{"id":1552,"date":"2018-02-07T14:38:19","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T14:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/?p=1552"},"modified":"2021-06-29T16:21:59","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T16:21:59","slug":"casino-industry-rife-sexual-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/gambling-news\/casino-industry-rife-sexual-harassment\/","title":{"rendered":"Casino industry rife with sexual harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>The UK gambling regulator has called for the casino industry to eradicate sexism, warning that the industry\u2019s reputation was at stake. Sarah Harrison, chief executive of the Gambling Commission has threatened to boycott the upcoming ICE Totally Gaming trade fair, the industry\u2019s largest, if operators don\u2019t change their tone. Conference goers have noted in the past that many casino industry players use \u201cscantily clad\u201d women in no more than swim suits to attract visitors to their stalls.<\/p>\n Harrison has urged senior figures in the industry to clean up their act. \u201cThis is an industry where we have a number of talented, powerful and successful women,\u201d she will tell the International Casino Conference, an event held on the eve of the ICE event as reported by The Guardian. \u201cYet from walking around the exhibition you wouldn\u2019t know this. Instead you saw men representing their companies wearing expensive tailored suits whilst their female colleagues were expected to wear nothing more than swimsuits. I say bring this to an end now.\u201d<\/p>\n Harrison went on to explain that sexism is a \u201csignificant stain on the industry\u2019s reputation\u201d.<\/p>\n Attendees at the annual ICE event have said that the conference is renowned for its use of scantily clad women, including Playboy models, to help sell gambling products.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the promotional activity involves attractive young ladies, often not wearing that much,\u201d one previous delegate told The Guardian. \u201cIt\u2019s not all skin, but there\u2019s quite a lot on show typically. Girls in body paint and not much else. One company had a Playboy-themed slot machine on display and they brought along Playboy centerfolds. You had paunchy slot machine buyers going up to get their pictures taken with them. It was a bit pathetic, but I\u2019ve never seen any predatory behavior like the Presidents Club.\u201d<\/p>\n The Presidents Club is a reference to a recent UK sexism scandal in which female staff were groped and sexually harassed by wealthy, powerful men at a men-only charity dinner in London last month. The Presidents Club has since disbanded as a result of fallout that reached the floor of parliament.<\/p>\n <\/a>Harrison\u2019s calls come in the wake of a growing number of sexism scandals involving powerful men and subordinate women often in their employ around the world, beginning with accusations of sexual harassment and even rape against movie industry mogul Harvey Weinstein and snowballing into a litany of women stepping forward to make similar accusations against powerful industry players.<\/p>\n Accusations of sexual harassment and mistreatment have since been laid against such famous figures as actors James Franco, Kevin Spacey, Steven Seagal, Dustin Hoffman, and Jeremy Piven, Hollywood writer and director James Toback, NBC news anchor Matt Lauer, CBS television host Charlie Rose, Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore, and former president George H.W. Bush among many others.<\/p>\n Reaction to the onslaught of sexual harassment claims by women against powerful men spurred the creation of the #me too movement, a social media hash tag used to demonstrate the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. The tag has been since used millions of times, often accompanied by lurid and disturbing stories of sexual harassment and assault, compelling even more women to speak out after often years of silence in the face of abuse.<\/p>\nWomen begin to speak out<\/h2>\n
Steve Wynn steps down amid sexual harassment allegations<\/h2>\n