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About Chinese Spider
Using data collected primarily through Chrome’s incognito mode to exclude personalised search histories, the KVA identified several autocomplete and pre-fill search queries that directly suggested illegal gambling platforms to users.
Examples included phrases like “online casino zonder Cruks” (online casino without CRUKS, the Dutch self-exclusion registry for problem gamblers) and “beste online casino buitenland” (best online casino abroad).
KVA expressed concern over the potential manipulation of Google’s autocomplete function by unauthorised operators and websites primarily set up to redirect Dutch consumers to illegal gambling offers.
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“Interviews [ … ] with representatives of state monopoly operators across European jurisdictions consistently suggested that advertising restrictions did not lead to consumer migration towards illegal operators,” the report said.
This report arrived amid the UK government’s 2023 white paper on gambling reform, which introduced a statutory levy for funding research and treatment.
A cross-party of MPs similarly branded gambling advertisement as a “public health issue” in a recent parliamentary debate. The comment came after the publication of the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s May report.
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Grasso has also had a professional relationship with Rovito. Patch reported that the mayor, an attorney, has represented the restaurateur in civil matters. A pasta dish made of “fresh tomato sauce and basil, tossed with a touch of olive oil, and topped with fresh ricotta” at Capri Ristorante is also named “Linguini alla Mayor Grasso”
The relationship has drawn additional attention since Rovito’s arrest.
In June, Grasso wrote an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune criticizing what he described as media coverage that unfairly associates Italian Americans with organized crime. However, he did not directly name Rovito in the piece.
