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.