Category: 3. Business

Offshore gambling companies are using third-party websites to entice Australian addicts to resume betting, even after gamblers have placed voluntary restrictions on themselves.

The new trend, targeting those registered with the federal government’s BetStop service, has been condemned as “deeply concerning and opportunistic” by the media regulator, which has begun contacting the websites to “make them aware of Australia’s interactive gambling laws”.

Offshore gambling companies are banned from targeting Australians. But they have been paying websites that promote their inducements, link to their pages and instruct people on how to bypass the BetStop service, which is designed to block registrants from gambling.

The websites, whose URLs occasionally reference Australian cities, are paid a commission if readers follow their recommendations and gamble with overseas agencies, which are predominately based in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao.

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In some cases, they appeal to addicts who may want to resume betting before their self-exclusion period expires. Lifting this ban early requires a statutory declaration confirming a registrant has received counselling from a qualified professional.

One website – promoting a gambling business that offers up to $10,800 in “welcome bonuses”, which is illegal in Australia – suggests people registered with BetStop may have made a “rash decision” and provides advice to continue gambling.

Another site claims offshore bookmakers offered “an enhanced level of security”.

Regulators in Australia have warned the opposite is true.

BetStop, which was launched in August 2023, allows people to be blocked from gambling, and bookmakers are also banned from contacting them. The scheme, which has 45,000 registrants, only applies to Australian companies.

Under Australian law, offshore gambling companies are banned form targeting Australian consumers and encouraging them to gamble.

But there are no restrictions on third-party affiliates promoting their products in return for payment.

Australia’s media regulator has been concerned about affiliate marketers promoting illegal gambling services for many years. But the targeting of people listed on BetStop is a relatively new tactic.

“This is a deeply concerning and opportunistic practice that attempts to undermine the purpose of the national self-exclusion register”, an Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) spokesperson said.

The websites, which Guardian Australia has chosen not to name to protect consumers, promote a lack of regulation and generous inducements. One promotes offshore companies as having to adhere to “less challenging gambling laws”.

Most websites acknowledge they are affiliated with the bookmakers they promote, and some confirm they receive commissions from them.

Nerilee Hing, a professor at CQUniversity who has researched affiliate marketing in the gambling industry, said targeting people who had registered with BetStop was “a clear example of predatory practices that aims to attract the most vulnerable”.

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“Unfortunately, the current regulatory environment has limited capacity to monitor and prevent harmful and illegal practices by affiliates, regardless of whether they are acting on behalf of Australian-licensed or offshore operators,” Hing said.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform’s chief executive, Martin Thomas, said the practice was “gravely concerning” and should be treated seriously.

“It appears a deliberate undermining of BetStop which the government repeatedly boasts as one of its key achievements on gambling reform,” Thomas said.

Kai Cantwell, the chief executive of Responsible Wagering Australia, which represents some of the biggest online bookmakers regulated in Australia, agreed.

“[Acma] should be given the power and tools they need to actually block these sites, cut off their payments and shut down the affiliate networks that funnel people into harm”.

Affiliate marketing does occur in Australia, but it cannot target those on BetStop. An inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy called for the practice to be banned.

Consumer advocate Lauren Levin said blocking access to offshore gambling websites was ineffective as they merely returned with slightly different URLs. She instead said banks should be stopped from sending money to unlicensed gambling operators.

In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found via the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic on 020 7381 7722, or GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In the US, call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 800-GAMBLER or text 800GAM.

By Emily Bary

Investors were worried AWS was falling behind in AI. A new growth trajectory has restored confidence in Amazon’s cloud business.

AWS’s revenue growth saw a major uptick in the third quarter, and analysts see more room for acceleration.

UBS analyst Stephen Ju likened Amazon’s stock to a “coiled spring” ahead of earnings. Now investors are quickly seeing its powerful release.

Amazon’s stock (AMZN) has been bottled up this year, held back by ho-hum cloud growth that raised investor concerns about the competitiveness of AWS, the company’s profit engine. But AWS reignited in the latest quarter, and with more capacity coming online, Wall Street is upbeat about what’s to come.

Amazon’s stock is up more than 11% shortly after Friday’s open.

Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney wrote of an “AWS unlock” as the cloud unit’s 20% year-over-year revenue growth rate in the third quarter was its fastest in 11 quarters. Amazon also cited a 150% sequential boom in revenue from its Trainium custom-chip business, which had been another source of investor doubt before the report.

With those trends in tow, “the AI narrative has flipped positive for AWS,” Mahaney said in a note to clients.

See also: Amazon earnings are out. Here’s why the stock is soaring.

Wedbush’s Scott Devitt also honed in on a “positive narrative shift,” while commenting that Amazon’s executive team appears to have won more credibility.

“Following a reacceleration in AWS growth and positive commentary this quarter, we believe investors have regained comfort in management’s ability to retain a leading position in the AI space,” he said in a report.

AWS’s growth went from 17.5% in the June quarter to 20.2% in the September quarter and could be 22% in the December quarter, according to Devitt.

“We are encouraged by the implied level of demand in the coming quarters given the pace of backlog growth and a higher [capital-expenditure] guide for 2025,” he wrote. “We think management’s revenue guide suggests a sequential acceleration in AWS growth” in the fourth quarter as well.

Mizuho’s Lloyd Walmsley said management seemed to be “intentionally avoiding the term ‘accelerate,’” but he, too, thinks AWS’s growth rate will pick up in the fourth quarter. His projection for the segment calls for 21% growth.

And Amazon’s stock can move higher as well, Walmsley said, citing a depressed 24x forward price-to-earnings multiple versus the company’s three-year average of 31x.

“Bottom line, we believe shares are set for a meaningful rebound,” he wrote. Amazon’s stock was the worst year-to-date performer in the “Magnificent Seven” heading into earnings, with a roughly 2% gain that also meaningfully lagged the S&P 500’s SPX 17% rise over the same span.

Don’t miss: The ‘no-hire, no-fire’ job market may have ended, as Amazon, UPS make bold layoff moves

While AWS gets a lot of attention because of its importance to Amazon’s profits and its perception as a gauge of early AI monetization, analysts saw things to like elsewhere in the technology giant’s business.

Advertising also punches above its weight in terms of its profit impact at Amazon, and that business grew 24% in the quarter, showing a further acceleration from the 23% rate sported in the June quarter.

In thinking about advertising and AWS, Pivotal Research Group’s Jeffrey Wlodarczak said that Amazon “operates two high-margin growthy businesses,” on top of its “massive low-margin logistics business with unmatched scale with the potential to materially juice margins medium to long-term using AI in combination with robotics.”

In retail, Mahaney called out “robust” and “consistent” growth. Retail makes up the lion’s share of Amazon’s revenue even though it’s less profitable than advertising and the cloud.

E-commerce and advertising “are monsters and have strong catalysts near term,” Mizuho trading-desk analyst Jordan Klein added.

With Amazon’s businesses all humming and AWS growth ticking higher, investors seem willing to put up with heightened AI spending: The company now expects $125 billion in capital expenditures for the year, up from $100 billion previously.

See more: Meta’s stock slide erases $215 billion in market value, as Wall Street pans ‘runaway’ AI spending

-Emily Bary

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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  10-31-25 0951ET
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Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank, has announced the renewal and expansion of its strategic partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments, aimed at further enhancing its debit card portfolio and redefining the banking experience for its customers across the country.

The collaboration was formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Dr. Syed Amir Ali, Deputy CEO – Meezan Bank, and Leila Serhan, Visa’s Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant & Pakistan. The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, Founding President & CEO – Meezan Bank, Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Group Head Consumer Finance, along with other senior executives from both organizations.

As part of this renewed alliance, Meezan Bank, which operates one of the fastest-growing and Shariah-compliant debit card portfolios in the country, will introduce a range of premium and lifestyle-oriented Visa debit card products, offering customers exclusive benefits tailored to their evolving financial needs. These include enhanced digital banking services, access to global privileges, seamless international payment capabilities, and bespoke travel and lifestyle rewards. Rolled out in phases, these initiatives will transform how customers transact, manage, and experience digital payments, further positioning Meezan Bank’s position as a leader in digital Islamic banking in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, Founding President & CEO – Meezan Bank, said, at Meezan Bank, we remain deeply committed to investing in our digital infrastructure to deliver a seamless, secure, and Shariah-compliant banking experience for our customers. Our collaboration with Visa takes this commitment further, empowering our debit card customers with advanced digital payment solutions that combine global standards while addressing local market needs. This partnership marks another milestone in our digital transformation journey as we continue to move an increasing share of retail transactions to digital channels.”

Umar Khan, Country Manager, Pakistan & Afghanistan at Visa, shared, Visa is proud to strengthen its partnership with Meezan Bank. Together, we aim to deliver cutting-edge, secure, and personalized payment solutions that align with the unique preferences of Pakistan’s growing Islamic banking consumers. This collaboration is a testament to our joint vision for building a digitally inclusive and innovative financial ecosystem in the country.”

This renewed partnership builds on a long-standing relationship between Meezan Bank and Visa, extending beyond card issuance. It reflects a shared commitment to innovation, digital inclusion, lifestyle benefits, and technology-driven initiatives aimed at enhancing customer experience and promoting a cashless ecosystem in Pakistan.

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