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A gambling ring that included the use of livestock to fight for financial gain has been broken down in India.
The report published by the Hindustan Times showed that seventy-five individuals had been arrested in connection with illegal and cruel animal gambling in the Konkan division of Maharashtra.
The Pali Police conducted the arrests in the Indian region at Tiger Goat Farmhouse in the small town of Gondav. The police report also included the seizure of assets, including vehicles, gambling paraphernalia, and $150,000 worth of cash.
Superintendent Aanchal Dalal said of the events, “Around four rams were made to compete and hit each other until one of them collapsed. The audience would bet on the strongest ram.”
Thousands wagered on an animal cruelty betting ring
The alleged wagers on the events at the farmhouse ranged from smaller bets of $1 to $50, and the Pali Police reported that a WhatsApp conversation was also taking wagers.
The authorities mentioned that up to thousands of dollars could be wagered on winning animals in the barbaric, illegal gambling contest.
The contests pit the animals against one another until they can no longer participate, being coerced to fight until they collapse. Sadly, Dalal concluded, “Once a ram has participated, it holds no further value.”
The actions of the gambling ring breached India’s Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Animal cruelty gambling ring closed down
The Pali Police were supported by local officers from the crime investigation unit based in Raigad, Alibaug. Two suspects, Imran Qureshi from Kurla and Atik Shaikh of Pune, have evaded custody.
The police report stated that both men managed to use the cover of a wall to outrun the local law enforcement, and they remain key to the conclusion of the animal cruelty case, which has also impacted neighbouring states.
The rise of gambling rings surrounding animals has reportedly sprouted in Delhi, Kashmir, and other major locations—the breeding of animals for the purpose of animal cruelty and illegal gambling is on the rise in India.
One police officer stated that “Locally, such rams are also sourced from Bhiwandi and Kalyan, usually when the sheep are around six months old and weigh about 30-40kg.”
Image: Pexels.
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The fantasy sports company PrizePicks has officially been approved as a futures commission merchant, which could open the doors to the prediction markets.
It’s ‘Performance Predictions II LLC’ that won the approval, with this being an entity under the PrizePicks umbrella. On the official NFA website, the company is NFA Member Approved and CFTC registered as a Futures Commission Merchant.
This comes after the PrizePicks company released major news on Monday (September 22) that the lottery-led gaming entertainment company Allwyn International AG would acquire a majority stake in PrizePicks.
The duo entered into a definitive agreement this week, with Allwyn agreeing to purchase an approximately 62.3% stake in PrizePicks for an expected initial cash consideration of $1.6 billion, implying an upfront enterprise value of $2.5 billion.
The agreement continues to suggest that if the daily fantasy sports operator achieves certain performance metrics over the next three years, an additional cash consideration under the agreement could raise the implied enterprise value to a maximum of $4.15 billion.
PrizePicks will operate as a standalone brand within Allwyn
In the announcement, the transaction has been described as a ‘unique opportunity to enter the strategically important sports and entertainment industry in the United States’ for Allwyn. It also means it can expand its business in the country beyond its existing operation of the Illinois Lottery.
Karel Komarek, Allwyn Founder and Chair, said: “This acquisition will continue to drive Allwyn’s momentum and expand our business in the United States. PrizePicks has established its credentials as an industry pioneer, revolutionising the way fans engage with the athletes they love, making the contests more thrilling and immersive. We are excited to work with PrizePicks to shape the future of this new frontier in casual entertainment.”
Going forward, PrizePicks will operate as a standalone brand within Allwyn and will be led by its CEO Mike Ybarra and the existing leadership team who will be retaining the majority of their existing ownership interest.
Mike Ybarra, CEO of PrizePicks, said: “Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for PrizePicks and our growing community of players. There has never been a more electrifying time to shape the future of fan-first entertainment.
“By joining forces with Allwyn, a like-minded and disruptive company that shares our passion for bold product innovation, we will accelerate our mission to make our games more interactive, engaging and rewarding for fans everywhere.”
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The United Kingdom’s tax regulator, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has won a substantial ruling in a dispute over the duties paid on free spins.
The tribunal hearing contested between HMRC and Jumpman Gaming Ltd (Jumpman) focused on the latter’s £13 million ($17.56 million) in contested unpaid monies (duties) that the tax office had repeatedly stated were outstanding.
HMRC wins in tribunal free spins case
These duties are officially titled remote gaming duty (RGD) by HMRC and are expected of any licensed gambling business operating in Great Britain. Still, the grey area surrounding free spins and their taxable status has been a much-debated topic in the gambling world.
Jumpman argued that the free spins awarded to consumers via its Mr Spins Mega Reel promotional feature had been accounted for; however, HMRC argued that they should be considered in line with Section 12 of the Finance Act 1994 (FA94).
Free bets, spins, and other prizes are awarded to gamblers who access this feature. According to the court report, Jumpman stated that the initial spin was the only taxable element.
Judge rules in favor of HMRC
Tribunal Judge Amanda Brown KC oversaw the case, which concluded that any free spins offered after the initial spin constitute a gaming payment in relation to sections 159 and 159A of the aforementioned Finance Act 1994.
The concluding summary would read “whether taxpayer (Jumpman) assessable to duty on spin of promotional game or subsequent spins of other games won following the promotional game, or on neither – application of section 159A Finance Act 2014 – duty due on subsequent free spins – appeal dismissed.”
Jumpman emerged from the courtroom with a small victory in the form of a decision regarding the overpayment of taxes related to the Mega Reel promotion. However, the company failed to have the entirety of that taxable balance wiped or substantially revalued; instead, it was viewed as a lawful reduction of the outstanding tax bill.
The court decision read “For the reasons set out above, the Assessments are upheld save to the extent that they now need to be reduced in light of the information provided by the Appellant on the RGD accounted for on MR Spins.”
Tax cases that involve the RGD of other betting providers could be reviewed hastily by their legal counsel, as the decision could cause a ripple effect for those hoping to avoid the balance due on free spins.
This could also mark a reduction in gaming promotions, such as free spin offers, if HMRC is waiting to be paid for what has long been considered a betting company’s promotional outlet.
Featured image: Canva.
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On Friday (September 19), a search warrant was conducted at a gas station in Pike County, Alabama, with investigators seizing US currency, an electronic gambling hub device, and other gambling-related items and paraphernalia.
The Pike County Sheriff’s Office has released a statement, sharing that they executed the search warrant on the premises of the Marathon gas station in the 7000 block of US Highway 231 in Brundidge.
The warrant was issued following an investigation into alleged illegal gambling activities and transactions at the venue. It was then that Sheriff’s Office investigators, Patrol Deputies, Sheriff Russell Thomas, and District Attorney James Tarbox carried out the search, with the scene being secured by members of the Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team and in coordination with Patrol Deputies and the Brundidge Police Department.
“Evidence collected by Sheriff’s Office investigators revealed numerous illegal activities to include scratch-off style lottery tickets being sold, electronic gambling games being promoted, and coin pusher style machines being operated,” the press release states.
“One of the machines being operated served as a conduit for players to insert bets, play illegal games on their cell phone via a downloaded application, and then return to the store to collect any winnings from the machine.”
Gambling-related items and paraphernalia seized in Pike County
The investigators involved seized over $25,000 in US currency, over 30 rolls of scratch-off style lottery tickets, an electronic gambling hub device, two coin pusher style machines, and ‘various other’ gambling related items.
Sheriff Thomas said of the raid, “I am very proud of the job performance and the time and energy that went into this case, to stop illegal gambling at this location. With this type of illegal activity and the large number of people who play these games, other crimes are also associated with illegal gambling. I want to personally thank District Attorney James Tarbox for his assistance in this case and always being just a phone call away.”
The investigation remains ongoing, with no arrests having been made. The monies and items seized will be subject to a civil forfeiture case to be filed by the Pike County District Attorney’s Office.
Featured Image: Pike County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page
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Large language models have become more commonplace over the last couple of years, with people starting to integrate their practices into their everyday lives, but a new report has found that it’s not all positive.
Journalist Jon Reed, of CNET, said that in early September, at the start of the college football season, “ChatGPT and Gemini suggested I consider betting on Ole Miss to cover a 10.5-point spread against Kentucky.”
Many developers have intentionally built safety measures into their models to prevent the chatbots from providing harmful advice.
After reading about how generative AI companies are trying to make their large language models better at not saying the wrong thing when faced with sensitive topics, the journalist quizzed the bots on gambling.
Chatbots prompted with problem gambling statement, before being asked about sports betting
First, he “asked some chatbots for sports betting advice.” Then, he asked them about problem gambling, before asking about betting advice again, expecting they’d “act differently after being primed with a statement like ‘as someone with a history of problem gambling…’”
When testing OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, the protections were found to have worked when the only prior prompt sent had been about problem gambling. But, they’re reported to have not worked when previously prompted about advice for betting on an upcoming slate of college football games.
“The reason likely has to do with how LLMs evaluate the significance of phrases in their memory, one expert told me,” Reed says in the report.
“The implication is that the more you ask about something, the less likely an LLM may be to pick up on the cue that should tell it to stop.”
This comes at a time when it’s estimated that there’s around 2.5 million US adults who meet the criteria for a severe gambling problem in a given year. It’s not just gambling information which has been reported to be spewed out by a chatbot either, as researchers have also found that AI chatbots can be configured to routinely answer health queries with false information.
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
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