
Jonathan Parke, former head of commissioning at RGT, now director of Sophoro Ltd.
The Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT), the UK’s leading problem advocacy that is gambling, has found itself in the harsh glare of the news spotlight again, this time for allegations of nepotism.
The charity, which is funded by the bookmaking industry to the tune of $5 million per year to research and promote the avoidance of problem gambling, has been under fire in the British press recently for apparent conflicts of great interest. Because of its ties that are close the gambling industry, questions have already been asked as to whether its research is fully separate of video gaming interests.
The RGT maintains that it’s unbiased. But the revelation this week by the UK’s Independent newspaper that a firm owned by the husband of the charity’s Director of Commissioning, Jane Rigbye, has been awarded a research that is lucrative, isn’t assisting the explanation for credibility for the outfit.
Marital Agreements
According towards the Independent, Sophoro Ltd. owned by Rigbye’s husband Jonathan Parke, has been offered a major research agreement as part of a £750,000 initiative into the aftereffect of online gaming on issue gambling.
Parke once was mind of commissioning at RGT himself, leading to accusations he and his wife swapped jobs, then quickly swapped contracts.
Sophoro ended up being granted the contract in the first of two, but until last year the company was registered at the couple’s family home, and both Rigbye and Parke were listed as company directors december.
Additionally, Sophoro bid for the RGT contract simply two months after Rigbye stepped down as director to take in her role that is new at.
In response to the headlines, Labour shadow gambling minister Clive Efford stated RGT ‘should be disbanded’ if its research had been found to protect the ‘interests of the industry at the cost of individuals with gambling problems.’
Goulden Steps Down
RGT has long been accused of being too sympathetic to the industry, and in particular for its refusal to denounce fixed-odds gambling terminals (FOBTs) in bookmaking shops.
Last month, Neil Goulden, the trust’s president, stepped criticism that is down following The Guardian newspaper that while chair of RGT, he ended up being additionally a chair associated with industry lobby group known as the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). The roles were held concurrently between 2012 and mid-2014.
Goulden told the Guardian that RGT, and the involvement to his participation of the industry as whole, had been integral to researching and ultimately understanding issue gambling.
‘[Bookmakers] will never have released data or have taken the actions it continues to take in prevention of harm without my influence that is personal and,’ he said.
RGT, which is likely to be examined by the charity regulator throughout the Sophoro event, told the Independent that Rigbye had no say in commissioning of research agreements.
DraftKings Appeals Ny AG Lawsuit, Filing Says Empire State Must Ban Spelling Bees
New York AG Eric Schneiderman, who has been accused by DraftKings of earning errors in his lawsuit against DFS sites. (Image: pokerhomegames.com)
DraftKings has launched its appeal against the New York State preliminary injunction that seeks to ban day-to-day fantasy sports (DFS) and place an end to its operations in the Empire State.
The DFS operator’s 67-page filing pulls no punches, accusing ny Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of legal misapprehensions that ‘did perhaps not come close to carrying the duty’ of proof that DFS is not a game of skill.
It further accuses the court of ‘abusing its discernment’ in siding with Schneiderman.
‘The court applied the wrong standard that is legal and ignored the undisputed evidence, in finding that daily fantasy sports contests are games of chance,’ the company argued in its filing.
Can be An Entry Fee A wager?
In December, Justice Manuel Mendez granted the AG’s injunction, ordering DraftKings and FanDuel to stop operations in New York State, its market that is second-biggest after.
DraftKings immediately filed an expedited movement to remain the court’s decision pending the outcome of its appeal. This is upheld by a Court of Appeals judge that same afternoon, permitting the companies to continue business temporarily in ny until the actual situation is settled.
In his December ruling, Mendez have been needed to see whether DFS was a game of skill or of chance, and more especially, whether setting a line-up was a process that is skill-based an ‘entry charge,’ or an out-and-out ‘wager.’ He decided it was the latter.
‘New York State law that is penal maybe not refer to ‘wagering’ or ‘betting,’ instead it states that an individual, ‘risks one thing of value,” he stated. ‘The payment of an ‘entry fee’ as high as $10,600 using one or more contests daily could be deemed risking certainly ‘something of value.’ ‘
Dog Shows and Bass Fishing
DraftKings’ appeal filing claims that if this were the situation, then ‘dog shows and bees that are spelling yachting tournaments and bass fishing’ is ‘criminalized’ under Judge Mendez’s ruling. Each of these are events requiring entry fees whose result is vunerable to a component of chance, argues the DraftKings filing.
‘Daily fantasy sports are skill-based games that are, and really should be, legal,’ DraftKings’ attorney David Boies stated in a declaration. ‘DraftKings contests are no less legal than season-long dream sports, which the Attorney General has repeatedly conceded are legal.’
In January, Schneiderman amended his lawsuit against DraftKings and FanDuel to seek the return of all buy-ins paid by ny residents paid to both companies throughout 2015, plus a $5,000 fine head that is per.
This would constitute hundreds of millions of dollars in buy-ins, plus around $3 billion in fines with 600,000 DFS customers in the state.
Outrage Over NFL-Owned Children Daily Fantasy Sports Site from Youth Advocacy Group
The NFL kids daily fantasy sports site is dealing with backlash from a few outraged groups, arguing the league shouldn’t be marketing their product to children as young as six years old. (Image: fantasy.nflrush.com)
Directed at pre-teen kids, daily fantasy activities (DFS) site NFL Rush is being asked to stop operations by the non-profit organization Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC).
In a story that might appear appropriate for satire, the truth is that the National Football League is catering to young ones to participate in free DFS contests, with the possibility of winning weekly prizes like an XBOX One, video games, and a grand prize of the $5,000 scholarship.
In line with the NFL Rush Fantasy website, ‘US residents between 6 and 12 whom have actually parental consent are eligible.’
Though the league and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, have long publicly opposed recreations gambling and betting, it evidently doesn’t have qualms when it concerns children and fantasy sports. The CCFC is calling on Goodell and the NFL to stop marketing fantasy football to children in conjunction with the National Council on Problem Gambling.
‘ There is evidence that playing fantasy sports, particularly with the incentive of valuable prizes as offered on the NFL Rush Fantasy app and website, can lead to problem gambling and addiction,’ CCFC Executive Director Josh Golin said in their letter to the league. ‘It is unconscionable that the NFL encourages kiddies as young as six years old to develop the habit of participating in this adult task.’
NFL Hypocrisy?
The NFL has always maintained that any expansion of conventional recreations betting could negatively impact the league and compromise the integrity of its games. Surprisingly, it’s taken a rather different stance on daily fantasy contests.
FanDuel has contracts with 15 NFL groups, while Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots owners Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft hold stakes in DraftKings.
DFS varies from sports betting because of the fact that the participant isn’t simply picking a team or line, but assembling a roster of players in a procedure that is known as to be an endeavor that is skill-based.
Multiple solicitors general have ruled that DFS constitutes gambling, aided by the operators themselves, not interestingly, fighting straight back. The data on who routinely wins DFS contests seems to support the skill over luck debate.
But as it pertains to children, teaching 6 to 12-year-olds how to assemble a group of players to deliver the very best likelihood of winning a video game console is cause for concern certainly.
‘By providing these valuable incentives, the NFL is indoctrinating young ones into engaging in dream activities having a financial stake in the outcome,’ the CCFC noted. ‘This exposes them, and our communities, to the potential risks of gambling problems.’
You have to Be Carefully Taught
It ought to be noted that the NFL hasn’t just promoted an online website: it’s offered an in-classroom curriculum for teachers because well. Launched in 2014, NFL Rush Fantasy understand, Enjoy, Score! was billed as a language and math arts program based around fantasy sports. The league says that this program wrapped by the end of 2014-2015 period, but in it, children were encouraged https://casinopokies777.com/casino-888/ to ‘choose their ultimate fantasy team each week’ through critical thinking.
The program did employ basic math in determining how fantasy that is many should be allocated based on the gamer’s performance, however it also required the student to realize the principles of football. Critics of the scheme argued it’s the NFL’s way to engage an audience that is new as youth football involvement continues to decline.
Hey, why don’t you just teach the value of a buck with a ‘Let It Rain’ mathematics program since well?
No Safeguards for Guardians
If you’re thinking NFL Rush features a few protections to prevent children from enrolling on their own, you are going to be surprised to learn that registrants are merely required to give their parent’s email address, therefore that the NFL can confirm their age and guardian permission.
Surely no 10-year-old would think to enter their friend’s email or develop a quick Yahoo address to self-confirm their validation, right? Of course perhaps not.
From on line poker to the emergence of daily fantasy sports, the primary concern for a lot of legislators is how exactly to protect adult consumers that are best while gaming on the Internet, as well while the extremely issue of age verification. However, into the instance involving young ones, the most susceptible and impressionable demographic, small is being done to keep your child that is way-under-18-year-old from in daily fantasy sports.
Surprisingly, nobody from the contingent that is pro-RAWA to have jumped on this site as evidence that kiddies will never be exempt from gambling online. It’s precisely the type or sort of fodder that Sheldon Adelson and the bill’s other sponsors, like presidential GOP contender Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), want to throw in the face of everyone who supports Internet gaming.