Gambling Censorship News

The New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) has passed new rules prohibiting jockeys from whipping a Thoroughbred or Standardbred, except in an emergency.

The new rules make New Jersey the first U.S. state to ban whipping to make horses go faster. Whipping will not be allowed at all except for the express purpose of safety.

The ban, which will go into effect next year, was approved by a unanimous vote--even after the Jockeys' Guild (which represents the interests of U.S. jockeys) and the operator of Monmouth Park expressed their opposition.

Per the new rules, riders who do whip a horse to achieve a better placing can be fined, suspended, and forced to forfeit their share of the purse.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is the trade association for betting and gaming, representing betting shops, online gaming businesses and casinos. The association has announced that it will be restricting internet advertising to websites that can prove that they are targeting over 18s or else are targeting over 25s (without so much proof required). The association announced:

Tough new measures aimed at further preventing under-18s from seeing gambling adverts online have been unveiled by the Betting and Gaming Council.

The standards body, which represents the regulated betting industry excluding the National Lottery, unveiled the crackdown as it published the Sixth Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising.

In future, BGC members must ensure that all sponsored or paid for social media adverts must be targeted at consumers aged 25 and over unless the website can prove its adverts can be precisely targeted at over 18s.

The new code also includes a requirement that gambling ads appearing on search engines must make clear that they are for those aged 18 and over. In addition, the adverts themselves must also include safer gambling messages.

YouTube users will also have to use age-verified accounts before they can view gambling ads, guaranteeing that they cannot be seen by under-18s. And BGC members will have to post frequent responsible gambling messages on their Twitter accounts.

The new code, which will come into force on 1 October, is the latest example of the BGC's determination to drive up standards within the betting and gaming industry.

Other measures include the whistle to whistle ban on TV gambling adverts, a requirement for 20% of all TV and radio ads to be safer gambling messaging, cooling off periods on gaming machines, encouraging deposit limits, new ID and age verification checks and massively increasing funding for research, education and treatment.

MPs have urged online gambling firms to impose a temporary betting cap of £50 a day during the Covid-19 crisis, as evidence emerged that they are pushing punters towards riskier wagers in the absence of mainstream sport.

With events such as the Premier League and Grand National cancelled, gambling companies are heavily promoting obscure sporting competitions, computer-generated virtual sports and online casino games .

An internal email sent by a senior manager at William Hill, seen by the Guardian, advises staff to talk to your customers about what other things they can bet on -- table tennis and Japanese baseball are proving very popular.

In a letter to industry trade body the Betting & Gaming Council, MPs in a cross-party group examining gambling-related harm urged firms not to put protection of their finances before customers' wellbeing. Labour's Carolyn Harris, the Conservatives' Iain Duncan Smith and SNP MP Ronnie Cowan wrote:

We are deeply concerned that as we go deeper into this crisis, more and more people will turn to online gambling as a distraction.

If the industry were to self-impose a daily limit of £50 ... it would be a clear demonstration that the industry is willing to act responsibly and do what they can to protect society and peoples' finances, at this dreadful time.

Protecting the age of innocence

Report of the inquiry into age verification for online wagering and online pornography

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs

Executive Summary

The Committee’s inquiry considered the potential role for online age verification in protecting children and young people in Australia from exposure to online wagering and online pornography.

Evidence to the inquiry revealed widespread and genuine concern among the community about the serious impacts on the welfare of children and young people associated with exposure to certain online content, particularly pornography.

The Committee heard that young people are increasingly accessing or being exposed to pornography on the internet, and that this is associated with a range of harms to young people’s health, education, relationships, and wellbeing. Similarly, the Committee heard about the potential for exposure to online wagering at a young age to lead to problem gambling later in life.

Online age verification is not a new concept. However, the Committee heard that as governments have sought to strengthen age restrictions on online content, the technology for online age verification has become more sophisticated, and there are now a range of age-verification services available which seek to balance effectiveness and ease-of-use with privacy, safety, and security.

In considering these issues, the Committee was concerned to see that, in so much as possible, age restrictions that apply in the physical world are also applied in the online world.

The Committee recognised that age verification is not a silver bullet, and that protecting children and young people from online harms requires government, industry, and the community to work together across a range of fronts. However, the Committee also concluded that age verification can create a significant barrier to prevent young people—and particularly young children—from exposure to harmful online content.

The Committee’s recommendations therefore seek to support the implementation of online age verification in Australia.

The Committee recommended that the Digital Transformation Agency lead the development of standards for online age verification. These standards will help to ensure that online age verification is accurate and effective, and that the process for legitimate consumers is easy, safe, and secure.

The Committee also recommended that the Digital Transformation Agency develop an age-verification exchange to support a competitive ecosystem for third-party age verification in Australia.

In relation to pornography, the Committee recommended that the eSafety Commissioner lead the development of a roadmap for the implementation of a regime of mandatory age verification for online pornographic material, and that this be part of a broader, holistic approach to address the risks and harms associated with online pornography.

In relation to wagering, the Committee recommended that the Australian Government implement a regime of mandatory age verification, alongside the existing identity verification requirements. The Committee also recommended the development of educational resources for parents, and consideration of options for restricting access to loot boxes in video games, including though the use of age verification.

The Committee hopes that together these recommendations will contribute to a safer online environment for children and young people.

Lastly, the Committee acknowledges the strong public interest in the inquiry and expresses its appreciation to the individuals and organisations that shared their views with the Committee.

People are to be banned from using credit cards to place bets, the Gambling Commission has said.

The ban, which starts on 14 April, comes after reviews of the industry by the commission and the government. Commission research shows that 22% of online gamblers using credit cards are classed as problem gamblers.

Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive, said:

Credit card gambling can lead to significant financial harm. The ban that we have announced today should minimise the risks of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have.

We realise that this change will inconvenience those consumers who use credit cards responsibly, but we are satisfied that reducing the risk of harm to other consumers means that action must be taken.

The ban will apply to all online and offline gambling products except lotteries that are run for good causes. These lotteries will have to provide a significant layer of additional protection to vulnerable people. The commission said that tickets for these lotteries, as well as for the National Lottery, can be bought using credit cards in supermarkets and newsagents as long as they are purchased with other products.