Monthly Archives: April 2022

Brexit betrayal! PM slammed as Welsh microchip factory sold to China: ‘Not protecting us’ – Express

Posted: April 4, 2022 at 3:10 pm

The Government has decided not to block the sale of Newport Wafer Fab, the UK's largest semiconductor plant, to Nexperia, a Dutch subsidiary of the Chinese technology company Wingtech. Semiconductors, also known as microchips, are a critical component of electronic devices, including smartphones. A major controversy broke out after Nexperia attempted to buy the plant last spring.

Following the uproar, in June, Mr Johnson announced an investigation into the case, launching a review by the Governments national security adviser, Sir Stephen Lovegrove.

Six months later, Sir Lovegrove has concluded that there is no risk to the UKs security, and thus there is no reason to block the sale, Politico reported.

Conservative MPs have already raised alarm bells following the decision, arguing that Mr Lovegrove is applying too narrow of a definition of UK security.

Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, said: Its not clear why we havent used our new powers under the National Security and Investment Act to fully review the takeover of one of our leading compound semiconductor companies.

He added: This is an area where China is sinking billions to compete.

The government has no clear strategy to protect whats left of our semiconductor industry.

The National Security and Investment Act (NSI) came into force on January 4, 2022.

The post-Brexit act gives the Government powers to scrutinise and intervene in business transactions, such as takeovers, to protect national security.

It comes after Mr Johnson promised to "back" British businesses.

READ MORE:Why is there a semiconductor shortage?

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TechUK calls on government to seize post-Brexit data opportunities – ComputerWeekly.com

Posted: at 3:10 pm

TechUK has published a paper ahead of the governments response to itsconsultation about reforms to the data protection regime, Data: a new direction, held towards the end of 2021.

In the paper, the IT supplier association has set out six principles for the government to adopt to seize what it calls post-Brexit opportunities, with a bold approach to data policy.

Meanwhile its Digital economy monitor, an ongoing survey of TechUK members, recently found that 76% see research and development (R&D) and innovation as either important or very important for their UK operations. But the organisation said its members cite confusing and unclear rules as holding them back from investing further in the UK. Almost one-third suggested removing regulatory barriers to innovation and the deployment of new technologies and products (29%), such as through data policy.

Neil Ross, associate director for policy at TechUK, said: Developing a clearer, more trusted and innovation-enabling data governance system is one of the most obvious opportunities of Brexit.

In doing so, the UK must find the right balance between upholding citizens rights, allowing data to be reused for research and innovation, while also supporting global data flows.

By putting forward these principles for reform, TechUK believes the UK can strike this balance and unlock the next wave of data-driven innovation. However, the government will need to be bold and embrace these opportunities, otherwise risks only achieving half-hearted changes, and creating extra compliance for UK businesses without seizing any of the benefits for increasing UK R&D and innovation.

TechUK is calling on the government to take what it calls a focused approach to supporting R&D and innovation by making reforms to its data protection regime that provide organisations with clear rules and more confidence when pursuing data-driven research projects.

The six principles identified by TechUK and its members are:

Under the last principle, the trade body takes issue with a concerning shift towards data localisation policies which pose a serious threat to the future of international trade and innovation, adding: To be an effective advocate for increased international digital trade cooperation, the UK government must address its own disconnect between its global commitment to push back against this trend, and its policy interventions at home, which have contained provisions that promote data localisation.

The organisation also said: The current GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] is an example of regulation that has caused legal uncertainty for businesses seeking to innovate, with some being unable or choosing not to use data to the fullest extent due to a lack of clarity in the law.

It is also urging the government to pick up the pace with respect to the National Data Strategy by boosting data skills in the population and increasing collaboration between public and private sectors.

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Kieran Maguire tips more Celtic stars to follow Ben Doak to England as Brexit impact explained – Football Insider

Posted: at 3:10 pm

More Celtic rising stars could follow Ben Doak to England because of Brexits impact on the youth recruitment market.

That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the 16-year-old wingers departure to Liverpool.

As relayed by The Athletic last Thursday (31 March), Celtic will receive 600,000 in compensation for the academy star.

Doak was yet to sign a professional contract with the Hoops but had featured twice for the senior team.

His exit at such a young age means that Celtic have been unable to recoup the kind of big-money fee they received for the likes of Kieran Tierney.

The United Kingdoms exit from the European Union has shrunk the recruitment pool for players under the age of 18.

And Maguire anticipates that the likes of Celtic could continue to have their best young talents poached as a result.

Its really frustrating, he told Football Insiders Adam Williams.

Its business, but this is also on the back of Brexit.

Because English clubs can no longer recruit 16 and 17-year-olds from the EU, there will be more snaffling of players from English and Scottish clubs.

Its a disadvantage of Brexit from Celtics point of view. Their young players who are yet to sign professional contracts and that means they are targets.

Because the Premier League cant recruit from Europe, they target players from England and Scotland.

Doak will not be eligible to play academy games for Liverpool until next season.

He has netted four times in seven appearances for Scotland Under-17s.

In other news, medical expert issues huge Christopher Jullien claim after behind-the-scenes Celtic news.

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Brexit planning dented Government preparation for Covid pandemic – top disaster expert – Express

Posted: at 3:09 pm

A key authority in recovering from disasters, Professor Lucy Easthope said that Brexit led to a slow erosion of priorities for the UK Government. She argued that this meant by January 2020, planners were feeling stymied in their efforts to ensure the UK was prepared for an event like the Covid pandemic.

Professor Easthope has worked on the response to major incidents including the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks, the Grenfell Tower fire and the Covid pandemic.

She has criticised the UKs response to the pandemic, arguing that it was too late and may have been hindered significantly by Britains exit from the EU.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, she said that disaster experts were told: we couldn't plan for Brexit and a pandemic at the same time, it was too ridiculous to think of both happening at the same time."

When asked who made this statement, she said it came as a result of a slow erosion of priorities.

This included meetings on pandemic planning being delayed or cancelled altogether - leaving the UK ill-equipped to respond when reports first emerged of a new virus in Wuhan.

Professor Easthope said that by January 2020, multiple meetings at ministerial department level had been postponed".

She added that the UK entered the pandemic with a very depleted health and social care system, leaving disaster planners very very nervous".

She said: As disaster planners, I think we started to feel very stymied in our ability to go into it with our best foot forward.

I think thats the sort of thing where that will be incredibly painful for the families to sit through.

The professor stated that the Government had attempted to ease the frustration of families suffering under the pandemic by claiming it was unpredicted and unplanned for".

However, she said that when meeting families more recently, the pain had almost reopened all over again at the idea that there were people who had worked very hard" to warn the government about the approaching crisis.

READ MORE:Brexit LIVE: Leaving bloc unshackles UK outlook on crop production[INSIGHT]

She said an inquiry would "uncover how much work was done... and how easy it is to erode that, particularly during times of austerity".

A Government spokesman said: "The Covid pandemic was unprecedented and challenged health systems around the world. Throughout the pandemic we have been guided by scientific and medical experts, and our main priority was to protect the NHS and save lives.

"As the National Audit Office Report on Covid-19 Pandemic Preparedness recognised, the government benefited from EU exit planning as well as the challenge of balancing multiple priorities.

"Thanks to our national efforts, we are now one of the most open countries in the world, and our focus is on building back better from the pandemic and delivering Brexit opportunities that benefit the British public."

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Brexit to significantly alter flow of illegal drugs into Ireland, says think tank – The Irish Times

Posted: at 3:09 pm

Brexit is set to disrupt and alter the flow of illegal drugs into Ireland as organised criminals take advantage of increased connections with mainland Europe, according to a report commissioned by the British embassy in Dublin.

The use of ports is set to become a more common way to smuggle cocaine into the country with the establishment of new ferry routes from France and Spain post-Brexit, the report compiled by Irish security think tank the Azure Forum stated.

Even before the United Kingdoms departure from the European Union, Irish organised crime gangs have been finding new ways of sourcing drugs. Previously, Irish gangs were supplied by UK gangs, but now they have established their own importation and supply chains to Ireland, the report said.

The UK increasingly acts as merely a waypoint for drugs coming to Ireland rather than a source, according to the report which is based on interviews with senior Irish and UK police officers and a review of existing studies.

These flows are likely to change further in correlation with decreased legitimate use of the UK land-bridge and additional direct ferry routes to Ireland from France and Spain.

The report said corrupted staff at airports and ports are an extremely valuable asset for criminal gangs.

Port workers in particular are indispensable in identifying containers for drug rip-offs, notably of cocaine from South America.

This is likely to become a more commonplace trafficking method into Ireland as Irish organised crime groups expand their contacts further upstream in drugs supply chains, and as trade flows adjust following the UKs exit from the EU.

The report also said corrupted workers in the logistics and haulage industries, particularly complicit HGV drivers, could smuggle of drugs and smuggle irregular migrants.

Criminals view the island of Ireland as a single market, it said, while also exploiting the differing legal jurisdictions to evade law enforcement.

Despite the continuation of trade between Ireland and the UK under the post-Brexit Trade and Co-operation Agreement, it is highly likely that organised crime will take advantage of post-Brexit shifts in legitimate trade flows, including the additional direct roll-on/roll-off ferry routes between Ireland and continental Europe.

Drug smuggling into Ireland is dominated by Irish gangs. However, the report raised the possibility of foreign gangs attempting to take over the lucrative cocaine trade, as has happened in the UK.

The takeover of the British cocaine market by Albanian organised crime suggests that this could take place through undercutting existing suppliers with cheaper, high-purity product, initially at least using lower-level Irish criminals for local distribution and retail sales.

This scenario remains unlikely while major Irish gangs control the Irish market, but dismantling or disrupting these groups could create a vacuum which may be exploited by non-Irish criminals, it said.

Despite changing methods of drug smuggling, the county lines phenomenon seen in the UK where criminals use vulnerable people and children to traffic drugs from cities to towns and villages has not yet taken hold in the Republic or Northern Ireland, the report found.

Criminals here do use vulnerable people for street sales but the county lines model is not currently a feature of retail markets.

Irish criminals have also been slow to embrace the use of cryptocurrency to launder and store wealth, it said, preferring instead to rely on cash.

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Brexit: Hike in energy bills partly due to leaving EU, its claimed – The London Economic

Posted: at 3:09 pm

It is not possible to completely nullify the pressures on energy prices, a Cabinet minister has said, as demonstrators gather across the country over the cost-of-living crisis.

It comes as a group claims that Brexit is partly to blame for the rise in energy prices.

But Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the Government is looking across the board at what were doing with the publics money, and will put in the support that we can, as and when we can to ease the sting of rising prices.

The Peoples Assembly said it expects thousands of protesters to take to the streets in dozens of locations throughout the UK to highlight those suffering real hardships due to the combination of a hike in fuel and food costs, inflation and low pay.

Unions have complained that Chancellor Rishi Sunaks spring statement last week did nothing to allay fears about soaring fuel bills and rising inflation, with the TUC calling for an emergency budget to help families.

The lifting of the energy price cap on Friday will create an impossible choice for many, to eat or heat, said the Peoples Assembly.

A spokesperson for the campaign group said: Public outrage over the cost-of-living crisis is growing fast, and our response is gaining momentum.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Lewis said the Government cannot completely nullify the impacts of global pressure on energy prices, but ministers will put in supportive measures where possible.

I know, even this week, where I live were on oil-fired heating, Ive seen that change directly in the price of oil and actually the ability to get it, he said.

The UKs decision to wrench itself out of common European energy trading arrangements as part of Brexit is partly to blame for todays huge hike in energy bills, the Rejoin EU Party says.

The trade deal agreed by the UK and EU excludes Great Britain from the EUs Internal Energy Market, leaving it relying on less efficient and more costly cross-border electricity trading arrangements than those available to EU member states.

The UK has lost much of its control of prices by surrendering its ability to take part in European-level energy auctions that decide the cost of fuel.

While Brexit is not the only factor responsible for the increases, it has removed a major lever available to the government to ease the burden.

Households face a 54% rise in energy bills from today, April 1st, adding around an extra 700 to the average households annual gas and electricity bill. Prices are expected to rise further in six months time, leaving millions of people potentially struggling to make ends meet.

Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and the Vote Leave campaign claimed fuel bills would be lower for everyone following Brexit. Instead, bills have risen exponentially.

Meanwhile, the EUs recently announced deal with the US to import an extra 15bn cubic metres of US liquefied natural gas this year will help reduce European reliance on Russian gas imports but excludes the UK due to Brexit, removing a means to increase UK energy security at a time when Vladimir Putin is using energy as a bargaining chip in his invasion of Ukraine.

John Stevens, former Conservative MEP and energy investor and now supporter of the Rejoin EU Party, said: Brexit has excluded the UK from joint EU energy policy and from the recent deal between the EU and the US on liquefied natural gas imports.

Taken together, this means UK energy prices will be higher than in the EU, with all which that implies for our prosperity.

It also means the cause of independence in Scotland will be substantially strengthened, as England will become more dependent on Scottish energy sources both carbon and renewable than at any time since the heyday of North Sea oil. To keep the lights on and the country together, we have to re-join the EU.

Related: What people are experiencing is intolerable: Protests take place across UK over cost-of-living crisis

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Sports betting bar to open in Western Market this spring – GW Hatchet

Posted: at 3:08 pm

A sports betting bar and restaurant opening in late spring will be the newest addition to Western Market, but some locals are wary of the introduction of gambling to Foggy Bottom.

ExPat, a two-floored restaurant undergoing construction on the lower level and ground floor of Western Market, will feature a bar on its top floor and a podcast studio, arcade, shuffleboard and karaoke stage on the floor below. ExPat will be the first business with sports betting in Foggy Bottom, which some community members worry could lead to potential risks like gambling addiction and theft in connection to cash payouts to winning gamblers.

Owner Ben Sislen said he hopes the mix of activities in the restaurant will make ExPat one of the focal gathering points for students on campus.

One of our missions is to be able to break down the walls between our bar and restaurant space and the GW community, he said. That means reaching out, bringing in GW bands and any talent that exists on campus here that wants to express itself in our space.

Sislen said an ExPat-branded app currently in development will be the primary mode of sports betting in the restaurant, and bet sizes will be limited to $500 with a maximum $200 cash payout per day to protect gamblers from losing larger sums of money. Betting can be placed through the app or through five betting kiosks that will be placed in the restaurant.

It can be fun, Sislen said. We can encourage the $5 to $10 to $20 bets, as opposed to the sportsbooks trying to get people to bet $3,000. Nobody wants to be sitting next to the person whos losing a mortgage payment on a sporting event.

ExPat will take the place of Bertuccis, which closed in 2020, he said.

The Districtlegalized sports-betting services in 2018, joining 30 states to legalize betting after the Supreme Court struck down a law banning sports betting outside of Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana. The D.C. Council voted to legalize sports betting that same year.

GambetDC the sole citywide betting app in D.C., operated by the city has underperformed its initial projections by nearly $25 million, losing $4 million in 2021 because of marketing costs, according to DCist.

Sislen said he met with the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission at least four times since late last year, including at a special meeting to address concerns about the restaurants gambling, including safety threats for people carrying out large sums of cash and gambling addiction.

The ANC unanimously passed a settlement agreement in the special meeting last month to limit the amount of cash a person can withdraw each day to $200 with a maximum of $500 in wagers per person.

Sislen, who quit his job as a lawyer in 2014 to work at his friends restaurant in D.C., has opened other bars in the District, like The Crown & Crow and Kingfisher near Logan Circle.

Margaret McDonald, a junior and ANC commissioner who represents the district containing Western Market, said they were closely involved with brokering and writing the settlement agreement between Sislen and the ANC. McDonald said commissioners unanimously voted to limit cash payouts because of concerns that people may face security risks while carrying their winnings.

There was some concern about the amount that people would have cash payouts, McDonald said. So we put a limit on that in the settlement agreement because of worries about people walking around with huge sums of cash from gambling.

Kevin Days, GWs director of community relations, said at an ANC meeting last month that the University is very comfortable with the idea of sports betting near campus.

GW understands that the students primarily are adults and should be treated as such, Days said at the meeting. We expect that we will provide the kinds of support that are needed if students run into issues.

John George, the president of the Foggy Bottom Association, said although Western Market has been a boost to Foggy Bottoms dining scene, he has concerns about noisy patrons that ExPat could attract and hopes they will not disrupt the neighborhood.

What Im hopeful is that there will be some ability to contain the amount of noise that comes out of a crowded space like that, so that the other retailers can still enjoy patronage and people sitting in that open air, he said.

George said some community opposition to the new business may stem from concerns about McFaddens, a former Pennsylvania Avenue bar near Washington Circle that Complex Magazine dubbed the douchiest bar in D.C. before it closed after a stabbing in December 2014 that left five people seriously injured.

George said he is optimistic about the arrival of the restaurant because of the experience that Sislen and other investors involved in the restaurant have gained opening bars across the city.

This is about a community, this is about people coming together, having a good time, George said. And then also being responsible and appropriate with the context of the surrounding areas.

Faith Wardwell contributed reporting.

This article appeared in the April 4, 2022 issue of the Hatchet.

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Global Gambling Markets Report 2022-2026 & 2030: Increasing Popularity of Gambling Apps and Social Gambling will Propel the Growth of the Market…

Posted: at 3:08 pm

DUBLIN, April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The "Gambling Global Market Report 2022, By Type, Channel Type, End-User" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global gambling market is expected to grow from $287.43 billion in 2021 to $458.93 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 59.7%. The market is expected to reach $458.93 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 18.4%.

Major companies in the gambling market include China Sports Lottery, China Welfare Lottery, Sociedad Estatal Loterias y Apuestas del Estado S.A., Flutter Entertainment plc., Maruhan, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Tabcorp Holdings Ltd., Penn National Gaming, Inc., Caesars Entertainment Corporation and LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP.

The gambling market consists of sales of gambling services and related goods by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that operate gambling facilities, such as casinos, bingo halls, video gaming terminals, lotteries, and off-track sports betting.

Gambling is the act of wagering money or something of value on an event with an uncertain outcome that is not under gambler control, with an intent of winning money. Bingo parlors, coin-operated gambling device concession operators, bookmakers, lottery ticket sales agents, and card rooms are also included in this market. The gambling market also includes sales of gambling services and related goods by entities that operate casino hotels.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the gambling market in 2021. Eastern Europe is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the gambling market are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.

Changing Consumer Gambling Habits: The demand for gambling is expected to be driven by the changing gambling habits of consumers. The increasing popularity of gambling apps and social gambling will propel the growth of the market going forward. The global social casino market is reached $4.64 billion in 2020, grew at a CAGR of 5%. The increasing adoption of mobile devices and increasing internet penetration will drive the demand for online gambling, driving market growth.

Coronavirus Pandemic: The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has acted as a massive restraint on the gambling market in 2020 as governments globally imposed lockdowns and restricted domestic and international travel limiting the need for services offered by these establishments.

However, it is expected that the gambling market will recover from the shock across the forecast period as it is a 'black swan' event and not related to ongoing or fundamental weaknesses in the market or the global economy.

Branded slots are increasingly becoming popular in the gambling industry. Branded slots are licensed online casino games built around universally popular subjects such as movies, TV shows, music or books. Brand loyalty draws the customers towards trying slot games revolving around their favorite characters.

Branded online slot games attract casual bettors, even the ones with little experience and interest in slot machines, as they create a connection with the players due to their familiarity with characters on the slots, increasing the traffic on the slot machines. Branded slots based on Game of Thrones, Westworld, Batman, and Jurassic Park are some of the most popular branded slot games.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

2. Report Structure

3. Gambling Market Characteristics 3.1. Market Definition3.2. Key Segmentations

4. Gambling Market Product Analysis 4.1. Leading Products/ Services4.2. Key Features and Differentiators4.3. Development Products

5. Gambling Market Supply Chain 5.1. Supply Chain5.2. Distribution5.3. End Customers

6. Gambling Market Customer Information 6.1. Customer Preferences6.2. End Use Market Size and Growth

7. Gambling Market Trends And Strategies

8. Impact Of COVID-19 On Gambling

9. Gambling Market Size And Growth 9.1. Market Size9.2. Historic Market Growth, Value ($ Billion)9.2.1. Drivers Of The Market9.2.2. Restraints On The Market9.3. Forecast Market Growth, Value ($ Billion)9.3.1. Drivers Of The Market9.3.2. Restraints On The Market

10. Gambling Market Regional Analysis 10.1. Global Gambling Market, 2021, By Region, Value ($ Billion)10.2. Global Gambling Market, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, Historic And Forecast, By Region10.3. Global Gambling Market, Growth And Market Share Comparison, By Region

11. Gambling Market Segmentation 11.1. Global Gambling Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

11.2. Global Gambling Market, Segmentation By Channel Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

11.3. Global Gambling Market, Segmentation By End User, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

12. Gambling Market Metrics 12.1. Gambling Market Size, Percentage Of GDP, 2016-2026, Global12.2. Per Capita Average Gambling Market Expenditure, 2016-2026, Global

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6sdind

Media Contact:

Research and MarketsLaura Wood, Senior Manager[emailprotected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

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Virginia Passed A Gambling Education Bill, Why Have Others Struggled? – Sports Handle

Posted: at 3:08 pm

The political process is rarely easy. Even the most common-sense bills can die for a litany of reasons and at different stages of the process.

But HB 1108 in Virginia was one of those rare occasions. The bill, which would add school instruction on gambling addiction to existing curriculum on drug and alcohol abuse, coasted through a subcommittee on a unanimous vote, made its way through the Committee on Education by a margin of 20-2, and passed in the states House of Delegates with a 97-3 vote, all in a weeks time in February.

In the Virginia Senate, it did not receive a single no vote. It moved through the Committee on Education and Health by a 15-0 margin March 3 and on March 8 passed in the Senate with a 39-0 vote. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has until April 11 to sign the bill into law.

This process was relatively straightforward, said Virginia Delegate Sam Rasoul, a Democrat, who sponsored the bill. It was met with no opposition, and by that I mean no entity no one testified against it. It was just presented in a common-sense way. We already teach about addiction, so why dont we integrate gambling into that, too?

It stands to reason, and problem gaming advocates will explain to anyone who will listen, that as gambling (specifically online sports betting) expands and is at the fingertips of more people across the country each year, educating the most vulnerable should come with it. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), high schoolers have twice the rate of gambling problems as adults. The hope from advocates is that Virginia, as the first state to pass such legislation, is just the start.

The normalization of gambling in our culture has to come with normalization of prevention and education programs, said Keith Whyte, executive director of the NCPG. For something like alcohol, we talk to kids about it, we talk in church about it, we talk in school about it. We know youth are exposed to a ton of gambling and alcohol ads, and theyve seen their parents having a drink at home, but now theyre seeing them make a bet at home.

If were going to a public-health model, this sort of educational initiative is a good first step.

This is about to start a wave, added consultant Brianne Doura-Schawohl, who is involved in problem gaming efforts across the country. A unanimous vote [in the Virginia Senate] really speaks volumes to the problems policy makers are having with this market.

But as smoothly as the legislative process went in Virginia, similar efforts have stalled in other states.

In Maryland, Republican Sen. Bryan Simonaire has filed a similar bill in three consecutive sessions, and it has yet to get through both branches of the legislature.

Simonaires bill for 2022, SB 363, has been sent to committee but has yet to make any progress there. In 2021, the bill stalled in committee, and in 2020, the bill passed through the Senate with a 44-2 vote but did not advance out of committee in the House.

So why has a bill that passed through the Senate overwhelmingly in 2020 hit these roadblocks?

I simply cannot get a vote by the committee chair. If we had the vote, we could pass it, Simonaire said. The main thrust of opposition is about a mandated curriculum. If you mandate one thing, you might mandate others.

The bill calls for the Maryland Department of Education to develop a program on the dangers of gambling and gambling addiction in high schools, which is slightly different from Virginias, where instruction on gambling addiction would be folded into its current curriculum on addiction.

It is a concern that comes up, about what we should mandate, Rasoul said. In this case [in Virginia], we already say there must be addiction programming, and this bill would further expand it, as opposed to trying to introduce something completely new and make space for that.

Simonaire views it as an obligation for Maryland, as a gaming state, to add preventative measures, especially for an industry that is generating so much revenue.

The tax revenue we receive from the gaming industry is more than all our other business taxes combined, said Simonaire, whose father died penniless after struggling with gambling addiction late in life. The education system has a moral obligation to address the other side. Unfortunately, with government, we often are reacting to problems after they occur, and this is preventative.

Whyte made the same point, but with a more dire analogy.

In many states its a triage approach, he explained. People are falling off a cliff, and its like driving an ambulance to the bottom of the cliff instead of building a fence at the top.

Despite the challenges, Simonaire is still hopeful.

We have two weeks left [in the legislative session], and weve passed two bills in the last month or so where we got them through in three days, he said. If theres a will, we can do it.

In West Virginia, a bill to address educating youth on gambling addiction was tied to a statute that requires state educators to provide students a basic understanding of personal finance.

HB 4812 was sponsored by Democratic Delegate Sean Hornbuckle and Republican Delegate Larry Pack and called for a personal finance literacy pilot program to be implemented in at least five public high schools for the 2022-2023 school year, with information concerning the nature of gambling and problem gambling part of the curriculum.

The bill was not addressed by the House Education Committee, and the West Virginia legislative session ended March 12.

For whatever reason, weve been stonewalled. For what reason? I cant tell you, honestly, explained Hornbuckle, who said he also tried to get gambling addiction education tacked on to another bill but was denied. My bill did not leave committee. They didnt even discuss it.

Hornbuckle said he plans to file the bill again next legislative session.

I think its definitely a worthy cause, he said. Its one of those things that there can be no harm from it. So the question is, whats the hesitation?

While problem gaming advocates are happy to see an education bill addressing gambling addiction make its way through a state legislature, they acknowledge the Virginia bill is not ideal.

There is no specific funding for the bill, and the impact statement associated with it says, Any cost to develop instruction concerning gambling can be absorbed by the Department of Education. Any fiscal impact to local school divisions is indeterminate.

Thats not a welcome sign for advocates who have struggled to squeeze funds out of states for problem gaming programs across the country.

Its a little bit of an unfunded mandate, which probably means in a couple years well have to pass it again with funding, Whyte said. And that means it could get sidelined, but gambling addiction gets sidelined, anyway.

It sets a precedent, though. If were able to show impact or a lack of impact, that just creates a better argument. Virginia is making millions and millions. We can find the money.

Doura-Schawohl said a better tactic would be to have educational programs embedded into expanded gambling legislation, but that is still a work in progress. Language similar to the West Virginia legislation on a financial literacy program in high schools was part of the discussion in the Missouri House but didnt make the final versions of the sports betting bills that have moved over to the Senate. Doura-Schawohl and other advocates are hoping the language will be added to a Senate bill.

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Virginia Passed A Gambling Education Bill, Why Have Others Struggled? - Sports Handle

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Police seek custody of corporal suspected of kidnapping online gambling couple – Nation Thailand

Posted: at 3:08 pm

Cyber Crime Investigation commissioner Pol Lt-General Korchai Klayklueng signed an order on Saturday removing Apisit and Kom from police service, pending the outcome of the cases against them.

Apisit hid his face in his shirt and declined to make any remarks while being taken to the court. He said he reserved his right to testify only in court.

Bang Na police commander Pol Colonel Monsek Trakulphanit said police would seek arrest warrants from the Phra Khanong court on Monday for the arrest of four more suspects, who are all civilians.

He said police investigators are still gathering evidence and if more people are implicated by new evidence, police would seek arrest warrants against them.

Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Pol Maj-General Trairong Phiewphan said on Monday that Bang Na police investigators have asked the sister of Kanchanaporn to contact her and her husband and meet police to help with the investigation.

Police have not yet received any commitment whether the alleged victims would meet the investigators.

Trairong said other alleged accomplices in the kidnapping case also have not yet contacted investigators to turn themselves in.

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Police seek custody of corporal suspected of kidnapping online gambling couple - Nation Thailand

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