All posts tagged: gambling

Is it OK for Mormons to bet on the Super Bowl?

Is it OK for Mormons to bet on the Super Bowl?

Published by skeptic

(RNS) — This coming Sunday (Feb. 9), as the Kansas City Chiefs battle the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, many Americans will wager on the game for money. ESPN is reporting legal bets on the game should amount to $1.39 billion, to say nothing of the billions more that will be wagered informally (and sometimes illegally). Utah is not one of the 38 states that now permit some form of legal sports betting. In fact, the historically majority-Mormon state has no forms of legal gambling at all — not so much as a state lottery.  This can largely be attributed to the deep and long-standing influence The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has in the state, where it is headquartered. Even if self-identified Latter-day Saints/Mormons are no longer the majority in Utah’s state population, their influence runs deep. The church has had a consistent, even unequivocal policy against gambling. Its website states that “gambling is motivated by a desire to get something for nothing. This desire is spiritually destructive. It leads participants away …

Illegal casinos are using Roblox to draw children into online gambling | Science, Climate & Tech News

Illegal casinos are using Roblox to draw children into online gambling | Science, Climate & Tech News

Published by Sam

Illegal online casinos are using Roblox, one of the most popular video games in the world, to draw children as young as 12 into online gambling, a Sky News investigation has found. Warning: This article contains a mention of suicide. Although the unlicensed casinos are not published on Roblox, they allow children of any age to sign up using their Roblox credentials and bet their in-game currency (Robux) on games like slots and blackjack. Winnings can be withdrawn as cryptocurrency – and then converted into real cash. Roblox is one of the most popular video games in the world, with an estimated 80 million daily active users. Described by its CEO as a “digital playground,” Roblox is particularly popular with children – 42% of its users are thought to be aged 12 or under. Sky News spoke to one teenage Roblox user in the US who says he gambled around 15 million Robux (£150,000). He started using the sites aged just 14 – seven years below the legal age for gambling in his state. Image: …

With more gambling cases likely, Ohtani debacle is a lesson to MLB

With more gambling cases likely, Ohtani debacle is a lesson to MLB

Published by Sam

Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter has pleaded guilty to stealing millions from him to feed a sports gambling habit. The man who took Ippei Mizuhara’s bets entered a guilty plea to running an illegal bookmaking operation. Major League Baseball has closed its investigation into the matter. And the Dodgers are delighted that Ohtani is putting up Hall of Fame numbers at the plate. But the federal criminal probe that targeted Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, his Orange County-based bookmaker — and cleared Ohtani of any wrongdoing — is ongoing, even as MLB has been forced to deal with more forbidden gambling. In Bowyer’s plea agreement, prosecutors allege that two current or former ballplayers placed bets with him. In the meantime, MLB banned another player for life and suspended four others after finding they bet on baseball, an offense that has been considered a mortal threat to the game since the Black Sox scandal of 1919. Mathew Bowyer, a Southern California bookmaker, stands outside federal court in Santa Ana on Aug. 9. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) The …

Elite English soccer authorities agree code of conduct on gambling sponsorship

Elite English soccer authorities agree code of conduct on gambling sponsorship

Published by skeptic

The top soccer leagues in England have reached a collective, voluntary agreement on gambling sponsorship.  A code of conduct has been agreed between the Premier League, Football Association (national governing body), English Football League (tiers 2-4) and Women’s Super League.  The understanding was made public just hours after elite clubs were accused of “desperation” to lure cash, with 11 out of 20 Premier League clubs set to display gambling company logos as their front-of-shirt sponsor in the upcoming 2024/25 season. AFC Bournemouth is the latest club to endorse a betting firm on their jerseys after they revealed a “record-breaking” agreement with Asian betting outlet, bj88. Aston Villa, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, West Ham, and Wolves are the other top-flight clubs set to display a betting company logo on the front of their shirts in the stadiums and to broadcast audiences of millions around the world. This remains a contentious issue in the UK, even after Premier League clubs agreed to phase out gambling shirt sponsorship by the end of next …

Rishi Sunak Dodges Questions About Tory Cabinet Election Bets

Rishi Sunak Dodges Questions About Tory Cabinet Election Bets

Published by Sam

Rishi Sunak has failed to deny that cabinet members are among the Tories to place bets on the date of the election. Three Tories with close links to the prime minister, as well as one of his close protection officers, are being investigated over the allegations. The Conservatives have confirmed they “have been contacted have been contacted by the Gambling Commission about a small number of individuals”. That has led to speculation that more Tories may be caught up in the scandal. At the launch of the Tories’ Welsh manifesto today, Sunak repeatedly dodged questions about the affair. He was asked by a reporter from LBC: “Are you confident none of your cabinet members have also placed a bet?” The prime minister replied: “The first thing to say is I was incredibly angry when I learned about these allegations – the same anger that many of you will feel and everyone watching. “It’s right that they are investigated thoroughly, these are serious allegations. Right that they are being thoroughly investigated, as they are being. Independently, …

Authorities to clamp down on illegal, problem gambling during Euro 2024

Authorities to clamp down on illegal, problem gambling during Euro 2024

Published by Sam

AD CAMPAIGN TO TAKE PLACE DURING EUROS Public education and outreach efforts by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) willl be strengthened during the tournament, said MHA and MSF. Advertisements will be shown on TV, in newspapers, out-of-home screens, as well as digital and social media platforms to caution the public about the harms of excessive football betting. “It is easy to get carried away with the placement of bets amidst the excitement of games. We urge everyone to exercise personal responsibility and encourage family members, neighbours and friends to keep a lookout for those who may be affected by problem gambling,” said Mr Sim Gim Guan, chairman of NCPG.  NCPC will run a campaign, alongside the ads, on various platforms from TV to social media and utilise digital banners to warn of the risks of betting with illegal operators. Collaterals will also be distributed at community events. The authorities urged the public not to place bets with illegal gambling operators and to exercise responsibility when gambling.  “Family members, …

Gambling Legislation Remains Stalled in Session’s Closing Hours

Gambling Legislation Remains Stalled in Session’s Closing Hours

Published by skeptic

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Gambling legislation remains stalled in the Alabama Senate with members expressing doubt that it will get another vote in the closing hours of the legislative session. The session ends Thursday and supporters have been unable to break a stalemate in the state Senate after the measure initially failed by one vote last week. Supporters had hoped to get the bill back for another vote but said that seems increasingly unlikely to happen as the session winds down. “I think it’s dead, probably,” Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton said. Singleton was a member of the conference committee that had worked on the legislation. “They don’t have the appetite for bringing it up. Can’t get anybody to talk about it,” he said. Republican Rep. Chris Blackshear, the bill sponsor, said it looks like it would take a “miracle of Biblical proportion” to get the bill taken up in the Senate. “I just hope the senators that voted no and couldn’t get on board take time to drive around the state and see for …

Former MGM Grand casino president to be sentenced over illegal bets

Former MGM Grand casino president to be sentenced over illegal bets

Published by skeptic

Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella speaks during the opening of Resorts World Las Vegas on June 24, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Ethan Miller | Getty Images The former president of the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas is set to be sentenced Wednesday afternoon on a federal criminal charge related to his failure to report millions of dollars in wagers by an illegal bookmaker at his casino. Scott Sibella, the ex-MGM executive, pleaded guilty in January to one count of failure to file reports of suspicious transactions required to be made by casinos under the Bank Secrecy Act. Sibella’s lawyers have asked that he be sentenced to probation, as have prosecutors. Sibella admitted knowing that a patron of his casino, Wayne Nix, ran an illegal bookmaking business, according to the Department of Justice. “Despite this knowledge, Sibella allowed Nix to gamble at MGM Grand and affiliated properties with illicit proceeds generated from the illegal gambling business without notifying the casino’s compliance department,” the DOJ said in a press release in January. “Not …

Bulgarian politicians propose a national gambling ad ban

Bulgarian politicians propose a national gambling ad ban

Published by skeptic

Two Bulgarian political parties have submitted an amendment to the country’s Gambling Act, seeking to ban betting ads nationally. If this amendment is successful, Bulgaria will make a significant mark in history as the first European Union member to enforce a nationwide ban on gambling advertising. This potential change could reshape the industry’s landscape, sparking a domino effect for other EU countries. Bulgaria seeks gambling ad ban As reported by Gambling Insider, the amendment to the Gambling Act was submitted to the Bulgarian National Assembly on April 24. The two parties responsible for the submission The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) fervently support the updated regulations. If the change to the current legislation is successful, it will ban all advertising across broadcast networks, social media, and published media, such as magazines and billboards. GERB Deputy Chairman, Temenuzhka Petkova, said: “It’s no secret that over the past three years, gambling-related addictions have been extremely increased in our society.” The Bulgarian National Revenue Agency (NRA) has been …

Two medicines for opioid addiction also help with compulsive gambling

Two medicines for opioid addiction also help with compulsive gambling

Published by skeptic

Treating gambling addiction is currently limited to just talking therapies Joerg Boethling / Alamy Two medicines usually given to people who are addicted to opioid drugs also help with compulsive gambling. The finding suggests there may be similar brain circuits involved in behavioural addictions as those that cause drug addiction. Addiction is usually thought of in the context of people who can’t stop drinking alcohol or who take drugs. A large group of these drugs are those that act through opioid receptors in the brain, such as heroin or fentanyl. This causes the release… Source link