Gambling Reform Advocate, Father and Partner
Hobart
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Mark Kempster retweeted
Our team are very pleased to announce that Gamban has been approved for funding to make our software free in England.
We believe Gamban offers the most effective gambling-blocking protection available, built on years of technological development and continuous improvement informed by people affected by gambling harm. We’ve always believed that everyone who needs protection from online gambling should be able to access it, regardless of their financial circumstances.
This funding gives us an important opportunity to work with partners across the sector to make that protection available to more people, free of charge.
Despite our disappointment at the initial decision, which meant Gamban could no longer be free in England, everyone in our company was heartened by the messages of support from other organisations in the gambling harm prevention sector expressing how much they value the work we do and to keep going.
We’re pleased that OHID has offered us funding, following further allocations being confirmed as part of its Gambling Harms Prevention Fund.
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Mark Kempster retweeted
Setting aside the fact that the mock game show did not show him gambling with a credit card but with a debit card, your industry lobbied against the ban on use of credit cards for online gambling. Another example of being dragged kicking and screaming to basic consumer protection
Channel 4’s Million Pound Shot presented a misleading portrayal of Britain’s regulated betting and gaming industry, failing to reflect the strict rules and protections licensed operators must follow.
The programme left viewers with a number of misleading impressions:
➡️ Credit cards were used to gamble, despite credit card gambling being banned in Britain’s regulated sector since 2020.
➡️Contestants openly discussed financial difficulties and redundancy, yet there was no meaningful explanation of the strict requirements on operators to identify and respond to potential markers of harm.
➡️‘Losses disguised as wins’ were presented as an industry practice, despite celebratory effects for returns at or below stake being prohibited under Gambling Commission rules.
➡️The programmes fictional gambling operator used techniques that failed to reflect the customer protection obligations placed on licensed businesses.
These are not minor details. They are fundamental differences between the programme’s portrayal of gambling and the reality of Britain’s regulated industry.
Gambling-related harm is a serious issue and deserves proper scrutiny. But that scrutiny must be fair, accurate and grounded in evidence.
The public deserves facts, not misleading generalisations.
Read our full statement here: bettingandgamingcouncil.com/…
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Mark Kempster retweeted
Over $1 BILLION lost by Kalshi combo buyers, according to InGame. Market makers have earned roughly $520 million after fees.
One detail deserves more scrutiny: persistent account IDs let market makers recognize repeat bettors and decide whether to quote them.
Kalshi says “we never limit customers for winning.”
What’s that worth if market makers can track your account and stop quoting you once they realize you’re not a fish?
You risk ending up with professional firms selling overpriced parlays to the customers who will be financially ruined by these products.
The prediction market industry calls this “price discovery.”
States call it gambling.
As someone who “gambled” for 20+ years, I can assure you it’s gambling. And a particularly insidious form when you obscure how predatory it is by rebranding parlays as “combos” and betting as “trading.”
These sites can and should do better.
Kalshi parlay takers have now lost more than $1 billion since the feature launched last year, after a huge surge in popularity this football season, an InGame analysis shows.
Since parlays first became available in September 2025, Kalshi’s total volume on multi-leg trades has been $165.6 billion. Taker stakes — the closest equivalent to sportsbook handle — are $7.1 billion, and takers have lost $1.004 billion.
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Mark Kempster retweeted
Bloke Who Had Flutter On 2018 World Cup To Receive 78 Bonus Bet Offers Today ift.tt/4sQSaJO
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Mark Kempster retweeted
Gambling Addict CEO Suddenly Cares About Equine Welfare If It Means Keeping Workers At Their Desk Today ift.tt/2W9QwCb
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You don't have to bet today. Don't feel like you have to just because a predatory industry tells you that you should.
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Mark Kempster retweeted
Read this: Australian sport has a gambling problem. And it is not simply the number of Australians placing bets on football, cricket and racing.
substack.com/home/post/p-222…
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Mark Kempster retweeted
"An August 2026 ABC report identified Sportsbet sponsorships reportedly worth about $10 million annually to the NRL and $8–10 million to the AFL. Combined with the reported product fees, those two leagues alone have approximately $98–110 million in identified annual gambling-related receipts."
substack.com/home/post/p-222…
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Mark Kempster retweeted
This loser has been a funded campaigner for the gambling industry for the past 14 years and has failed at every turn because he can’t come to terms with the fact the public doesn’t think gambling liberalisation is particularly good public policy.
His previous organisation the IEA (somehow a charity) were in receipt of gambling industry donations, and he regularly went on TV and radio to defend their interests. He has now left the IEA and is complaining to the ref about the “true motivations” of campaigners.
The gambling industry would be better off if it didn’t listen to people like this who tell them what they want to hear and instead embraced a harm reduction and consumer rights agenda. Otherwise it’ll be a continued target for tax increases and regulatory clampdowns.
Ten years ago there was an orchestrated panic about B2 machines, AKA fixed odds betting terminals, which, controversially, had a £100 stake limit, meaning you could lose £100 in 20 seconds. Campaigners demanded a £2 stake limit to prevent gambling “harm” and they won. B2 machines disappeared and gamblers migrated to B3 machines.
Now, a £2 stake limit is portrayed as problematic because gamblers can lose £100 in 5 minutes.
These people just hate gambling. It’s never going to end.
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Mark Kempster retweeted
@themercurycomau today.
#Politas. Partisan politics aside, it’s objectively hard to see how @TasmanianLabor and @JoshWillie1 can believe that backing cruelty to man’s best friend is any kind of winning proposition?
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Mark Kempster retweeted
"You're worse than Hitler."
I had the honor this week of being invited to speak to Vanderbilt football and basketball players. When asked if anyone had been harassed by angry bettors, at least half the hands went up.
One player said he'd received that insane message after losing a game.
It's a plague in college sports. The purported fix is banning people from betting who are caught harassing athletes.
But I'm really skeptical of how that can be enforced. It's unreasonable, or at least unrealistic, to expect athletes to report everyone sending them hate mail and threats.
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Mark Kempster retweeted
The industrial-scale financial destruction of young men, now being marketed as community building.
Sports are better when they’re social.
We recently launched chat for every game, and it’s been so cool watching these little communities come to life.
People sharing picks, reacting to big moments and talking sports together. 🏟️
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Mark Kempster retweeted
These apps should be banned, not promoted. In addition to the ramifications of gambling addiction, they allow “trading” on policies, drug trials, and natural disasters that affect our real lives. Also, the only way for these partnerships to be successful is for fans to lose. Boo.
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Mark Kempster retweeted
This is beyond disgraceful. Gambling is a cancer. Prediction markets even worse; they will cause more athletes to cheat, more to be threatened if they make or miss foul shots or play for fewer minutes. Less confidence in integrity of the game. Shame on the NBA and Adam Silver.
The NBA has reached deals with Kalshi and Polymarket to make them the league's preferred prediction markets partners. The companies can now use NBA IP on their platforms, while the NBA gets right of approval on markets that they offer. That and more:
nytimes.com/athletic/7723134…
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Mark Kempster retweeted
Northwestern coach David Braun slams the sports betting industry:
“It’s scary stuff. It’s predatory.”
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Professional sports bettor Mike Manning says he got a firsthand look at how a sports gambling betting platform treats winners differently from losers. He told CBS News’ Jim Axelrod that Caesars Sportsbook showered him with VIP perks when he was losing, then slashed his betting limits and cut off the perks after he started winning.
His account adds to allegations that sports betting platforms limit the amount skilled gamblers are able to wager.
In a statement, Caesars Sportsbook said, “We don't comment on the specifics of individual customer accounts. Caesars Sportsbook is an entertainment product and we consider a variety of factors including account activity, integrity protocols, and consistency with our terms and conditions, when establishing wagering limits and determining VIP rewards and benefits. No decision is made solely on a customer's win-loss record.”
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Mark Kempster retweeted
Dear @TasmanianLabor MPs (especially the good hearted women) please listen to just the first couple of minutes of this evidence. Know what it is that you are publicly ‘ defending’?
The first part of a powerful statement from the wonderful Elle Trahair @save_greyhounds at the inquiry into banning greyhound racing in South Australia hearing this morning.
Many important points covered, relevant to all states. Please do listen.
I have been told recent race footage of greyhounds injured on South Australia tracks was shown at the hearing and there were people in the room visibly distressed. Important that everyone sees the truth.
The live stream kept dropping out so missed a lot after this. Will post another section below and some parts of the RSPCA evidence. The transcript will eventually be available here:
committees.parliament.sa.gov…
#bangreyhoundracing
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