VMBS RECEIVES REGULATORY LICENSE IN NEW YORK
Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS), headquartered in Kingston Jamaica has recently secured regulatory approval to open a Representative Office in New York, United States of America (USA) from the Federal Reserve Board and the New York State Department of Financial Services. The approval of this non-banking license is a great achievement for the 140 year-old institution, which boasts a customer base in over 70 countries world-wide, and currently has a distribution network of 15 Branches in Jamaica, three Representative Offices in the United Kingdom and one in Florida.President and Chief Executive Officer of the Victoria Mutual Group Courtney Campbell said, “Jamaicans in the tri-state area account for a significant segment of our portfolio. They are already saving and borrowing with us, but the Office will be for those who appreciate personal interaction. ”The addition of the New York Representative Office is in keeping with the Group’s commitment to delivering the best customer service and value to its Members in the Diaspora community for savings and mortgage loan options.In the next coming months, the Society will announce its plans for an official opening date, as well as announcement of its locations designed to serve its over 30,000 Members in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
West Indies batsman Shai Hope drives for four during his unbeaten century (109). He won the Man-of-the-Match award following the Third and final ODI at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday between West Indies and Afghanistan. West Indies won the match by five wickets to take the series 3-0.Courtesy CWI LUCKNOW, India – CMC – Elegant stroke-maker Shai Hope carved out a seventh one-day hundred as West Indies completed a rare series whitewash with a five-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the third One-Day International on Monday.In pursuit of 250 for victory at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Stadium, West Indies recovered from a nightmare position of four for two in the third over to reach their target with eight balls to spare.At the heart of the effort was Hope’s enterprise, the 26-year-old striking a Man-of-the-Match unbeaten 109 off 145 deliveries to control the run chase. The knock saw him end the series with 229 runs at the same average, and move his career average to 50.Roston Chase, adjudged Man-of-the-Series for his tour average of 72 and six wickets, finished on 42 not out off 32 deliveries while Brandon King hit 39 from 56 balls and captain Kieron Pollard, a quick-fire 26-ball 32.The result was still somewhat in the balance at 182 for five in the 38th over but Hope and Chase put all doubts to rest in a 71-run, unbroken sixth wicket stand.Afghanistan had earlier managed their best total of the series when they rallied to 249 for seven off their 50 overs, behind Asghar Afghan’s top score of 86 and an unbeaten 50 from Mohammad Nabi.Opener Hazratullah Zazai belted a lively 50 off 59 balls while Najibullah Zadran chipped in with a busy 30 off 32 balls down the order.The hosts were languishing at 118 for five in the 29th over after seamer Keemo Paul ((3-44) hurt the innings with an incisive burst but Asghar and Nabi put on 127 for the sixth wicket, giving West Indies their first real challenge of the series.Opting to bowl first, the Windies were rewarded in the third over when debutant Ibrahim Zadran missed a flick at a full-length delivery from pacer Alzarri Joseph (2-59) and was lbw for two at 15 for one.Zazai, who struck seven fours and two sixes in a polished knock, then inspired a 30-run second wicket stand with Rahmat Shah (10). They were beginning to stabilise the innings when Rahmat lifted Paul to Nicholas Pooran at deep square in the 10th over.When Paul removed Ikram Alikhil’s off stump for nine in the 18th over and then had Zazai holing out to deep mid-wicket at 74 for four in the 20th over, Afghanistan were beginning to wobble.However, Asghar started the turnaround first by anchoring a 44-run fifth wicket stand with Najibullah, before finding a firm ally in Nabi to complete the rescue mission.All told, Asghar struck three fours and half-dozen sixes while Najibullah counted four fours in a partnership which pushed their side beyond the 100-run mark.Chase eventually claimed Najibullah to a catch at slip by King in the 29th over as the left-hander defended but Nabi joined Asghar to strike three fours and a six off 66 balls, and frustrate West Indies at the back end.Asghar finally perished in the penultimate over, slicing Joseph to Romario Shepherd at short third man.Off-spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman then gave Afghanistan a sensational start, trapping both Evin Lewis (1) and Shimron Hetmyer (0) lbw in the space of four balls in the third over of the innings.Hope remained solid, however, posted a critical 64 with King for the third wicket before adding a further 51 for the fourth with left-hander Nicholas Pooran who made 21.Circumspect early in his innings, Hope reached his fifty off 76 balls in the 27th over by punching seamer Yamin Ahmadzai to the cover boundary and completed three figures off 133 deliveries in the 44th over, with the Windies all but assured of victory.Asghar finally perished in the penultimate over, slicing Joseph to Romario Shepherd at short third man.Off-spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman then gave Afghanistan a sensational start, trapping both Evin Lewis (1) and Shimron Hetmyer (0) lbw in the space of four balls in the third over of the innings.Hope remained solid, however, posted a critical 64 with King for the third wicket before adding a further 51 for the fourth with left-hander Nicholas Pooran who made 21.Circumspect early in his innings, Hope reached his fifty off 76 balls in the 27th over by punching seamer Yamin Ahmadzai to the cover boundary and completed three figures off 133 deliveries in the 44th over, with the Windies all but assured of victory.
MIAMI, Florida – Last week in West Kendall, a young Caribbean-American woman vented her frustration inside a popular sandwich chain restaurant as the servers didn’t speak English and could not understand what she was trying to order.Coming to the U.S. where English is the predominant language, few people from the English-speaking Caribbean anticipated one of the challenges they would encounter is communicating in languages other than English. For those who have settled in South Florida, especially in Miami-Dade County, they often find one of the requirements to get a job is being bilingual, usually English and Spanish.In Miami-Dade characterized by large Hispanic communities in Hialeah, Sweetwater, parts of Coral Gables, South Miami, and West Kendall, Spanish seems to be the primary language. Several businesses have signage in Spanish and English-speaking Caribbean migrants contend daily with customers and staff in supermarkets, small stores, large department stores, and professional offices who speak little or poor English.Naturally, the inability to communicate freely in English, not to mention barred from securing jobs for which one is otherwise qualified, because of the bilingual criterion, is frustrating. As a result some Caribbean-Americans often question why English isn’t the mandated language in the region, especially in the workplace.Historically, the English/Spanish issue has been controversial in South Florida. In 1980 as the Hispanic population in then Dade County increased, a group called Citizens of Dade United proposed a ballot initiative to make English the official language of the county. With the late Cuban president Fidel Castro opening the gates of Cuba for thousands of convicts and other undesirables to leave his country in the early 1980s in the “Mariel Boatlift” for Miami, county voters easily passed the initiative.From 1981 to 1993 English was the official language in Dade County. The Dade County English Only Ordinance forbade the county government to fund programs not conducted in English or conducting business in any other language. At the time, only a few jobs required the bilingual criterion.However, not surprisingly as the county’s Hispanic community began to rapidly increase, opposition to the ordinance grew. In 1993, following the redistricting of the Dade County commission into 13 voting districts, the expanded block of Hispanic voters gave the commission a Hispanic majority. Shortly after, the commission voted down the English-only ordinance, and many Caribbean and other immigrants who did not communicate in Spanish were increasingly frustrated in jobs that required applicants to be fluent in English and Spanish.This resulted in more Caribbean-Americans following those who already relocated from Dade County after Hurricane Andrew devastated the county in 1992, to Broward and Palm Beach counties where Spanish was far less prevalent.This intra-migration has not, however, ended the region’s language controversy. South Florida’s Hispanic community continues to grow exponentially with increasing numbers of immigrants from countries like Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and Puerto Rico coming annually to South Florida. These immigrants have located not only in Miami-Dade County, but in Broward and Palm Beach counties as well. Currently, some employers in these counties are using the bilingual criteria for employment.Despite the frustration of people who speak only English, it’s unlikely Florida voters will ever again approve an English-only policy for any county or the state. Over 40 percent of South Florida’s population speak languages other than English, and mostly Spanish. This pattern expands nationally and large percentages of the population of states like New York, California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada speaks Spanish and other languages.During his tenure as president, among reports that Florida, Arizona, and Texas planned to submit a national English-only bill, President Obama signed an executive order making those initiatives unconstitutional, calling them “anti-American.”Despite President Trump being critical of some of his fellow Republican candidates speaking in Spanish during the 2016 presidential campaign, he hasn’t insisted on an English-only national policy.On the other hand, although a national English-only policy is unlikely to be implemented, it’s indicative lawmakers want to ensure immigrants learn and speak English. Several proposed immigration bills since 2013 include the requirement that undocumented immigrants seeking legal immigration status must learn English.In the future, unless some Draconian immigration policy sweeps the nation officially requiring all immigrants to speak English only, it’s quite possible the U.S., or states like Florida, could officially be bilingual, English-Spanish, similar to Canada’s official English-French bilingual situation.As this bilingual pattern maintains, it becomes more necessary for English-speaking Caribbean-Americans, especially young people, to learn Spanish in schools, colleges or elsewhere, to effectively compete on the job market, and communicate effectively with other ethnicities.Years of immigration have made America a starkly diverse nation of races and languages. It’s unlikely the nation will ever have an “English-only” label. It’s therefore practical that citizens strive to be multilingual, especially learning the second dominant language, Spanish.
GVC absorbs retail shocks as business recalibrates for critical H2 trading August 13, 2020 StumbleUpon SportCaller teams up with Coral for Racing Super Series launch August 12, 2020 Related Articles Share Share Submit Digital Sports Ltd Executive Director Ari Lewski spoke to SBC News about Quick Pick Accumulators (QPAs), a request a bet style accumulator product launched by Digital Sports Tech ahead of the new football season.SBC: Are you expecting QPAs to be popular with a particular demographic?AL: Our new Quick Pick Accumulators (QPAs) takes request a bet markets to the next level. These types of markets have rapidly grown in popularity with punters recently, particularly with a number of tier one operators offering the service via their own social media channels. However, no one has been able to automate these kinds of requests yet.Not only does our automated service ensure punters never miss out on an opportunity to place a bet, it also means operators can greatly enhance the markets they offer for these in-game accumulators.With the new football season kicking off shortly, we predict these markets will become a key battleground in the months ahead as sportsbook operators look for a competitive advantage.QPAs also provides a solution to overcoming the challenge of personalisation. Operators understand the need to offer their customers what they want, and QPAs does exactly this by allowing sportsbook users to create their own accumulators based on a wide range of game markets.SBC: How easy will it be for operators to integrate the new solution into their platforms?AL: Our proprietary technology stack was specifically designed to facilitate fast, seamless and painless integrations with operators. We’re also extremely flexible with our integration options, which is something that has definitely been appreciated by our clients.SBC: How carefully are you having to monitor these markets to ensure the pricing is correct?AL: We monitor all of our betting activity very closely as part of the risk management service we provide operators in connection with our product, so that doesn’t change for an offering such as QPAs.The major challenge operators face right now when pricing up request a bet markets is that they are still done manually by the trading teams. Not only does this significantly restrict the volume of markets operators can offer their players instantly, but more importantly these traders simply can’t compete with the computing power of platforms such as ours that have the ability to analyse big data sets and apply sophisticated calculations all in a matter of milliseconds.The use of data and algorithms plays a crucial role in what sets our offering apart from what is currently available in the industry. The algorithms analyse each customised bet or accumulator to generate odds, as well as automatically resulting it.This is a real game-changer as it will open up new opportunities for operators and provide players with unique customised accumulators never seen before. For instance, fans can now create accumulators based on a mix of outcomes such as the team result, anytime goal scorer and total match goals over/under, as well as DST’s proprietary player prop betting markets.SBC: Do you expect this product to give bookmakers an edge, as users chase bigger profits with more expansive accumulator bets?AL: It will most definitely lead to incremental turnover and profits for sportsbooks as accumulators by their very nature are very operator-friendly given the higher margins embedded in the pricing. At the end of the day, I would say it’s a real win-win situation for the operator and customer given many recreational punters love the jackpot-style betting accumulators provide, where for a small wager they have the opportunity of winning big.Anything that can be done to improve the accumulator offering for the customer is going to benefit the operator, and that’s precisely what we’ve set out to do with QPAs.Interest in QPAs has been very high from operators, especially as they recognise the appeal of request a bet markets to a large section of their audience. There’s only so much operators can offer when taking these requested bets via social media channels, and our new solution gives them the perfect platform to build on what is an increasingly popular type of bet.SBC: The rollout of QPA follows last year’s launch of Player Props; can you provide a hint as to any new solutions on the horizon for Digital Sports Tech?AL: The launch of Player Props last year was hugely successful with many operators, including Coral, integrating the product into their sportsbooks. Handing control over to the player to create and customise their own bets based on player performance had never been seen before in the industry.There’s still a lot more to come from us, with plenty of new and exciting products in the pipeline. The sports betting industry has been crying out for innovation and we’re in a very strong position with our experience and technology to meet this demand, while also helping operators acquire and retain the next generation of punters coming through via new and exciting betting products.We’ve only scratched the surface with how technology can greatly enhance the personalised sports betting experience, and you can expect Digital Sports Tech to be at the forefront of driving innovation into the industry. Workforce wellbeing leads GVC Holdings retail reopening June 9, 2020
Ladbrokes Coral Chief Executive Jim Mullen has emphasised that cutting the stakes of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) will not only have negative economic implications, but will also “fail to adequately address any issue of problem gambling”.Mullen was responding to a report in the Sunday Times, which claimed newly appointed culture secretary Matt Hancock is in favour of delivering a ‘worst case scenario’ for bookmakers, by cutting the maximum stakes on FOBTs to £2.With the Government’s 12-week consultation period on the brink of concluding, the Sunday Times reported that Hancock, whose appointment had previously been perceived as a positive one for the gambling industry, described FOBTs as “social blight”. The consultation period came after the Government’s triennial review and was focused not only FOBT stakes, but also on the current level of advertising allowed in the industryHowever, in a statement issued after the Times Story had circulated, Mullen commented: “The triennial review has been running for over 15 months and throughout that time there has been constant rumour and speculation about potential outcomes, of which this is yet more. It should be noted that the current call for evidence is yet to conclude and industry responses have not yet been submitted to Government.“We are very clear that stake cuts will fail to adequately address any issue of problem gambling. The industry has also always made it clear that a cut to stakes will have serious consequences – resulting in shop closures which will ultimately affect jobs, tax revenue and the funding of racing. There is also no evidence that machine customers will switch their spend to sports betting such as horse racing, and our experience is that they won’t. Any policy made on this assumption would result in a significant reduction in the level of funding for horse racing.“We will continue to make the case for a sensible measured, evidence led and proportionate response to the public concern regarding these issues and this will be the basis of the evidence submitted as part of the ongoing review.”The notion that cutting stakes on FOBTs will lead to widespread shop closures, is one that has been continually echoed by the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). A spokesperson for the trade association stated: “The focus of any final decision should be to adopt measures that will help problem gamblers. A £2 stake is effectively a ban on FOBTs, would put 21,000 people out of jobs and have huge consequences for sports such as horse and greyhound racing. Betting shops are investing significant sums of money in new technology to help identify those at risk and ensure they get the help that they need.”Last September, a Barclays analyst forecast that should the stakes get cut to £2 on the terminals, Ladbrokes Coral, which has the largest retail portfolio in the UK, would lose around £437m in annual revenue, whereas for William Hill the figure would be £288m and Paddy Power Betfair £60m. Shares of Ladbrokes Coral that had previously jumped amid talk of a £4bn GVC takeover, took a hit in the aftermath of the reports, decreasing 12 per cent at 159.7p a share. FSB selects Glenn Elliott as new COO August 12, 2020 GVC absorbs retail shocks as business recalibrates for critical H2 trading August 13, 2020 Share SBC Magazine Issue 10: Kaizen Gaming rebrand and focus for William Hill CEO August 25, 2020 Share Submit Related Articles StumbleUpon
Share Sports Information Services (SIS) has announced a new deal with Danish state owned gambling operator Danske Spil, to provide its new greyhound service in a Watch & Bet basis.The supplier of products and services to the retail and online betting markets is to not only provide the bookmaker with its new and improved service, but will also supply live pictures, commentary and data for British & Irish greyhounds for retail and online.Jens Nielsen, Head of Sports Betting at Danske Licens Spil, said: “We are happy to have secured this enhanced content, and that we are able to expand our product offering for our customers through our partnership with SIS. “I believe that they will appreciate the quality greyhound content on show and the service from SIS which provides our customers with high quality content, at times that suit them.“We have only started offering greyhound races from the New Year and we are convinced that SIS’s greyhound service will give our customers exciting experiences and will be a driving force in increasing interest and sales on our greyhound product on all our sales channels (retail, web, mobile and app).”This new announcement follows a recent deal with William Hill, who became the first bookmaker to take the SIS Greyhound Service in a Watch & Bet format.In addition, it was also detailed that last year that deals were struck with four Spanish bookies, meaning SIS now supplier 90% of the nations retail market.Sandra McWilliams, SIS Sales Director, said: “SIS has produced high quality and reliable content for the betting industry for 30 years and we have now developed an even better greyhound product for the international market.“We are thrilled to be working with Danske Spil to provide them with our SIS Greyhound Service and we believe the content will prove popular with their customers and generate significant revenues and profits as the service develops”. Share Danish FA backs Danske Spil’s Safe Play campaign August 24, 2020 Related Articles SBC Magazine Issue 10: Kaizen Gaming rebrand and focus for William Hill CEO August 25, 2020 Danske Spil calls for esports makeover with Pinnacle Solution August 25, 2020 Submit StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon Mateusz Juroszek – Non-stop STS will expand amid industry disruptions August 12, 2020 Related Articles Submit Martin Lycka – Regulatory high temperatures cancel industry’s ‘silly season’ August 11, 2020 European online betting operator bet-at-home has benefited from growth in online betting markets, achieving record growth in its yearly results for 2017.Record annual results, paired with continued online growth position the company strongly as it approaches a key period in 2018, with the conclusion of the European football season and the commencing of the Russian World Cup. Bet-at-home CEO Franz Ömer spoke to SBC about some of the obstacles that the operator has overcome this year as its expanded into new markets, as well as how it’s preparing its product for this Summer’s World Cup. SBC: Can you tell our readership a little more about the German betting market?Franz Ömer: We believe that Germany offers above-average growth potential. There is enormous enthusiasm for sports betting – particularly for football – in this country. Major events such as the forthcoming FIFA World Cup generally engender a sports betting hype. The German football team is already proving a popular bet as the favourite to win the World Cup title.SBC: You have numerous sponsorship deals, including notably with Hertha Berlin, how do you ensure that you get maximum exposure from these partnerships? FÖ: We not only provide financial support to our sponsorship partners, we also try to promote the clubs through targeted innovative marketing activities. This is how we ensure that we get maximum exposure.SBC: As an operator that prides itself on providing a fast paced in-play sportsbook product, how important is mobile betting ahead of the World Cup? FÖ: The number of users that bet online from their smartphone or tablet is continually growing. This is due to the technical enhancements that now make it so easy to download an app onto a mobile device. Today, smartphones are an integral part of everyday life for the younger generation and a constant companion. We will therefore be pursuing the trend towards mobile betting offers more intensively in the future. An app is of course a must-have in the run-up to major football events in order to appeal to potential new customers.SBC: Could you explain some of the obstacles that come with trying to build a footprint within the Polish market?FÖ: A modified gambling law came into force in Poland on 1 April 2017 under which sports betting licences are granted to foreign operators at unprofitable conditions. However, the casino offering is restricted exclusively to a state-owned company. We consider this to be contrary to the laws of the European Union, and since July 2017 we have been faced with blocking mechanisms that are in breach of EU law. It is therefore of even greater satisfaction that we can look back on such positive growth over the last financial year. MoneyMatrix boosts wire transfer options by integrating Klarna’s Sofort August 24, 2020 Share Share
Share Share StumbleUpon Premier League looks to broadcast every behind-closed-door fixture August 28, 2020 GambleAware: Engage those with lived experience of gambling harms August 28, 2020 Related Articles Spotlight ups matchday commentary reach and capacity for new EPL Season August 21, 2020 Submit Crystal Palace FC has become the first Premier League club to take part in a GambleAware initiative addressing concerns over gambling-related harm within football.The football club, one of nine Premier League clubs that are currently sponsored by gambling companies, has entered into a new partnership with the charity to produce advertisements and promotion materials to raise awareness of the risks of gambling.Messages, which will be visible to spectators on the ground and to viewers at home, will appear across the perimeter of the pitch and on screens throughout the stadium.GambleAware hopes that the campaign, which will take place during the final three games of the season, will encourage other clubs to recognise their responsibilities in helping to raise awareness of the risks of gambling, and to promote the support and treatment available at BeGambleAware.org.Marc Etches, Chief Executive of GambleAware, said: “This is an important first step towards a deeper and broader action plan to address the ever-closer relationship between gambling and football.“As the first professional football club to make this commitment, Crystal Palace is setting a great example to other clubs, and not only those with gambling sponsors because all benefit from the income that flows from television deals funded by the ever-growing amount of gambling advertising around live sport.”Steve Parish, Chairman of Crystal Palace FC, added: “As a Premier League club, we recognise our responsibility of helping promote safe and responsible gambling. I’m pleased that Crystal Palace is the first club to form a partnership with GambleAware, and I hope we can play a part in raising awareness about their service and help those individuals who need support.”Jon Collins, Director of ManBetX, said: “ManBetX are committed to helping people gamble responsibly and welcome the club’s involvement with GambleAware. As the official shirt sponsor of Crystal Palace FC, we have an added degree of responsibility to support those who offer help and free advice to ensure people gamble responsibly, both within football and the wider community.”
UKGC hails ‘delivered efficiencies’ of its revamped licence maintenance service August 20, 2020 Winning Post: Swedish regulator pushes back on ‘Storebror’ approach to deposit limits August 24, 2020 UKGC launches fourth National Lottery licence competition August 28, 2020 32Red has been handed a £2m penalty package by the UKGC, for failing to protect a consumer from gambling-related harm and money laundering failures.Focusing its investigation on dealings with a customer between November 2014 and April 2017, it’s detailed that the individual and the online gambling firm, acquired by Kindred Group in June 2017, established a business relationship from September 2011, with VIP status from February 2013.THe UKGC goes on to states “the Commission only licensed 32Red from November 2014 so this case relates only to the time under our licence,” during which a total of £758,000 was deposited without social responsibility and money laundering checks having been undertaken.Richard Watson, Commission Executive Director, said: “Instead of checking on the welfare of a customer displaying problem gambling behaviour, 32Red encouraged the customer to gamble more – this is the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be doing.“Operators must take action when they spot signs of problem gambling and should be carefully reviewing all the customers they are having a high level of contact with.“Protecting consumers from gambling-related harm is a priority for us and where we see operators failing in their responsibility to keep their customers safe we will take tough action.”During the investigative period 22 incidents have been uncovered which indicate the customer was a problem gambler, “but instead of checking if they needed help, 32Red gave them free bonuses”.Such indications include admissions to 32Red staff that they had spent too much, displaying frustration and chasing losses, with the commission also saying its investigation showed that 32Red failed to check that the customer could afford their spending on the site. Breaking down the penalty package, £709,046 is a divestment of the financial gain, a further £1.3m financial penalty, £15,000 payment of costs and improvements to policy, procedure and risk management.Detailing the response, it was noted: “32Red made full admissions to the breaches in an initial meeting. The operator has implemented a number of changes and improvements to processes and procedures, both immediately upon this incident coming to light, and subsequent to the acquisition by Kindred Group plc.” StumbleUpon Share Share Related Articles Submit
Related Articles Submit StumbleUpon Winning Post: Swedish regulator pushes back on ‘Storebror’ approach to deposit limits August 24, 2020 UKGC launches fourth National Lottery licence competition August 28, 2020 Share UKGC hails ‘delivered efficiencies’ of its revamped licence maintenance service August 20, 2020 Share The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), the policy and standards advisory unit for the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), has rebranded as the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – ABSG to reflect its deeper focus on safer gambling initiatives and protections.The independent advisory undertakes its rebrand as Dr Anna van der Gaag CBE begins her tenure as new chair, replacing long-term incumbent Sir Christopher Kelly.Acting as the ABSG, the advisory will continue to provide independent advice and guidance to the UKGC, as national policy stakeholders seek to implement a new strategy over the next three years to ensure the UK becomes the safest gambling marketplace for all its consumers, businesses, workers and verticals.Neil McArthur, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “We need to shift the focus from ‘responsible gambling’ to ‘safer gambling’. Responsible gambling suggests that the individual customer is principally in charge of keeping themselves safe. By focusing on safer gambling we want to emphasise that there is a clear onus on gambling operators to protect their customers.“The ABSG, led by Anna, will continue to provide the crucial advice we need into the long-term delivery of the new National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms which launches later this month.”Supporting Dr van der Gaag as new chair, the ABSG further confirms the appointment of consumer protection specialist Louise Baxter to its board.Finalising its first statement as the ABSG, the advisory states that working alongside the UKGC it will launch its new ‘national strategy to reduce gambling harms‘ - focusing the priorities for the Commission and partners to support prevention and treatment.van der Gaag added: “Our new name reflects the need for greater clarity about everyone’s roles in the delivery of the new strategy. Gambling harms are rightly recognised as a public health issue and I welcome the Gambling Commission’s new strategy with its strong focus on both prevention and treatment.“As the ABSG, we will be bringing a renewed focus on the safety of consumers and prevention of harm, helping to ensure consumers are free from the consequences of gambling harms, that research priorities are high up the Commission’s agenda, and that we are listening and working closely with all our partners.”