Daily Archives: August 6, 2017

LONDON (Reuters) - British Chancellor Philip Hammond has blocked government attempts to curb high-stakes gambling machines commonly found in betting shops in order to preserve tax revenues, the Daily Mail newspaper reported on Saturday.

Britain's ministry for culture, media and sports, which regulates the gambling industry, launched a consultation in October into the maximum wagers that should be allowed on gambling machines, including those known as fixed-odds betting terminals.

These machines currently allow gamblers to bet as much as 100 pounds ($130) every 20 seconds in electronic versions of casino games like roulette, and some British lawmakers have called for this to be reduced to 2 pounds.

The Daily Mail cited a government source as saying Britain's finance ministry feared this would be "financially crippling" for tax revenues, and separately said Hammond had acted to ensure a clampdown on maximum gambling stakes was shelved.

But the sports minister overseeing the review, Tracey Crouch, described the article as "Fake news" on Twitter, without giving further details.

The culture and sports ministry said in a statement on Saturday that its review into stakes and prizes offered by gambling machines was still underway, and it expected to publish its conclusions in the autumn. Crouch told parliament in June that the review would not appear until October at the earliest.

Britain's finance ministry declined to comment.

Lawmakers opposed to the machines say they account for more than half of bookmakers' profits, and caused gamblers to lose 1.7 billion pounds in 2015.

The Daily Mail said the machines brought in more than 400 million pounds a year in tax revenues.

Share prices in bookmakers such as Ladbrokes Coral Group LCL. have fallen due to fears of curbs, and credit ratings agency Fitch said in March that restrictions would be likely to boost online gambling at the expense of high-street operations.

($1 = 0.7672 pounds)

Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Andrew Bolton

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UK Chancellor blocks gambling curbs: Daily Mail - Reuters

Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent said he believes legalized sports gambling is an inevitability that will fundamentally alter sports as we know it.

"I know that [gambling] is precisely why these prices are going up," Vincent told ESPN's David Purdum of the prices of sports franchises. "I've been really astonished and can't believe, with the amount of money that's going to flow to sports if gambling is permitted, that it's not a subject of interest. And no one seems to be paying attention."

Vincent, 79, was MLB's commissioner from September 1989 to September 1992. He's beenopposedto the reinstatement of Pete Rose and testified in support of theProfessional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which restricted sports gambling to Nevada in 1992.

"In those days, we were very adamant against betting, because we had just been dealt and were dealing with the Pete Rose case," Vincent said. "We saw the risks and the danger of corruption, and we saw that the mafia was involved in some of the things we investigated. It's dangerous, and it's still dangerous. But I think the American public wants to bet, and it's already betting."

Since the institution of PASPA, illegal sports gambling has become rampant across the United States. Underground bookmakers have taken wagers for years, and the proliferation of the internet has made it even easier for fans to gamble. Offshore books and credit card companies have attempted to crackdown on illegal wagering, but anyone with the desire will be able to find a way.

By working to legalize sports gambling, leagues could find a way to share in the revenue generated. Betting kiosks are regular fixtures in sports stadiums across Europe, and the NFL has shut them down whenever it has taken its yearly trips to England.

"I don't know how the feds or the states are going to act, but the money will come to the leagues one way or another," Vincent said. "It will go to the teams. The unions are going to want a cut of it. The amount of money is going to mean enormous increases in players' compensation, and officials, too; I mean the entire sporting world is going to benefit enormously."

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Ex-MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent Says Sports Gambling Likely to Be Legalized Soon - Bleacher Report

6 Aug 2017, 3 p.m.

Debate emerges on online gaming and poker machines

The negative effects of online gambling are nowhere near as bad as poker machine gambling, Tasmanian welfare advocates say.

Tasmanias welfare groups will continue to push for a ban of poker machines in pubs and clubs when a parliamentary inquiry into Tasmanias gaming industry resumes this week.

The state government last year directed an inquiry be established to look at the gaming industry in the state once Federal Hotels exclusive deed on poker machine licences expires in 2023.

The committee plans to have its final reporttabled in Parliament by the end of September.

Social and welfare advocates have recognised this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have poker machines confined to casinos.

Poker machine proponents, however, have argued that doing so will cost the state much-needed revenue, jobs in regional areas, and simply push gamblers towards other forms of betting, like online gaming.

Online gambling, and particularly sports betting, has givenwould-be punters 24-hour access to the activity; facilitated throughmobile phone technology.

In Februarys hearings, Federal Hotels and the hospitality industry said theybelieved online gaming to be a bigger threat to the Tasmanian community rather than the placement of poker machines in pubs and clubs.

Federal Hotels managing director Greg Farrell used Treasurys biennial study of the social and economic impacts of gambling to show that seven per cent of Tasmanians have played online.

He said this group wasfour times more likely to be problem gamblers, or at-risk of moderate to high-problem gambling, than poker machine players.

But social service organisations believe that problem online gamblers were aminuscule part of the states overall problem gambler contingent.

Anglicare Tasmania Social Action and Research Centre manager, Meg Webb, said there was no evidence to suggest reduced access to poker machines would push problem gamblers online.

There is no link between these two activities in any research, she said.

The motivations between these two forms of gambling are different.

While participation in online gambling is growing, it only accounts for a small part of problem gambling activity in Tasmania.

The clear and present danger is pokies.

The Salvation Armys Brad Watson said unlike poker machines, online gambling was a private activity and its consequences were not as well-documented.

He said in contrast to poker machine gambling, online gambling had not beenidentified as a concern by many of the organisationsclients who soughtsupport.

It is our understanding that the demographic engaged in online gambling suggested to be mostly younger, employed men would be different to unemployed or socially isolated people seeking community and activity through centres such as a gaming venue, Major Watson said.

The clear and present danger is pokies - Anglicare Tasmania Social Action and Research Centre manager, Meg Webb

Therefore, notwithstanding that all gambling has potential negative financial and social implications, the typical outcomes and most-likely-affected persons would be quite different.

A senate committee last year investigatedhow the government could bettercontrol the online gambling industry.

The Australian Psychological Society said the easy accessibility of online gambling hadresulted in issues for the federal government, who is responsible for regulations in the area, particularly over protection of minors.

The organisationtold the senate committeethat there needs to be more rigorous education programs andharm-minimisation approaches that otherwise would be applied to traditional forms of gambling.

It warned that the government should appreciate the diversity of online gamblers and not treat them as ahomogenous group.

Mission Australia chief executive officer Catherine Yeomans said the organisationsgambling counsellors hadnoted a growing problem in sports betting, particularly among young males.

Research confirms that sports betting has grown substantially and is emerging as a significant contributor to problem gambling, she said.

Our counsellors further report that the availability of credit and inducements frequently exacerbates these problems.

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Investigation into Tasmania's gambling industry continues - The Advocate

LA TRINIDAD, PhilippinesCordillera policemen vow to run after gambling financiers and not only the small fry in the illegal gambling operations in the highland region.

Cordillera police director Chief Superintendent Elmo Sarona said all policemen in the six provinces and two cities in the highland region are already running after anti-illegal gambling operators and financiers who operate discretely through remote control from pension houses, inns and hotels, as their centers of operations.

Increased surveillance operation are being done to catch the gambling financiers, he warned.

On Wednesday, six small fry suspects were caughtred-handedly gambling in separate raids in Baguio City.

Threewere hauled to jail after they were caught playing cards along the road of Middle Quirino Hill. Laborer Jordan Ngawet Baniwas, 51, from West Quirino Hill; carpenter Roger Esteban Ruis, 68, a resident of Middle Quirino Hill, Baguio City and Gil Managtag Domingo, 63, from West Quirino Hill were caught playing cards and betting on them.

In another operation, three more were arrested betting while playing cards at Crystal Cave Road, Bakakeng Central.Anito Albina, 47 and Beth Panis, 57, were caught while Julie Salinas escaped.

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Cordillera cops vow to get gambling bosses - Philippine Star

We hear that our wonderful elected officials recently suggested increased availability of gambling in the state to help balance the budget, and I wonder where are their minds. I remember my grandfather telling me years ago that when they had slot machines in clubs, people would go in when they got paid and lose their entire paycheck hoping to hit it big.

So I guess it is true that history repeats itself, and our elected officials should be charged with negligence in performing their duties to uphold the responsibilities of the state and further jeopardizing the welfare of the people who gamble, as these folks will never admit they have a gambling problem. Nobody wants to admit that the best way for politicians to approach a deficit is to spend less or increase taxes that are nondiscriminatory and everybody pays their fair share. It is easier to blindly approve expanded gambling as you dont see those hurt by this decision and dont have to listen to the people you represent. You do not have skin in the game!

You dont see the people who will spend hours in clubs and other organizations and will most likely go home with nothing, reminiscent of the words spoken by my grandfather. Politicians dont want to charge a tax, as that would be political suicide. They would rather let you hang yourself on your own so they can say it is not our fault you cant control your gambling. They collect a decent paycheck and pension, much better than probably 80 percent of the people in Pennsylvania.

We need to replace politicians with the folks who work a blue-collar job without regard as to whether you are a Democrat or Republican, as that is what started this mess years ago. We need to understand that all need to pay their fair share, even those on public assistance. We need to increase the state sales tax to 7 percent and include clothes. We also need to increase the tax by another 5 percent on alcohol, tobacco and drinks high in sugar as these are directly related to increased health care costs later in life, which are going to cost the working public more to support government programs and be the downfall of Medicare and Medicaid.

Joe McGill, Erie

Billionaires have usurped

branches of government

I can still recall the intense pride and feelings of esprit de corps I experienced serving with my fellow Americans red, brown, black, yellow and white in the common cause of survival.

We stood together, side by side, to face the challenges to our very existence. Unified in the face of every threat, we survived for and died for each other. In unity we prevailed. Not just as Americans, but as brothers.

Now the threat before us is from within. An attack on the core values of the nation so many have died to protect and defend throughout history grows by the minute.

The executive and legislative branches of our government have been usurped by billionaire capitalists who hold loyalty only to profit and privilege, bent on destroying the unity of purpose that actually made us the United States of America.

Stand against this cash-powered coup intent on depriving all citizens of their constitutional birthright, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

This government of the people, by the people, for the people has enabled the construction of this wondrously unique experiment in democracy and personal freedom that has nurtured all for two and a quarter centuries.

Do not let lies, high volume, pervasive propaganda and spin doctors divide and conquer that which so many patriots have given their all to preserve, the United States of America.

M. Maxon, Erie

Repealing ACA would hurt

fight against opioid crisis

The defeat of the Affordable Care Act repeal was a win in Pennsylvanias fledgling fight against the opioid epidemic. At the neighborhood clinic where I serve as a nurse practitioner, my patients rely on their health insurance to cover the tens of thousands of dollars in costs for opioid addiction treatment, including prescriber visits, counseling and medication.

Because of the Medicaid expansion, and the essential health benefits that guarantee addiction services are included under the ACA, about 3 million more Americans with substance abuse issues now have insurance coverage. If the ACA is repealed, these folks would lose their coverage and $5.5 billion annually would be cut from opioid addiction services.

Washington politicians such as Sen. Pat Toomey should be fighting to help prevent the deaths of the 13 Pennsylvanians who perish each day from drug overdoses, instead of trying to give their health care funding away to millionaires and pharmaceutical and health insurance companies.

Tarik S. Khan, Philadelphia

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Using gambling to balance budget will harm people: Letters to the editor - GoErie.com