Galway businesses awarded over €1.5 million in Trading Online Voucher Scheme

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January 19, 2021

galway daily mairead farrell td sinn fein nurses midwives pay

Galway West TD Mairéad Farrell has called on the Minister for Health to ‘quit delaying’ and immediately pay student nurses and midwives.

Speaking ahead of Sinn Féin’s motion in the Dáil on Wednesday, Deputy Farrell called on all TDs in Galway West to ‘do the right thing’ and back the motion.

“The Minister for Health has suggested paying student nurses and midwives just €100 per week. This won’t cut it,” said the Deputy Farrell.

“There should be no more empty promises or delays. This is a crisis.

“The review the Minister based this small sum on was conducted before the current crisis and recognised that, if the situation changed, that it would be appropriate to return to the March pay agreement.”

The Sinn Féin TD said that where students are needed to fill employment gaps, they should be paid appropriately.

“There was a severe staffing crisis before the pandemic, and now it is even worse,” she said.

“Throughout the pandemic, student nurses and midwives have been working bravely and tirelessly every day to protect our families and communities from Covid-19.

“The way the Government has treated them has been nothing short of insulting. It’s time to do the right thing and ensure they are paid properly. They deserve respect and must be protected from exploitation.”

Slight decrease in COVID cases at Galway hospitals

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January 19, 2021

The number of people with Covid-19 at Galway hospitals decreased yesterday by four, but the number of Covid patients in ICU increased by one.

University Hospital Galway now has 129 people with Covid-19, while Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinalsoe has ten patients with Covid – a decrease of two at both hospitals.

While the overall hospital situation seems to be moving slowly in the right direction, the number of people with Covid-19 in critical care at UHG rose yesterday to 11, and at Portiuncula there are still two Covid patients in critical care.

Portiuncula is operating beyond capacity, with neither general beds or ICU beds available, and there are 17 general beds available at UHG and two ICU beds.

A total of 202 people with Covid-19 were in ICU in hospitals across the state this morning at 8am and there was a total of 1,954 cases in hospitals.

A further 84 cases were confirmed in Galway by the Department of Health yesterday evening, as well as 2,121 across the Republic.

Eight further Covid-related deaths were also reported.

How to Find and Identify a Good Casino?

By

Thomas O'Brien

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January 19, 2021

If you have played online casino games at least once, then you know that the most difficult thing is to find a safe casino site. There is a huge number of scammers on the Internet; such gaming services either collect and sell personal data of users or take money, not allowing people to win. Luckily, our experts have prepared three simple rules to help you choose a safe casino and win real money.

#1 – Trust Good Brands Only

The main rule is that you can only trust brands. If you want to safely play video slots or spin the roulette, visit the best online casinos in New Zealand; such services spend huge amounts of money on advertising and polishing their reputation. Also, companies do not engage in fraud and provide top-notch service to their customers.

When playing at such a casino, you don’t have to worry about:

The safety of your personal data;
Absolute security of banking operations;
Honesty and game fairness of slot machines. The service return rate is set at 94-97%;
Absolute payment of earned money.

Well-known casinos always adhere to industry rules. That is why seasoned players recommend that you carefully study all the terms and conditions before registering an account there.

#2 – Check Legality & Safety of a Casino

When registering on a licensed casino, you can:

Play popular slots;
Place a bet on the game of your favorite team;
Claim a bonus.

On top of that, when winning real money at a casino, you can be 100% sure that it will be paid. There is absolutely no risk that your game will be manipulated or that you will be cheated. Licensed casinos are strictly monitored by dedicated regulatory bodies and never cheat their players.

#3 – Keep an Eye on Bonus Offers

You can also assess the safety and professional level of an online casino by checking the bonuses it offers. Remember that the main task of casino bonuses is to let you enjoy the game at the max. However, not all promotions and bonus offers will do this for you. Gambling experts recommend that you check bonus terms and conditions before you claim bonus gaming chips. Today, you can choose from the following offers:

Welcome bonuses paid for the first registration;
Additional money or free spins for deposits;
Loyalty bonus credits;
Free spins and cash gifts;
Cashback;
Reload and referral bonuses.

Before you claim a bonus, read its terms and conditions attentively. If you find a service that gives out bonuses to every win or offers massive no deposit bonuses, this is most likely a trick.

The wager will be very large, and you will spend a huge amount of time to get back what you’ve initially invested. But in the end, it will be impossible to recoup. Be careful when choosing an online casino and use trusted services only.

13.45% rise Pandemic Unemployment Payments in Galway

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January 19, 2021

Galway Daily news Galway allocated €9 million for LEADER programme 2023-2027

The number of people in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment in Galway went up by 13.45% in the past week amid the ongoing lockdown.

There are 24,353 people in Galway who are receiving a PUP payment today, an increase of 2,889 people compared with last week.

Nationwide, the government is making payments of more than €138 million to 460,000 people on the pandemic unemployment scheme today.

This represents a total increase of just over 60,000 people who have come onto the payment in the past week.

These figures are in addition to the 189,860 people who were on the Live Register at the end of December.

Speaking about the figures, Minister Heather Humphreys said that the are a “stark reminder” of the impact that COVID-19 is having on “individuals, families and businesses” across the country.

“The last time we had this level of claims for PUP was in June 2020 as the country was beginning to emerge from the initial period of restrictions last Summer.”

“These figures are unprecedented in scale and demonstrate the Government’s absolute commitment to supporting impacted workers at this extremely difficult time.”

The Pandemic Unemployment Scheme will remain open to new entrants until March 31 due to the fresh lockdown.

Minister Humphreys added “I am encouraged to see that over 5,000 people closed their PUP claims in the past week for return to work purposes.”

“It is welcoming to see that even in these times, some people are finding ways to keep businesses going and I would like to acknowledge the efforts that many people are making to seek alternative options and create new ways of continuing their business.”

“I would remind these people and others who may be considering something similar of the range of supports available from Government at gov.ie to help support their business during these difficult times.”

Galway receives €150k boost for outdoor recreation amenities

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January 19, 2021

People who enjoy the incredible outdoors of the west of Ireland will be glad to hear that almost €150,000 in funding has been allocated for outdoors recreation projects in Galway.

The Department of Rural and Community Development has allocated funding totalling €146,220 towards eight projects in Galway.

The funding comes under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme, which supports the development, promotion and maintenance of outdoor amenities such as trails, walkways, cycleways, and blueways.

In Galway Forum has been allocated €20,000 for upgrades to the Binn Shleibhe Loop hill walk at Cornamona.

Two separate grants of €20,000 each have been made for the Lismany-Kylemore Trail and Boardwalk at Lismany Kylemore Bog, Laurencetown, Ballinasloe.

The County Council will spend €20,000 replacing and upgrading the boardwalk and viewing platform, and the same amount again on a trail upgrade.

Comhair na nOilean has received funding for two projects. Out and About on the Offshore Islands aims to promote Ireland’s offshore islands, with €19,935 awarded for the project.

And the group will also receive €12,600 for promotion and maintenance of the looped walks and blueways on Inishbofin.

The Clonbur Walking and Bicycle Trails will benefit from €18,000 for trail maintenance. The same amount has been allocated for upgrades to the bog road and carpark at the Glenamaddy Frass Cloncoon Bog Looped Walks.

Lastly, Phase 1 of the Aughrim Forest Trail Project at Ballygar has been allocated €17,685.

The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development. The projects are co-funded by the Department and Fáilte Ireland.

These projects fall under Measure 1 of the scheme, targeting small local projects. Minister Heather Humphreys announced almost €3.2 million in funding for 173 Measure 1 projects on Monday.

“The last year has demonstrated more than ever the importance of outdoor amenities for our physical and mental wellbeing,” Minister Humphreys said.

“There has been a notable increase in the number of people using our walking trails, cycleways, parks and other resources to exercise and keep fit, while respecting the guidelines on social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis.”

The scheme, which began in 2016, is now “proving its worth” as more and more people make use of the new and improved outdoor facilities which have received investment under it.

“These facilities will represent a tremendous long-term asset for rural communities and visitors alike into the future.”

Should You Save Your Money, or Invest?

By

Angela Mc Bride

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January 19, 2021

Making the right decisions with your cash is crucial to becoming financially independent. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to figure out when you should be spending your cash on future opportunities, and when you should be saving it for a rainy day. If you’ve had some extra cash in your bank for a while now, you might be wondering whether you’re better off investing that cash or leaving it untouched. Today, we’re going to walk you through the basics of making the right decisions with your finances. Remember, although the best bet is usually to use both a combination of saving and investing to unlock the full potential of your future, it’s important to find a strategy that meets with your needs and risk levels.

When is Saving a Good Idea?

As you probably already know, saving is all about putting money aside, so you have it for future goals, or unexpected expenses. Usually, many save to accomplish something specific, like having enough cash for a family holiday or a deposit on a new home. However, you can also maintain savings that are there to protect you if something goes wrong in your life. Most experts recommend that it’s important to save if you don’t have any cash aside to help you out if something disastrous happens in your world.

It’s recommended to have at least 3 months’ worth of income available, so that you can pay for emergency events if you suddenly lose your job, or something else happens that throws you off track. After you’ve got your emergency fund set up, it’s generally useful to save around 10% of your income each month to whatever else you might want to accomplish with your cash next. Of course, you can put saving on hold for a while if you have debts that you want to clear first.

What About Investing?

It usually makes sense to think about your investment opportunities alongside saving solutions. With the right education and technical analysis, you can use your investments to build your cash and improve the amount of savings you have access to. You’ll need to think about the kind of actions you’re going to take to build your money, however. The sort of strategies that you use for short-term goals will be very different to the ones that you embrace for long-term wealth development. Do your research and ask yourself what kind of investor you want to be.

If you’re keen to develop some more money in your nest egg for retirement and future opportunities, then you can place some relatively low-risk cash into long-term strategies that deliver interest and dividends over time. If you’re looking to start seeing the impact on your lifestyle right away, then you’ll need to take a little more risk for immediate results. If you’re not sure where to get started, you might find that talking to a financial advisor will be a good way to explore your options. Remember, it’s also possible to open accounts with online brokerage companies that allow you to test your strategies and see how your skills will pay off without spending a small fortune on accidents.

A Brief History Of Irish Gambling

By

Angela Mc Bride

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January 19, 2021

Gambling and Ireland have always had a close relationship, especially when it comes to sports betting. The biggest interest in respect to betting in Ireland is definitely in horse racing and they are renowned for their horse racing events. However, how did Ireland get to this point?

The English Influence

Ireland’s gambling industry was supercharged by the English. This all started happening in the 17th and 18th centuries with two major key factors behind it. Firstly, horse racing became more established as a sport, and the second reason is the re-establishment of English rule in Ireland. Ireland was a colony but had some degree of autonomy. However, the English influence was not there to regulate behavior which made gambling much easier in Ireland and it went unnoticed.

The 1926 Betting Act

The IRA and British Forces have fought for three years, and Ireland eventually regained control of its nation in 1922. This enabled Ireland to govern over its land and the 1926 Betting Act was brought in order to outlaw illegal sports bookmakers. This meant that bookmakers needed legal betting licenses in order to bet. This is also a legal requirement today, and you should certainly trust sites that have one, and you can easily find such online casinos on this site. Thanks to this Act, betting entered legal courses which made it safer.

The Gaming and Lotteries Act

After the Betting Act was introduced, almost 40 years passed and a new act was introduced. This made business a bit harder for casinos, and the Gaming and Lotteries Act regulated establishments that were offering betting services that were not connected to sports and horse racing. However, there was a loophole and gambling games continued in private clubs that were allowed to offer such casino games to their members.

Paddy Power’s Influence

The name Paddy Power comes to your mind when you think about Ireland and gambling. This bookmaker was founded in 1988 in Dublin. This was a unison of three existing Irish bookmakers and Paddy Power was born. This company became one of the biggest gambling operators in the world and its headquarters is still in Dublin.

Gambling Control Bill

In the 90s and early 00s, members’ clubs and the digital revolution pressured the Irish government to replace the out-of-date Gaming and Lotteries Act with a modern system. So, in 2013, the parliament passed the Gambling Control Bill. This Bill was designed to regulate and not prohibit gambling, which will ensure fairness in the system and protect the users. So, with this, all forms of gambling became legal and were regulated by one Bill.

However, even though the Bill was good news for casinos, only 40 licenses can be issued and venues cannot have more than 15 tables. This is brought with the aim to prevent a Last Vegas-style of super casinos from forming.

Even though Ireland often has an underground reputation when it comes to gambling, they have managed to regulate all gambling activities. Sports betting was the start of Ireland’s gambling rise and today all of the casinos, both land-based and online, can safely and legally operate and their consumers are perfectly safe.

81 people report side effects after getting COVID vaccine in Ireland

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January 18, 2021

galway daily news Vaccine booster clinic continuing today for people in their 50s

Out of tens of thousands of people who received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine before 11 January, just 81 reported side effects, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has said this evening.

Chief Executive of HPRA Dr Lorraine Nolan reassured people today that they were generally consistent with the known and anticipated side effects which emerged during the trials.

While the vast majority had no side effects, 81 people reported side effects such as abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, joint pain and pains in the arms, some experience of dizziness and headache.

Dr Lorraine Nolan said that they were events of a ‘mild to moderate nature which resolved or were resolving at the time of reporting’.

By 13 January, over 77,000 people in the state had been given the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

“While the relatively mild effects described are of course uncomfortable for those who experience them, they do pass quickly and generally do not require any medical treatment,” said Dr Nolan.

“Safety monitoring of all medicines, including vaccines, is central to the remit of the HPRA and we intend to publish a regular update of the number and nature of reports regarding suspected side effects with COVID-19 vaccines, as the vaccination roll-out continues.”

Coronavirus: 84 new cases reported in Galway this evening

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January 18, 2021

Galway Daily news 25 percent drop in COVID cases in Galway hospitals

A further 84 cases have been confirmed in Galway by the Department of Health this evening, as well as 2,121 across the Republic, as the daily number of new coronavirus cases continues to fall.

An additional eight deaths related to the disease were also reported today by health officials, taking the total number of Covid-related deaths in the state to 2,616.

Of the new cases reported today, 753 are in Dublin, 236 in Cork, 142 in Wexford, 126 in Kildare and 109 in Limerick.

1,975 people with Covid-19 were in hospital at 2pm today, 200 of whom were in critical care wards.

Dr Tony Holohan said that this third wave of the pandemic has seen higher level of hospitalisations across all age groups.

“There are now more sick people in hospital than any time in the course of this pandemic,” said the CMO.

“The risk that this disease poses to the individual who is infected has not changed.

“What has changed is that we are experiencing a much greater level of community transmission and as a result we are seeing higher numbers of people with severe illness who require hospitalisation or admission to intensive care and higher numbers of mortality.

“Please continue to stay at home and drive down this infection in our community.”

2,793 cases have been reported in Galway in the past fortnight.

Punter smashed TVs at bookies after losing bets

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January 18, 2021

Galway Daily courts Punter smashed TVs at bookies after losing bets

One gambler took his losses on the greyhound races extremely badly, ending up before the court for smashing up a bookies after his bets fell through.

John McDonagh (22), of Castlepark, Ballybane, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal damage at Ladbrokes bookies in Ballybrit before Galway District Court.

The court heard that on December 17 of 2019, McDonagh placed several bets on greyhound races at the bookies, all of which lost.

He reacted to this disappointment by grabbing a chair and smashing the TV he was watching the races on.

His father then ushered him out of the bookies, but he returned shortly afterwards and smashed two more televisions.

Judge Alan Mitchell remarked “how could he blame the TVs for his loss” at hearing this,

The total damage done to the property in the bookkeepers was valued at €1,470. McDonagh had €1,000 in court to offer as compensation for the store for the damages.

Judge Mitchell asked the state to find out if Ladbrokes would be willing to accept this by way of compensation.

The judge adjourned the case to March 29 for sentencing if they would.

Galway City traffic down by 50% compared with last year

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January 18, 2021

Galway Daily traffic Traffic delays expected from N65 roadworks today

Traffic in Galway City under the current restrictions is down to almost half the level it was at this time last year.

Data from Transport Infrastructure Ireland that car numbers on the N6 Bothar na dTreabh, one of the busiest routes in Galway City, was 48% lower Monday morning compared with the same day last year.

Between 7am and 10am on Monday, January 18 there were 2,445 cars recorded on Bothar na dTreabh by TII.

This is also 3 percent fewer than the same day last week, and a reduction of one third on the traffic levels seen before the introduction of Level 3 restrictions last October.

Ireland is currently under Level 5 restrictions for dealing with COVID-19, under which people are not allowed to travel further than 5km from their homes except for specified reasons such as work, medical appointments, or essential family business.

The current restrictions also entail the closure of the vast majority of retail and many services, which would affect traffic in and out of the city.

TII has been monitoring traffic levels on ten major routes around the country since the early days of the the coronavirus pandemic.

Bothar na dTreabh had the biggest weekly decline of 3 percent, matched with the N16 east of Manorhamilton, while many other major routes saw traffic increase in the past week.

The largest year on year drop compared with January 2020 is on the M9 motorway between Mullinavat and Waterford, where car numbers are down 59%.

Over 400 fines issued for non-essential travel since last week

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January 18, 2021

galway daily news "detailed policing operation" for the northwest as Gardaí ask public to comply with health guidelines

Gardaí have issued over issued over 400 fines for non-essential travel since the introduction of on-the-spot fines last Monday.

More than 300 of the fines were handed out to people over the weekend for suspected breaches of the Level 5 Covid restrictions on travelling.

Before the weekend, An Garda Síochána advised the public they should plan their activities over to take account that people are only allowed to exercise within 5km of their home.

Gardaí say the vast majority of people were compliant with this over the weekend.

The 5km limit includes the distance travelled to a location to exercise, meaning people cannot travel more than 5km to a location to exercise.

By Friday evening, 74 fines for non-essential travel had been processed. The fines issued over the weekend will now be checked and processed, and definitive figures will be available later this week.

Burst watermain leaves people and businesses across city without water

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January 18, 2021

Galway Daily news Water outages in Moycullen

People and businesses in the west side of Galway city are without water today after a large watermain on the Letteragh Road burst.

The unplanned water outage is affecting Salthill, Dominick Street the West End, Newcastle, University Road, St Mary’s Road, Taylor’s Hill, Kingston and the south end of Knocknacarra.

Galway City Council has confirmed that supply to University Hospital Galway is independent and will remain unaffected.

The earliest return of supply is estimated to be 6pm this evening.

“Irish Water is working with Galway City Council to repair a significant burst which is causing water outages to a large number of customers today,” said Tim O’Connor, Irish Water.

“People living and working in these areas are asked to conserve water where possible and to only use what they need whilst continuing to adhere to public health advice on hand washing and hygiene regarding COVID-19 while these repairs are underway.

“Simple water conservation efforts can have a big impact, such as taking showers over baths and fixing dripping taps where it is possible to do so.

“There are lots more tips on how to conserve water in your home, business or school on the Water Conservation section of our website.”

Scam Alert: Gardaí warn of fake courier emails and texts

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January 18, 2021

Gardaí have warned of a scam where emails and texts are being sent to people in Ireland pretending to be from various courier companies.

The scam texts ask recipients to pay an additional cost for customs clearance before the company will deliver their parcel.

In some instances the scammers have even sent out texts in Irish.

Recipients are asked not to provide payment details, and to take a screenshot of the correspondence and delete it. Anyone who believes they have been the victim of fraud is asked to report the matter to their local Garda station.

An Garda Síochána is advising people who receive unsolicited correspondence and are awaiting a package to first independently verify the status of their package with the relevant postal service or courier.

People are advised they should never click on links or open attachments in unsolicited texts or emails, and never provide payment details or give away any personal bank details.

Gardaí say that the scams takes advantage of the confusion around Brexit and uses this uncertainty to defraud people.

Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau issued the following advice on scam texts and emails: “Be careful, do your research, don’t rush in, ask yourself why me?

“Why am I getting this great offer, and if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”

COVID-19: Increase in hospital and ICU numbers at UHG

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January 18, 2021

The number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 in Galway’s hospitals, and the number of ICU patients, has increased in the latest figures.

The number of confirmed cases in Galway’s hospitals has risen to 143 as of 8pm on Sunday, five more than the previous day.

There are 131 confirmed cases at University Hospital Galway, and another 12 at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe.

At UHG there are 10 known COVID-19 patients in Intensive Care, one more than reported yesterday, and two at Portiuncula.

There is one further suspected case in the ICU at Portiuncula Hospital.

Nationwide there were 1,982 cases in Irish hospitals, of whom 193 were in the ICU.

There had been seven deaths related to COVID-19 in the 24 hours prior to this.

Galway had 181 new cases reported yesterday, out of 2,944 nationwide, with 13 new deaths also notified.

Galway Hospice to share in over €10m recurring annual funding

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January 18, 2021

Galway Daily news Galway Hospice being redesignated for financial stability

Galway Hospice will share in more than €10 million in recurring annual funding announced for the voluntary hospice sector starting from this year.

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly announced that annual funding will be provided by the government, starting with €10.68 million in 2021, to address a core shortfall in funding that is making hospices unsustainable.

Galway Hospice has up until relied almost entirely on private donations to continue providing palliative care in the city and county.

The Coronavirus pandemic has hit them extremely hard, as fundraising actives have been severely curtailed due to restrictions imposed in the pandemic.

At the same time, as a care facility with extremely vulnerable residents, Galway Hospice has incurred

Minister Donnelly said “Ireland is fortunate to have a dedicated voluntary hospice sector, who have worked tirelessly down through the years, in partnership with local communities, to expand the network of hospice services around the country.”

He praised workers at hospices for maintaining “critical and ongoing care services” against the backdrop of all the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Hospices have supported acute hospitals, community health care services and nursing homes in ensuring those with palliative care needs continue to receive compassionate care during this crisis Minister Donnelly said.

The Minister said that this funding reflects the “unique role” voluntary hospices play in Irish society.

“The additional funding is designed to take account of the potential impact of the loss of fundraising income during the public health emergency, but most importantly, ensures when such activity gets back on track it can be used to enhance and improve services, rather than fund core services,” Stephen Donnelly said.

The funding will benefit the hospices which make up the Voluntary Hospice Group:

Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services, Harold’s Cross, Blackrock and Wicklow
St Francis Hospice, Raheny and Blanchardstown
Marymount Hospice, Cork.
Milford Care Centre, Limerick
North West Hospice, Sligo
Galway Hospice

Responsible Gambling

By

Thomas O'Brien

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January 18, 2021

Responsible gambling is a concept that encompasses the requirements and policies that gambling stakeholders must adhere to ensure a safe user experience, high-quality standards, and to protect bettors from the negative effects of gambling. This is because gambling is supposed to be a fun activity and not an economic activity, and those who do it for fun risk an amount they can afford to lose.

However, some can easily overindulge in betting and lose significant income. The traditional and online gambling operators and gaming providers must adhere to the responsible gaming rules and regulations.

So, what is the importance of responsible gaming? https://smartcasinoguide.com/ has all the details on responsible gambling and what it involves.

What responsible gaming involves

Individuals who adhere to responsible gambling can easily control or manage the time and money in betting. Additionally, they see it as fun and not an economic activity. These bettors only bet with the amount that is not risky to lose, and when they lose, they don’t place more bets to recover the lost money. Being responsible for gambling also means understanding the odds and knowing whether you have chances of winning.

But responsible gambling falls more within the gaming providers, such as traditional and online gaming providers. And the software providers must also adhere to these requirements to ensure fairness to the players.

Benefits of Responsible Gaming

Protecting the Vulnerable Gamblers

Responsible gambling rules and regulations have one main goal: to protect vulnerable players. Some bettors easily become betting addicts, and they spend most of their time and money on these activities. This will affect their normal activities and they should, therefore, be protected.

Addicted players can be helped through self-exclusion programs, limiting the time and money they spend on these websites. Some countries like the UK also have regulations that give players more control over the time they spend on the websites and also enables them to set financial limits for their betting accounts.

To prevent betting sites from criminal activities.

Like other online platforms, betting sites are liable to criminal activities for financial transactions. Online criminals usually target these sites to get private personal and payment methods information. This data is dangerous at the hands of criminals, and operators are requested to install various security layers to their websites to block hackers and money launderers.

Prevent Underage Players from Gambling

Responsible gambling also aims to remove underage gamblers from the list; in some countries, the legal gambling age is 18, and in others, it’s 21. Countries usually require gambling operators to adopt measures of protecting minors from betting in their jurisdictions until they are of the right age. Websites usually adopt a verification process during registration to ensure the gamblers are of the mandatory age.

Additionally, they advise parents to have parental controls on their kids’ phones to prevent them from accessing these websites. This ensures the bettors are only of the required age.

To ensure the protection of users’ information.

Betting operators have thousands of customers’ personal and payment information. How will it protect this information to ensure hackers and other players do not access this information without their consent. Companies usually have strong data protection policies that control access to gamblers’ data. They must ensure all the stakeholders adhere to these privacy regulations while adhering to their regulators’ rules and requirements.

Ethical Advertisements

At times, some gambling operators employ aggressive advertising methods to reach their users. While it’s the right of every company to do so, they should have relevant and compliant advertising codes. This includes the information they are portraying is correct, and they don’t target vulnerable or underage gamblers. Operators should also desist from using customer’s personal information for marketing purposes without their consent.

Bottomline

Making gambling responsible is a decision that falls to the gaming regulators, online operators, and the players. Additionally, the regulator should be at the forefront to ensure all rules and regulations are adhered to by this industry’s stakeholders. This will help the players be protected from gambling addiction, online threats, privacy breaches, and no underage player gambles on the sites.

Players should always view gambling as a pastime activity and not an economic activity. They must know the risks while exercising balance and control so that gambling doesn’t affect aspects of their lives and others. Also, responsible gambling offers them a chance to make responsible decisions about gambling and get help if they have bad vices.

Prince Ranjitsinhji | A Lasting Bond Between Ireland & India

By

Angela Mc Bride

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January 18, 2021

The Indian Cricket Prince and the Galway Castle

In 1924, Prince Ranjitsinhji, an Indian cricket legend took a trip to the Emerald Isle and formed a bond between India and Ireland that has managed to survive to this very day. The Maharajah of Nawanager was one of the best batsmen of his time and was the first Indian to play international cricket – he played 15 Test matches for England. He left such a mark on the cricketing world that the Ranji Trophy was named in his honour. However, India is not the place this cricket legend is remembered though as 10,000 miles away in Connemara, Galway, he also made a name for himself.

Maharaja of Connemara

In 1924, Ranji became the first head of an Indian state to pay a visit to Ireland. During his time in the Emerald Isle, he took a visit to Ballynahinch Castle, which is located in Connemara, Galway. He fell in love with the castle, the beautiful landscape, the friendly people, and the fishing right away. So, he decided to buy the castle and become the Maharaja of Connemara.

He returned to Galway and his castle every summer for the next decade, right up until his untimely death from a heart attack in 1933. He became very popular among the locals and every summer he was greeted by his neighbours on the small station to welcome him back.

With his cricketing days behind him, Prince Ranji, as the locals called him, loved to spend his time fishing. Luckily for him, Ballynahinch just so happens to be one of Europe’s best salmon and trout fishing estates. He was loved so much by the locals that they even decided to name a special fishing spot after him – Ranji’s Rock.

Ranji might not have played cricket in Ireland, but we are sure that he would be proud of the current strength of cricket in his adopted country. Cricket might not be as popular as Gaelic football is in Ireland, but it certainly growing in popularity with each passing year. Just like in India, in order to commemorate his memory, an annual cricket tournament was set up and the trophy was named after him. This really helps to highlight the bond that exists between Ireland and India, and Indian cricket fans would have been delighted to see Ireland beat England at the 2011 Cricket World Cup in India thanks to a magnificent century from Kevin O’Brien.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

The Ranji Trophy is a first-class domestic cricket competition that 38 teams from the 28 Indian states compete in. These same teams also compete in another great domestic cricket competition that is Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The main difference between the two competitions is that the latter is a 20-over tournament. It is also named after a great Indian cricketer, who has the distinction of being the first Indian Test cricketer to score a century overseas.

The 2021 edition of this popular tournament started on the 10th of January and it has a special meaning this year as it is the first domestic cricket event to take place in India since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Most Indians are dubbing this a miniature Indian Premier League as some regular IPL participants will be taking part in it. Additionally, as soon as the competition comes to an end, the 2021 IPL auction will be held, meaning all players will be trying their best in order to earn a lucrative IPL contract.

The stars of the cricketing world usually do not play in this event as they play a lot of cricket throughout the year, so they need to take a bit of a break. However, since cricket has been quite limited recently, they see this as a fantastic way to get a bit of practice before the IPL starts. So, who can you expect to see playing at this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy?

We have listed the big names below for you:

Robin Uthappa
Suresh Raina
Dinesh Karthik
Ishant Sharma
Shikar Dhawan
Sarfaraz Khan
Suryakumar Yadav
Vijay Shankar
Varun Arron

Betting on This Competition

This will be a very entertaining tournament to watch and will help cricket fans across the world take their minds off the current pandemic situation for a bit. If you really enjoy cricket, then you will agree that there is not a lot better out there than sitting down with a warm mug of tea and watching the best players in the sport battle it out to be crowned champions.

However, there is a way that you can make things even more interesting and that is by placing some bets on the action. Obviously, in order to do this, you will need a good online cricket betting website that provides a variety of markets and strong odds for this tournament. A good bookie will give their customers the chance to bet on fun markets such as the best bowler, best batsman, Man of the Match, total runs scored, and so on.

Indian Legend Yuvraj Singh Will be Participating

Yuvraj Singh, who is known for smashing Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes, has decided to put his retirement on hold in order to make an appearance in this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Singh, who overcome lung cancer in 2013, retired from cricket in the summer of 2020, but he decided to come out of retirement and play for Punjab in this competition after he was approached by Puneet Bali, the secretary of the club. If he plays like the Yuvraj Singh of old, then we are definitely going to see some fireworks.

However, cricketing fans across the globe will be sad to hear that Singh’s former India teammate, MS Dhoni, has decided that he will give this tournament a miss. Therefore, Dhoni will be playing at the 2021 IPL with little to no match practice under his belt. However, despite this, we all know how talented his is and that he can still have a huge impact on any game that he plays in.

The World Will See S. Sreesanth Again

Sreesanth received a lifetime cricket ban back in 2013 when he decided to get involved in a bit of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League. However, on appeal, this ban was later reduced to just 7 years, meaning that he was eligible to start playing again in September of 2020. When his ban came to an end, he was contacted by Kerala to see if he would like to join their squad and he jumped at the opportunity to play cricket again. He might not start every game due to the fact that he is 37 now, but when he does play, we are sure that he has enough left in him to cause opposition batsman quite a bit of grief.

Suresh Raina Will Also Play

While Dhoni decided that he was not going to play in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Raina, who is a former teammate of Dhoni and retired from International cricket at the same time, has opted to take part in it. Raina, who did not play at the 2020 IPL due to personal reasons, left a tweet in December stating that he will be playing for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He has been out of competitive cricket for over a year, but he has made sure to keep himself fit to make sure he can have a good 2021 domestic season.

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