
  • Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
  • Mount Airy
  • Parx in Bensalem
  • Rivers Casino
  • Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem
  • Stadium Casino
  • SugarHouse Casino
  • Valley Forge Casino Resort

The deadline for applications closed on Monday, so there are four casinos that will not be able to apply for full online gambling licenses. They can still apply under individual gaming categories for a fee of $4 million each until August 16.

If any online gambling licenses remain unsold by that date, the PGCB will open up applications to international operators. This means that the state could see large companies like Amaya or Rank Group entering the local online gambling market.

Huge Tax Potential

Online gambling in Pennsylvania will be subject to some fairly high tax rates. Once operators have paid their $10 million license fee, they will also be responsible for paying taxes based on the type of games they offer:

  • 15% for daily fantasy sports
  • 16% for table games and poker
  • 36% for sports betting
  • 54% for slots

The Pennsylvanian government will benefit significantly from the taxes generated by online gambling. New Jersey has already set a great example, having generated over $120 million in tax revenue since online casino games were made legal in 2014.

This makes for some very optimistic predictions for the type of tax revenue that the state of Pennsylvania can expect to generate over the course of the next few years. However, industry experts have expressed concerns about the steep tax rates, stating that it could result in higher operating costs and less money spent on innovation.

Still, all of this remains to be seen. There is no telling how residents in PA will react to online gambling and if Pennsylvania casinos will see similar success to those in New Jersey. We will simply have to wait a few months and see how it all plays out in America’s newest regulated online gambling market.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.