Jonathan Parke, former head of commissioning at RGT, now director of Sophoro Ltd.
The accountable Gambling Trust (RGT), the UK’s leading problem gambling advocacy group, has found itself in the harsh glare of the media limelight again, this time for allegations of nepotism.
The charity, that is funded by the bookmaking industry to the tune of $5 million each year to research and promote the prevention of problem gambling, has been under fire in the British press recently for apparent conflicts of interest. Because of its ties that are close the gambling industry, concerns happen asked as to whether its scientific studies are completely separate of video gaming passions.
The RGT maintains that it’s unbiased. But the revelation this week by great britain’s Independent newspaper that a firm owned by the husband associated with charity’s Director of Commissioning, Jane Rigbye, has been granted a lucrative research contract, isn’t helping the cause of credibility for the outfit.
Marital Agreements
According to the Independent, Sophoro Ltd. owned by Rigbye’s spouse Jonathan Parke, is offered a research that is major as part of a £750,000 initiative into the effect of online gaming on problem gambling.
Parke was once head of commissioning at RGT himself, leading to accusations that he and his wife swapped jobs, then promptly swapped contracts.
Sophoro was granted the contract in December, the firstly two, but until last year the business had been registered at the few’s family home, and both Rigbye and Parke were detailed as company directors.
Also, Sophoro bid for the RGT agreement simply two months after Rigbye stepped down as director to take on her role that is new at.
In response to the headlines, Labour shadow gambling minister Clive Efford said RGT ‘should be disbanded’ if its research ended up being found to protect the ‘interests of the industry at the cost of individuals with gambling problems.’
Goulden Steps Down
RGT has for ages been accused of being too sympathetic to the industry, and in particular for its refusal to denounce fixed-odds wagering terminals (FOBTs) in bookmaking shops.
Last thirty days, Neil Goulden, the trust’s chairman, stepped down following criticism by The Guardian newspaper that while chair of RGT, he was additionally a chair associated with industry lobby team known as the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). The positions were held concurrently between 2012 and mid-2014.
Goulden told the Guardian that his participation with RGT, therefore the 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 will probably be investigated by the charity regulator on the Sophoro affair, told the Independent that Rigbye had no say in commissioning of research agreements.
DraftKings Appeals Nyc AG Lawsuit, Filing Says Empire State Must Ban Spelling Bees
New York AG Eric Schneiderman, that has been accused by DraftKings of earning errors in his lawsuit against DFS sites. (Image: pokerhomegames.com)
DraftKings has launched its appeal against the nyc State injunction that is preliminary seeks to ban daily dream sports (DFS) and put an end to its operations in the Empire State.
The DFS operator’s 67-page filing brings no punches, accusing New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of appropriate misapprehensions that ‘did not come close to carrying the burden’ of proof that DFS is not a game of skill.
It further accuses the court of ‘abusing its discretion’ in siding with Schneiderman.
‘The court applied the incorrect standard that is legal and ignored the undisputed proof, to locate 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 motion to stay the court’s choice pending the results of its appeal. This is upheld by a Court of Appeals judge that same afternoon, permitting the companies to continue company temporarily in New York until the truth is solved.
In their December ruling, Mendez had been required to determine whether DFS had been a game of skill or of chance, and more particularly, whether setting a line-up was a skill-based process with an ‘entry fee,’ or an out-and-out ‘wager.’ He decided it was the latter.
‘New York State penal legislation does maybe not refer to ‘wagering’ or ‘betting,’ instead it states that an individual, ‘risks something of value,” he stated. ‘The re payment of an ‘entry fee’ as high as $10,600 on a single or more contests daily could certainly be deemed risking ‘something of value.’ ‘
Dog Shows and Bass Fishing
DraftKings’ appeal filing claims that when this had been the truth, then ‘dog shows and bees that are spelling yachting tournaments and bass fishing’ is ‘criminalized’ under Judge Mendez’s ruling. Each of those are events requiring entry fees whose outcome is prone to an element of opportunity, argues the DraftKings filing.
‘Daily fantasy sports are skill-based games being, and really should be, legal,’ DraftKings’ attorney David Boies said in a statement. ‘DraftKings contests are believe it or not legal than season-long dream sports, that the Attorney General has repeatedly conceded are legal.’
In January, Schneiderman amended their lawsuit against DraftKings and FanDuel to look for the return of all of the buy-ins compensated by New York residents paid to both businesses throughout 2015, plus a $5,000 fine head that is per.
With 600,000 DFS customers in the state, this would constitute a huge selection of millions of bucks in buy-ins, plus around $3 billion in fines.
Outrage Over NFL-Owned Kids Daily Fantasy Sports Site from Youth Advocacy Group
The NFL kids daily fantasy sports site is facing backlash from a few outraged groups, arguing the league really should not be marketing their product to children who are only six years of age. (Image: fantasy.nflrush.com)
Aimed at pre-teen kids, daily fantasy sports (DFS) site NFL Rush is being asked to stop operations by the non-profit company Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC).
In a story that might appear right for satire, the fact remains that the National Football League is catering to kiddies to participate in free DFS contests, with the chance of winning regular prizes like an XBOX One, video games, and a grand prize of a $5,000 scholarship.
Based on the NFL Rush Fantasy website, ‘US residents between 6 and 12 who have actually parental consent are eligible.’
Though the league and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, have long publicly opposed activities gambling and betting, it evidently doesn’t have qualms when it comes to children and fantasy sports. With the National Council on Problem Gambling, the CCFC is calling on Goodell and also the NFL to stop advertising fantasy football to kiddies.
‘ There is evidence that playing fantasy sports, particularly with the motivation of valuable awards as offered in the NFL Rush Fantasy internet site and app, can lead to issue gambling and addiction,’ CCFC Executive Director Josh Golin said in his letter towards the league. ‘It is unconscionable that the NFL encourages kiddies as young as six years old to produce the habit of doing this adult task.’
NFL Hypocrisy?
The NFL has always maintained that any expansion of old-fashioned sports betting could impact the league negatively and compromise the integrity of its games. Surprisingly, it’s taken a stance that is rather different daily fantasy contests.
FanDuel has contracts with 15 NFL teams, while Dallas Cowboys and brand New England Patriots owners Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft hold stakes in DraftKings.
DFS varies from sports wagering due to the very fact that the participant isn’t merely picking a team or line, but assembling a roster of players in an activity that is considered to be a skill-based endeavor.
Multiple attorneys general have ruled that DFS constitutes gambling, with the operators themselves, not surprisingly, fighting straight back. The statistics on who routinely wins DFS contests seems to help the ability over luck debate.
But as it applies to children, teaching 6 to 12-year-olds how exactly to assemble a group of players to produce the best likelihood of winning a video clip game console is cause for concern certainly.
‘By providing these valuable incentives, the NFL is indoctrinating children into engaging in dream sports by having a financial stake in the end result,’ the CCFC noted. ‘This exposes them, and our communities, to the potential risks of gambling problems.’
You have got to Be Carefully Taught
It ought to be noted that the NFL hasn’t just promoted a site that is online it’s offered an in-classroom curriculum for teachers because well. Launched in 2014, NFL Rush Fantasy Learn, Enjoy, Score! was billed as a language and math arts course based around fantasy sports. The league says that this system wrapped by the end of 2014-2015 season, however in it, kids were encouraged to ‘choose their fantasy that is ultimate team week’ through critical thinking.
This program did employ basic math in determining just how numerous fantasy points should be allocated based on the gamer’s performance, but https://casinopokies777.com/casino-888/ it also required the student to realize the guidelines of soccer. Critics of the scheme argued it’s the NFL’s way to engage an audience that is new as youth soccer involvement continues to decline.
Hey, have you thought to just teach the worthiness of a dollar with a ‘Let It Rain’ mathematics program because well?
No Safeguards for Guardians
In the event that you’re thinking NFL Rush features a few defenses to avoid kids from registering by themselves, you are going to be surprised to learn that registrants are simply just required to offer their parent’s email address, therefore that the NFL can validate their age and guardian consent.
Certainly no 10-year-old would think to enter their friend’s email or produce a quick Yahoo address to self-confirm their validation, right? Of course maybe not.
From on the web poker to the emergence of daily dream sports, the primary concern for most legislators is how to best protect adult consumers while video gaming on the online, as well whilst the really dilemma of age verification. However, in the instance involving kiddies, the most susceptible and impressionable demographic, little will be done to keep your way-under-18-year-old child from participating in daily fantasy sports.
Interestingly, no body through the pro-RAWA contingent seems to have jumped on this web site as evidence that young ones will not 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), would love to throw in the face of everyone else who supports Internet gaming.
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