In Memory

It was in the late 90’s that Peter Collins came to my Jellinek office in Amsterdam with only one message. I want you to do this RG education project in South Africa.
We worked together for more than three years, very intense and with lots of fun as well.
Peter also joined our EASG (European Association for the Study of Gambling) conferences during lots of years.
It was a shock for me to read that he died.

Pieter Remmers

In his memory I would like to share the article that was published in Regulus Partners ; Winning Post of 13 March 2022

​

Professor Peter Collins
(4th March 1945 to 23rd February 2022)

Peter Collins was a remarkable man. Born shortly before the end of the Second World War to a one-armed spy, the young Peter and his mother were taken in by the Collins family (of book-publishing fame) when his secret agent father disappeared. Peter attended Harrow School and won a scholarship to Oxford University. After graduating, he became a master at the private school for boys, Dulwich College, where the novelists Raymond Chandler and PG Wodehouse had studied in a previous generation. His brother, John D. Collins played the downed British airman, Officer Fairfax in the BBC’s long-running sitcom, ‘Allo Allo’. Peter kept a framed photograph of his somewhat famous sibling behind his desk at the University of Salford in order to amuse and bemuse his students.
 
The contribution of Peter Collins to gambling studies is hard to overstate. He ran the Centre for Gambling Studies at the University of Salford between 2000 and 2010 – the time of the last major overhaul of Britain’s gambling laws; and also taught at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. His work included notable collaborations with the late great Bill Eadington (the father of modern gambling studies), Alex Blaszczynski, Howard Shaffer, Robert Ladouceur, Don Ross, Rachel Volberg, David Forrest and Davis Fong among many others. He had a gift for distilling the core philosophical, moral and practical conundrums surrounding gambling – often in a way that confounded cliché and prejudice. His 2003 book, ‘Gambling and the Public Interest’ remains a core text for anyone wishing to understand the regulation of gambling markets and a repository of considerable wisdom. In addition to his academic duties, Peter was a director of the South African National Responsible Gambling Programme and a trustee of GamCare.
 
Peter served as a special adviser to the Joint Scrutiny Committee during the passage of the Gambling Bill – an experience that left him with a deep scepticism of political process. He wrote later that the inability to enact coherent gambling regulation revealed a fundamental flaw in liberal democracy – that the dictates of liberalism (allowing citizens freedom to pursue their happiness) and democracy (reflecting the tastes and opinions of the populus) can often be set at odds. In his essay on the corruption of the Gambling Act, ‘The Great British Casino Shambles’, Peter wrote that “political decision-makers need to acquire extensive and accurate factual information about what the consequences of different policies will actually be for different interest groups and also to study in depth the multiplicity of relevant normative issues”. He went on to state that he did not think that the politicians responsible for the Gambling Act 2005 possessed these strengths, writing “they lack the necessary empirical and moral understanding to implement good public policy not because they are stupid or idle or wicked but because they are afflicted by that most lethal of all forms of ignorance, namely ignorance of their own ignorance and of their consequent need to remedy it.” It was not difficult to fathom Peter’s views on the current legislative review. 
    
Above all, Peter was devoted to the role of education in promoting well-being and progress. He believed that the role of academe was to promote learning and was appalled by its abasement as an adjunct of lobbying. He recognised that gambling was a complex subject and that public policy should be considered from a wide range of legitimate perspectives – with respect for each. He wrote, “gambling is an immensely interesting and rewarding subject to study – much more interesting, as far as I’m concerned, than actually gambling. One thing that made it interesting was that, whatever your own discipline, you were forced to understand what people were contributing to the study of gambling as a whole from their own disciplines. Another factor was the sheer diversity of interesting questions to be explored.” Peter went about his work with curiosity, wisdom, generosity of spirit and a lively sense of humour. For all these attributes and many more he is sadly missed.

​

- United Kingdom -
Woman who lost £50K in days after getting addicted to gambling uses TikTok to help others
 

For eight years Stacey from Chesterfield in Derbyshire spent every moment she could on her phone gambling online - alone and in secret.
She felt alone and wanted help. She'd search for hours to find a female celebrity or any woman who had spoken publicly about their gambling addiction.
Now in recovery, Stacey makes daily TikTok videos on her phone, reaching out to other women in the depths of gambling addiction - offering the help she wished she'd received earlier.
Miss Goodwin looked back at how it all began when she was a teenager.
She said: "One day me and my friend decided to put a pound bet on and we won and that's where it all started.
"I promised myself I wouldn't use a note but then I did and then I was spending days going from bookie to bookie, and then I found online gambling, no one was watching me. I could do it anytime I wanted.

Want to read more on this article? Click here
Itv.com, 17 March 2021

​

- Finland -
Finnish problem gambling rate falls year-on-year
 

A survey commissioned by Finnish lottery monopoly Veikkaus revealed that the amount of problem gamblers in the country has fallen by 0.8% year-on-year to 1.8%.
The survey took place from August to November 2021 and involved 5,003 respondents between the ages of 15-74.
It contained 20 questions and was based on South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) points, which measure how a respondent may be experiencing problem gambling.
For each answer that indicated risk, the respondent was given one point, and a risk level based on the number of points they received over the course of the screening.
Respondents were categorised based on SOGS points into two brackets- risk levels 1-2, which indicate moderate risk, and level 3 and up, which indicates severe risk.

Want to read more on this article? Click here
IGamingbusiness.com, 2 March 2022

​

- Ireland -
Gambling firms are betting on ethical change
 

All bets are off for gambling firms as the increased focus on ethics is forcing the industry to change its business model.
The digitalisation of betting changed the face of gambling, allowing gamblers to click on an app to bet on sports events or casinos at any time of the day or night.
The tantalising risk involved in online gambling has proven to be as addictive and as destructive as alcohol and drugs.
Changes in technology brought phenomenal growth in revenues and returns, but it came at a cost to the most vulnerable.
Barry Grant, an addiction counsellor with Extern Gambling Ireland, works with people whose lives have been devastated by a gambling addiction.
"We would work with people who are gambling 16, 17, 18 hours a day, gambling through the night and into the morning and trying to do a day's work afterwards," he said.
This online business model has been under close scrutiny, and the industry is preparing for change.
They are being forced to change, according to Mr Grant.
"They have had ample opportunity to do this for at least 10 years in the online gambling space and they haven't. They're reacting to impending legislation from what I can see."

Want to read more on this article? Click here
Rte.ie, 6 March 2022

​

- Germany -
Compliance becoming ‘more complex’

Growing reporting obligations, ever new statutory requirements and even more complex guidelines mean that the gaming machine business is becoming more complicated.
The view was the conclusion of a conference of 28 compliance officers from 11 countries, all part of the Gauselmann Group in Germany. They met for a two-day seminar at the group’s conference centre, Schloss Benkhausen, close to the company’s headquarters in Espelkamp.
The trend for yet more information by the authorities was discussed by specialist employees from the UK, Serbia, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Malta, Spain, Croatia, Mexico and Peru.
They gave a detailed account of the challenges in their respective markets. It became clear that compliance is set to increasingly gain traction across the industry, said the company following the seminars.

Want to read more on this article? Click here
Intergameonline.com, 18 March 2022

​

- United Kingdom -
PayPal Gambling Block via Gamban Tools

The renowned software for blocking gambling sites Gamban has entered into a new partnership with the best-known payment gateway provider PayPal to facilitate the customers in selected territories to block their gambling transactions. 
As gambling problems are increasingly becoming a primary social concern, this alliance with Gamban is expected to enhance the customers’ responsibility in the UK and across the US. Recognised as one of the widely used gambling payment methods globally, the collaboration enables PayPal users to restrict access to non GamStop PayPal casinos via NonStopCasino.org through the Gamban tool.

Want to read more on this article? Click here
Newsfromwales.co.uk, 21 March 2022

​

- Sweden -
Swedish Inspectorate backs loss limits as future bulwark against problem gambling

The introduction of loss limits and restrictions on bonus offers across all betting verticals would be a preferable option “in case of future crisis”, according to the Swedish Gambling Inspectorate, Spelinspektionen.
Publishing its interim report into the impacts of temporary limitations on online betting and gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Inspectorate acknowledged both strengths and weaknesses in the provision introduced by the government.
The three core limits implemented by Swedish authorities from July 2020 to November 2021 were a weekly deposit/loss restriction of SEK 5,000 (€471) and a limitation on bonus offers to SEK 100 (€10) for commercial online gambling, and a mandatory login time limit for online games.
In its assessment of these measures, the Inspectorate noted that due to other key developments in the Swedish gambling market prior to and during the pandemic – re-regulation occurred in 2019 and a new licencing process was introduced – it was difficult to fully comprehend to what the extent the temporary restrictions had affected the market.
   
Want to read more on this article? Click here
Sbcnews.co.uk, 16 March 2022

​

- United Kingdom -
The government should treat betting like booze - not like tobacco
 

After more than a year of waiting for the outcome of the Gambling Review, and with the Government changing its ministers more times than Watford change football managers, it strikes me that the debate has boiled down to this: should betting be treated like tobacco, which is inherently and universally damaging to all, or should it be treated more like alcohol, something millions of people do and where the vast majority are able to enjoy it responsibly, but where sadly a small minority can have a problem and, in the most extreme and terrible cases, it can be an addiction?
Some 22.5 million adults enjoy betting and gaming each month, whether that’s doing the lottery, enjoying a game of bingo or a day at the races, playing casino games or having a bet on the football or other sports. Yet anti-gambling prohibitionists, who again this week called for draconian, arbitrary measures to clampdown on everyone who enjoys a bet, want you to believe having a flutter poses the same risks as having a cigarette. Although this is a minority view in Parliament and certainly amongst the public, it’s an approach that risks disproportionate policy responses to what the Government promised would be an ‘evidence-led’ review.
   
Want to read more on this article? Click here
Yogonet.com, 16 March 2022

​

- Ireland -
Addiction Treatment Professor Calls for Stricter Measures to Stop Normalisation of Gambling among Irish Residents

An Irish professor who specialises in the treatment of problem gambling has noted that the country’s gambling industry must implement swift changes following the Government’s proposal of stricter measures to address rising gambling addiction among local residents. As previously reported by Casino Guardian the Gambling Regulations Bill (GRB) would establish an independent gambling regulatory body that would control and oversee the entire licensing process, and would also impose sanctions on companies that violate rules, and would work on tackling problem gambling and gambling-related harm.
Colin O’Gara, a clinical professor who specialises in gambling addiction treatment and has applied to become part of the Joint Oireachtas Committee that is engaged with discussing the bill, raised a red flag, saying that gambling has been flourishing and is now presented as a normal everyday activity among certain age groups in Ireland.
The intervention of Professor O’Gara, who heads the addiction services at the Dublin-based St John of God Hospital, comes right before the beginning of the biggest event in the racing calendar – the Cheltenham Festival – on March 15th.
According to him, there are between 50,000 and 250,000 Irish residents who are affected by problem gambling and gambling-related harm, with a large number of their family members also suffering a direct negative impact from their addiction. Professor O’Gara noted that the local authorities must work on reversing the aforementioned normalisation of gambling and sports betting in the country as soon as possible, and said this could happen only with strong support from the country’s Government.

Want to read more on this article? Click here
Casinoguardian.co.uk, 14 March 2022