Photographer Adam Lampton discusses capturing the vice, cash and sheer excess of the special administrative region of China – a place built on contradictions “I am not a huge gambler,” says Adam Lampton. “The first time I went to Macau, fresh out of grad school, I didn’t have any money to spare – it all went on camera film. People take it all very seriously, so I was too intimidated to sit down and be the white guy who didn’t know what the hell he was doing.” As a non-gambler in Macau, the American photographer would have been an oddity – most tourists go there to “play”, hoping Lady Luck glan ..read more

Denise Coates pays herself less than the £466m she collected in 2020 despite soaring profits Britain’s highest-paid woman, the Bet365 billionaire Denise Coates, has given herself a 45% pay cut but still claimed £150m in salary and dividends last year as profits at the online gambling company soared. The Stoke-based business reported an increase in turnover from £3.4bn to £3.7bn last year, while also cutting costs and benefiting from a one-off gain on the value of its investments, as equity markets improved ..read more

Specialists raise alarm over companies such as Moneyful promoting ‘easy money’ in exchange for personal details Consumers struggling to pay bills over the festive season have been urged not to sign up with companies that offer money in exchange for personal details in order to open multiple betting accounts in their name. Fraud prevention and consumer specialists raised the alarm after the Guardian highlighted one such company, Kent-based Moneyful Ltd, which promoted the chance to make “easy money” over the festive period ..read more

Barrage of gambling adverts likely to exacerbate addiction, as NHS in England doubles number of clinics to meet demand The “barrage” of betting advertisements around Boxing Day sporting fixtures will exacerbate Britain’s growing gambling problem, NHS bosses are warning. Promotional techniques by unscrupulous betting firms, including free Christmas bets, will increase gambling-related harm by encouraging punters to wager sums they cannot afford, they say. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found through GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In the US, the National Council on Problem Gambling is ..read more

With sports betting now legal in 38 states, experts worry that gambling addiction is on the rise A public health crisis is rapidly taking hold, Congress has been warned, with “all available evidence” pointing to an increase in problems surrounding America’s gambling boom. Sports betting, now legal in 38 states, has exploded across the US over the past six years. Campaigners and clinicians say addiction levels have grown during this surge, with young people among those affected. Athletes and sporting officials say harassment has risen, too ..read more

Exclusive: Tycoon rejects settlement offer from Gambling Commission linked to failed bid to run UK lottery The media tycoon Richard Desmond is set for a courtroom showdown with the Gambling Commission that could cost good causes tens of millions of pounds, the Guardian has learned, after he rejected a settlement offer linked to his failed bid to run the National Lottery. Desmond launched a high court challenge in 2022 after the commission awarded the 10-year National Lottery licence to the Czech operator Allwyn, rejecting bids from his Northern & Shell business, as well as the incumbent Ca ..read more

Accusations have been thrown by both sides in betting dispute but there may be hope for racing amid the noise The increasingly frenzied cycle of claim and counterclaim over the impact of “affordability checks” on punters on the sport’s revenue stream from betting moved through several gears at once last week, with “out of control”, “unaccountable” and “thorough misunderstanding” among the accusations being thrown in one direction or the other. It all kicked off when a wide range of racing’s stakeholder groups, including the Racecourse Association (RCA), the Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) a ..read more

Exclusive: Monique Ryan, Kate Chaney, Andrew Wilkie and Sarah Hanson-Young all call for gambling giant to remove the social media ads immediately Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Several federal politicians have urged Sportsbet to “immediately” pull its ads from the social media app Snapchat after Guardian Australia reported that they can be viewed by children. Sportsbet provides Snapchat users with filters that can alter their appearance and add effects to the content they share with friends. These filters spl ..read more

Promotion offered casino games without knowing if customers were in recovery for gambling addiction, say campaigners Business live – latest updates Pizza Hut has been criticised for running a “dangerous” promotion that offered customers “free spins” at online casinos with their takeaway. Online pizza orders were accompanied by a message congratulating customers for having “unlocked up to 300 free spins at your favourite casino ..read more

Exclusive: Filters, including one that turns a person into a horse, include Sportsbet logos and direct 18+ users to open a gambling account Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Gambling ads from Sportsbet can reach children on Snapchat through special promotional filters despite the platform attempting to restrict access, Guardian Australia can reveal. Confirmation of the exposure comes one week after Sportsbet removed its ads from music streaming service Spotify, after Guardian Australia reported a complaint alleg ..read more