The UK’s largest trade union, UNISON, has announced a partnership with the Young Gamers & Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM). 

As part of a £10 million National Gambling Education Programme supported by members of the Betting & Gaming Council, the charity is providing free accredited workshops and resources to anyone who works with or cares for young people. 

Designed to build digital resilience, the workshops cover key information on gaming and gambling in the UK. The resources will provide UNISON members with the tools needed to safeguard young people from the potential risks of gambling and gaming-related harm, including lesson plans, activities, signs to look out for and information on where to go for advice and support. 

Research from the Children’s Commissioner shows 93% of children play video games and Gambling Commission research shows there 55,000 11-16 years olds classified as problem gamblers in England, Scotland and Wales.

Due to the COVID19 pandemic, YGAM has accelerated the digital transformation of their training so it can be delivered online. UNISON members can book onto the free session by visiting the YGAM website – https://www.ygam.org/book-a-workshop/.

Commenting on the partnership Head of Learning and Organising at UNISON, Teresa Donegan, said: 

“We are really pleased to have developed this relationship with YGAM, their training and resources are really excellent and will be an invaluable resource to our members to support them in their work with young people across public services whether it be in youth, community or social services or in the further or higher education sector.”

UNISON has over 1.3 million members and have initially organised for YGAM to run several national sessions and hope to follow this up with a host of regional training through the UNISON regional education teams across the country.

Operations Director at YGAM, Kev Clelland, added: 

“We are delighted to be working with UNISON. We are constantly listening to the needs of practitioners and young people and it is very clear from these conversations that the workers that UNISON represents need and appreciate our resources more than ever.  

“YGAM’s vision is for all young and vulnerable people to be safe from gaming and gambling related harms and this collaboration will help us reach thousands of young people to raise awareness of the potential risks of gambling and gaming related harm.”

YGAM recently launched a new leading-edge ‘Parent Hub’ website to provide resources and expert advice around gaming and gambling to support families to build up their children’s resilience and establish a healthy online/offline balance. 

The new website has received endorsements from parents, teachers, safeguarding officers and the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) who labelled the resources ‘vitally important’ for parents. www.parents.ygam.org 

AYO.NEWS says:

Here at AYO.NEWS we’ve always been very enthusiastic about education when it comes to addressing problem gambling. However, given the extremely political nature of UNISON, and it’s very particular ideological stance, there is the very real danger that this program will be hijacked to further the cause of the UK’s anti-gambling crusaders.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX is introducing ID checks for all customers from 28 August. 

The exchange, which is owned by 100x Group (formerly known as HDR Trading), has drawn criticism in the past for being too lax regarding compliance, having no customer ID or verification checks in place. 

But, as of 28 August, BitMEX will be launching a new user verification program, with all customers required to complete ID checks within six months.

The exchange has said that the new procedures should only take customers five minutes to complete, and as an incentive it will be running a trading tournament open only to verified customers.

BitMEX is currently facing a potentially huge lawsuit in California, accusing it of being “deliberately designed, from the ground up” to aid or abet in a “myriad of illegal activities.” Meanwhile, another lawsuit, in New York, accuses the exchange of being involved in selling unlicensed securities without broker-dealer licensing, and engaging in market manipulation of cryptocurrencies. 

AYO.NEWS says:

We’re sure some BitMEX customers won’t be too happy about this, but it was always going to happen, so they should have been expecting it. On the plus side, it should give many people more confidence in the exchange, and is sure to help BitMEX comply with the myriad of local crypto regulations around the world. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has lifted the suspension of Triplebet’s remote operating license, giving the greenlight for Matchbook to resume operations.

According to Triplebet, it has made “significant improvements to its compliance practices” in response to the UKGC suspending its pool betting, betting intermediary and remote casino licenses, under Section 116 of the 2005 Gambling Act, on 27 February 2020.

The UKGC’s investigation into the operator found several issues, including a failure to monitor business relationships, and insufficient due diligence checks when it came to gambling syndicates. 

Responding to the license reinstatement, a Matchbook spokesperson said:

“This announcement marks the culmination of many months of hard work and investment across our entire business.

“We are extremely proud of the dedication and commitment of our staff during a very challenging economic period that has enabled Matchbook to once again offer a much improved exchange platform to UK residents as we continue to grow our market share and deliver an industry leading platform and liquidity pool for our customers.

“We’re pleased to announce that our license suspension has been lifted and we are working hard to get the site back up and running as soon as possible. We can’t wait to welcome you all back to Matchbook in the coming days.”

AYO.NEWS says:

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone so far, so we can only imagine what’s been going on behind the scenes at Triplebet and Matchbook! Of course, you could argue that, given the disruption to sports betting this year, the operator didn’t miss as much business as it would have normally. And, despite the departure of CEO Mark Brosnan in May, the team has managed to turn things around and satisfy the UKGC – no mean feat. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Google, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are facing a class-action lawsuit for “cartel-like” behaviour intended to kill off crypto competition.

The social media and search giants are the target of a class-action lawsuit, led by Australian lawyer and CEO of JPB Liberty, Andrew Hamilton, which could be worth as much as $300 billion.

According to Cointelegraph, Hamilton believes the companies engaged in “cartel-like” behaviour in a coordinated effort to kill off the nascent virtual currency sector in 2018, by introducing blanket bans on the advertising and promotion of crypto assets and initial coin offerings (ICOs). 

Hamilton is convinced that, under Australian competition law, it will be “pretty easy” to prove the social and search behemoths were acting as a cartel, and has spent two-and-a-half years preparing the case against them. 

In addition to Hamilton’s time preparing the case, a “major law firm” has also contributed “hundreds of hours off the clock,” which he says is a sure sign they believe the case is winnable. 

Anyone holding cryptos or involved in crypto space can participate

JPB Liberty says anyone holding cryptocurrencies, or “involved in the Cryptocosm” can join the Class Action as a Class Member, on an anonymous, no win, no fee basis. The deadline for claimants to sign-up to the lawsuit is 21 August. If successful, claimants will receive 70% of any settlement, while the suit’s funders will get 30%. 

It seems only fitting that, in addition to seeking institutional litigation funding, JPB Liberty is also offering Web 3.0 Litigation Funding – which raises funding via a token sale. 25% of damages awarded by the Class Action will be paid to token holders, with 5% going to JBP, and the tokens will be listed on crypto exchanges to provide liquidity for token holders during the lengthy litigation process. 

The law firm also says it is investigating other potential Class Actions, including against banks with banned cryptocurrency purchases by credit cards, against banks which improperly froze customer accounts due to legitimate cryptocurrency transactions, and against regulators who exceeded their legal and constitutional authority in attempting to regulate crypto. 

AYO.NEWS says:

This is very interesting indeed. Though we’re sure the social media and search companies will argue they introduced the bans to “protect consumers” from being misled, it’s hard to believe that was the real reason for such sweeping action.

After all, at the same time as the companies were banning the promotion of crypto assets and ICOs, they were themselves working furiously on their own crypto projects! 

For example, though Twitter banned crypto advertising, Jack Dorsey’s own financial firm Square was allowed to promote its crypto-friendly Cash App. And, lets not forget, when Facebook banned all crypto promotion, it was hard at work on its own Libra project! 

Only yesterday we reported that Facebook has launched a dedicated fintech division, Facebook Financial, or ‘F2’, to promote “payments and commerce opportunities,” despite its Libra stablecoin project appearing to be dead in the water. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has published a greenlist of 8 cryptocurrencies approved for sale and trade.

According to an official update, the currencies approved are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Binance USD (BUSD), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Pax Gold (PAXG), and Paxos Standard Token (PAX).

The same cryptos, plus XRP and Ethereum Classic (ETC), have also been approved for custody by licensed entities. 

The NYDFS noted that it reserves the right to remove tokens from the list, add restrictions to specific coins, or even discontinue the list. It also reminded licensed entities that they need to inform the regulator before they use any of the greenlisted cryptos. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s not the most dramatic news in the world, but it does reaffirm the NYDFS as one of the United States’ leading regulatory agencies when it comes to cryptocurrency businesses. 

The state already issues a crypto business license called the BitLicense, and in June announced it would be introducing a conditional type of license aimed at helping smaller businesses regulate, by letting them partner with larger already-licensed ‘Guardians.’

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Following US President Trump issuing executive orders to ban TikTok and WeChat, Tencent Holdings lost nearly $54bn USD in market capitalisation.

Tencent Holdings, which owns WeChat, saw its market capitalisation plunge to $632bn on Friday, as investors took to the lifeboats. The Chinese conglomerate has said it is reviewing its options and will make an announcement shortly. 

Meanwhile, ByteDance, owner of TikTok, has said it will fight Trump’s executive order in court. 

The US ban on the apps is expected to come into force on 20 September 2020. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Given the state of relations between the US and China right now (China blamed for COVID-19, the worsening trade war, and China’s military provocations in the South China Sea and around Taiwan) it’s hard to see how Tencent will get anywhere with legal action. 

Though the White House has made it clear the bans only affect the specific apps, it should be remembered that Tencent also fully or partly owns some of the world’s biggest companies, especially in the entertainment and gaming sectors, including Riot Games, so it has the ability to cause the US some economic pain – for example by relocating business assets and pulling investment in the US. 

Staying with US-China tensions, at the end of July CEO and founder of financial consultancy firm deVere Group, Nigel Green, said the escalating situation could lead to Bitcoin (BTC) replacing gold as the ultimate safe haven asset. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020