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There’s an increasing number of people who are reaching out for support for gambling losses in the UK, with over £5M in gambling debts having been reported since January, which is almost double compared to the whole of 2024.
The number of people seeking financial guidance since the start of 2025 is already higher than the whole of last year, according to the charity GamCare. It’s in June, July and August that the number of registrations has doubled year-on-year.
The charity, which has a national gambling helpline, says those who have entered its service since January this year have reported collective debts of over £5.3M in total, with an average of £4,682 per person.
The total figure of debt reported in the first eight months of this year has almost doubled compared to the entirety of last year, when it stood at over £2.8 million.
Over £5.3m in collective debts reported, as people seek out support for gambling debt
Kathy Wade, Money Guidance Service Manager, commented: “We often hear from people who struggle with gambling that it doesn’t feel like real money they are betting with. A lot of the people we see are young men who are looking for big financial wins either through gambling or even cryptocurrency investing, but it can lead to riskier behaviours around these activities.”
In August 2025, a total of 198 referrals came through the charity whereas this month saw 69 in the year previous. For this year, January had 84 referrals, February 94, March 128, April 163, May 147, June 172, and July 165.
“It is especially difficult for people who look to gambling to make extra money for their daily household costs, which continue to feel squeezed by rising pressures,” continued Kathy Wade.
“We know that many people gamble safely, but we would not encourage anyone to gamble with the goal of making extra money to cover their essential bills.”
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
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“Lawmakers should roll back the per-bet fee,” says the non-profit think tank The Illinois Policy Institute in its publication ‘Illinois Policy’ when discussing sports betting taxes in the state.
According to the writer of the article, Dylan Sharkey, sports betting in Illinois comes with the fifth-highest taxes in the nation and leads the Midwest.
The area’s lawmakers had previously raised the state’s tax on online sports gambling from 15% to as high as 40%, with a new fee added onto every wager. This includes 25 cents per bet or 50 cents if a sportsbook takes more than 20 million bets a year.
It’s also reported that Illinoisans lost $1.12 billion betting on sports in 2024, including $700 million on ‘long-shot, high-payout bets known as parlays that require multiple outcomes.’
“With the new fees in effect, those losses will climb ever higher,” says Sharkey in the Illinois Policy.
“The state budget is counting on those losses. Lawmakers expect even more sports betting revenue next year – which only happens if Illinoisans gamble, and lose, more money.”
The writer continues to suggest that lawmakers should roll back the per-bet fee and “keep Illinois’ market attractive to players.”
Aside from Illinois, which states also have high sports betting taxes?
According to data from the Tax Foundation, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island have some of the highest tax rates as these are at 51% of sportsbook revenues.
Meanwhile, Nevada and Iowa levy the lowest tax rates with these standing at 6.75%. Illinois isn’t the only state to have a different approach to taxing sports betting either, like with its additional ad quantum fee per bet. In Tennessee, there’s a tax directly on the sports betting handle.
In Oregon, the lottery granted DraftKings a monopoly for online sports betting in exchange for the state receiving 51% of the sports betting proceeds.
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
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MGM China has warned about a deepfake video impersonating its executive director to promote an investment scam.
MGM China has shared a warning to the public and the media about an AI-generated deepfake video impersonating Ms. Pansy Ho, Chairperson and Executive Director of MGM China. The video promotes a fake investment plan, promising those who ‘invest’ that they will earn back “hundredfold returns” on their money.
The company has made it clear that any videos or notices to that effect are fraudulent and no such scheme exists.
“MGM China reiterates that neither the Company nor Ms. Pansy Ho has at any time been involved in, authorized, or endorsed the purported investment plan featured in the deepfake video,” the statement reads. “The video was neither created nor released by the Company or Ms. Pansy Ho. MGM China condemns these acts of impersonation and misrepresentation in the strongest terms and reserves all legal rights against the parties involved, to protect our rights and interests.”
MGM China asked both the public and the media to remain on alert for any similar messages, advising them to only act on verified information through official channels. The company also released a plea for other channels to stop disseminating the deepfake video and any claims related to it.
What is a deepfake?
A deepfake is a video that has been digitally altered or created so that it appears to be someone else. Sometimes, it uses a real actor and alters their appearance but, with the recent developments in generative AI, some deepfakes can be created from scratch.
The synthetic media is often used to spread misinformation or for malicious purposes, as with MGM China here. South Korean casinos have also taken steps to protect against the role of deepfakes in illegal gambling.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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Jeffery Bernard Morris, the man convicted for the horrific murder of poker star and commentator Susie Zhao, has had his last appeal denied by the Michigan Supreme Court. 
The decision means Morris has reached the end of the road for legal recourse, following his October 2022 conviction for first-degree premeditated murder. 
He was sentenced to life without parole after confessing to robbing and murdering Zhao over a financial dispute.
Following the conviction, Morris filed a post-conviction motion, citing a speedy trial matter, with a further case raised with the Michigan Court of Appeals.
The Oakland County, Michigan, resident put forward the case that “his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to identification testimony, opinion testimony about shoplifting tactics, and speedy-trial issues.” 
It was also alleged that Morris’ “right to a speedy trial was violated”.
Ultimately, the Michigan Supreme Court refuted the final appeal effort. They declined to raise the case “because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.”
Susie Zhao was a poker trailblazer, despite her personal troubles
33-year-old Susie Zhao had returned to Michigan to reside with her family during the COVID-19 pandemic, following years based in Los Angeles as a regular on the poker circuit. 
She was considered a trailblazer given her prominence and success in a male-dominated field, with her achievements including a 2017 Aussie Millions final table and appearances in the final stages of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
Zhao was also a regular on cash live streams such as “Live at the Bike”, while she registered $224, 671 in Hendon Mob earnings.
The trial of Jeffery Bernard Morris in 2022 revealed Zhao’s significant mental health struggles, but a diagnosis of schizophrenia did not deter her from making her mark on the poker scene.
Image credit: Live at the Bike!/YouTube
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