In a statement, the VGCCC said that between October 2023 and May 2024, Crown Melbourne allowed 242 people who had self-excluded from gambling to place bets at the casino. These self-exclusion breaches were detected through the commission’s ongoing monitoring of the casino’s operations.

Through its investigations, the VGCCC determined that the breaches were “due to system and control failures rather than deliberate or egregious disregard by Crown of its regulatory obligations”.

Fran Thorn, Chair of the VGCCC, commented: “It is an offence under the Casino Control Act 1991 (Vic) to allow an excluded person, including anyone who has self-excluded, to enter, remain or gamble in the casino. It also contravenes Crown Melbourne’s obligation to protect people at risk of gambling harm.

“Those who self-exclude must be able to trust that gambling providers will take all reasonable steps to enforce their decision to avail themselves of this harm prevention initiative.

“By allowing people who have self-excluded to enter the casino and gamble, Crown has put them at risk of experiencing further gambling harm. However, it is also clear that a number of these self-excluded patrons are going to considerable lengths to avoid detection and break their exclusion requirements.”

Thorn continued: “Accordingly, the Commission has issued a direction to Crown to engage an independent expert to assess the effectiveness of, and make recommendations for improving, the management of its self-exclusion program. 

“In due course, Crown will be required to implement the independent expert’s recommendations.”

The VGCCC noted that earlier this year in April, Crown Melbourne was told to “implement a transformation plan to continue its reform and remediation following the findings of the Finkelstein Royal Commission”.

The commission also acknowledged that Crown Resorts “has taken some steps to strengthen its controls for policing exclusion orders, and introduced measures to improve its monitoring activities, physical security, use of technology and training of staff”.

Thorn added: “The VGCCC is committed to ensuring Crown continues its reform efforts.”

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The VGCCC found BlueBet guilty of 43 charges of displaying gambling advertising on or above a public road, which is an offence under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003.  

The commission conducted an investigation into the operator following a complaint from a member of the public. BlueBet was charged in August 2023.

During a two-week period in August and September 2022, BlueBet’s gambling advertising was present on digital billboards in five different locations:

• Princes Freeway on the Point Cook Road Overpass (Laverton)    
• Princes Freeway on the Princes Highway Overpass (Point Cook)    
• Western Freeway Melton – Werribee Road (Rockbank)    
• Western Freeway before Ballarat Road Overpass (Ravenhall)    
• Princes Freeway on Sneydes Road Overpass (Werribee) 

The VGCCC stated that Magistrate Greg Thomas “found it difficult to accept BlueBet’s defence that they didn’t know they were breaching the law, given the prime position of the billboards to target males aged 15-54 years old”. 

The commission also said that Magistrate Thomas did not record a conviction, but claimed that if the breaches were accidental, it showed “a high degree of negligence” by BlueBet.   

In addition, Magistrate Thomas noted that he would have fined BlueBet $70,000 and recorded a conviction, but took into account the operator’s guilty plea, cooperation with the VGCCC and the changes implemented to prevent these breaches from being repeated. 

Commenting on the verdict, VGCCC CEO, Annette Kimmitt AM, said: “Gambling advertising has no place on public roads where it is readily visible to children and other vulnerable groups. These places are especially difficult to avoid as part of day-to-day activities.

“This decision sends a clear message to wagering providers that flout these protections for our community.” 

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The demands stem from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), as it looks to strengthen safeguards from minors using the machines. 

The VGCCC emphasised that all machines that are not within five metres of or in line of sight of a betting shop counter must be made cashless.

As a result of the demands, around 70% of 1,800 retail EBTs across the state of Victoria will transition to only accept vouchers. Bettors will have to purchase these vouchers at the counter, where they may be subject to age verification if they appear under 25 years old.

VGCCC CEO, Annette Kimmitt AM, said: “Venue staff are the first line of defence in protecting minors from gambling. We have taken decisive measures where they have failed to take their responsibilities seriously.”

In addition to adopting cashless payments across the majority of its terminals, Tabcorp has also been told to implement a ‘mystery shopper’ programme to ensure venues are checking ID.

There has been a significant effort in the region to tackle the accessibility of minors when it comes to gambling. 

Kimmitt added: “These stronger identity checks not only represent an additional barrier to allowing children to gamble, but will also help to prevent money laundering.” 

“The VGCCC will actively monitor these safeguards to reduce harm, and venues should take note and act to uphold their duty to care for the community.”

Cashless payments in gaming have been accelerating in Australia of late, largely due to federal and state measures aimed at curbing problem gambling and ensuring greater player protection in the industry.

New South Wales (NSW), a neighbouring state to Victoria, has been particularly active in pushing ahead with cashless payments. In December 2023, the regional government announced a statewide trial in conjunction with four B2B gaming suppliers.

Meanwhile, changes in payments for Australian gambling are also incoming at the federal level, as the government of PM Anthony Albanese set on implementing nationwide gambling reform. This has notably seen a ban on credit card payments for betting, with the exception of lotteries.

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A second failure in quick succession has seen an additional three charges be levelled against the venue, as the state regulator continues to clamp down on licensees.

It is alleged Tower Hotel failed to ensure a responsible gambling officer was available at all times on the gaming floor, in addition to not properly maintaining an appropriate register. 

Under the aforementioned code of conduct, establishments must ensure that RG officers are always present during gaming room operating hours. Interventions must occur where patrons display signs of distress or engage in extended play and these incidents must be recorded.

Furthermore, a failure to implement a responsible gambling code of conduct is a breach of the venue operator’s licence conditions under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003.

These charges could result in a fine of approximately A$1.3m, which would surpass the A$1m penalty issued to Tabcorp in early September.

“Just as you wouldn’t operate a public swimming pool without a lifeguard, venues are required to continuously monitor their gaming floors and intervene whenever the welfare of players is at risk,” Annette Kimmitt, VGCCC CEO.

“The VGCCC will continue to pursue venues that deliberately fail to apply their responsible gambling code of conducts in full.”

Catalogue of errors

Just last month, the VGCCC brought 35 charges against the same operator, with the regulator claiming that Tower Hotel did not ensure that staff had completed compulsory training. The YourPlay mandatory pre-commitment technology was also not functioning on their electronic gaming machines and kiosks.

YourPlay is a pre-commitment scheme that allows players to set time and spend limits to stay in control of their play. Despite being optional for players, it is mandatory for venues to have it installed and available on all EGMs.

It was said that these 35 charges could attract a maximum fine of A$758,172. This could mean Tower Hill could face a maximum fine of A$2,145,072 for the combined 38 allegations.

Victoria stacking up financial penalties

Should the maximum fine be imposed of Tower Hill for these three new breaches, it would surpass the A$1m penalty that was recently imposed on Tabcorp, the largest received by the company within the state, for a major system outage during the 2020 Spring Racing Carnival.

This reflected a failure to comply with directions to provide information concerning the issue, which left the group’s wagering and betting system unavailable for around 36 hours.

In addition, Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group was recently fined A$550,000 for operating 220 gaming machines without the installation of a mandatory YourPlay pre-commitment technology.

Further regulatory action within the state has also hit BlueBet, which was found to have illegally displayed advertisements.

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22

The Swedish government has announced plans within its 2024 budget to increase the tax on gambling GGR as it believes the country’s market is now stable following legalisation in 2019.

From 1 July 2024, Regeringskansliet plans to increase Sweden’s gambling tax from 18 per cent to 22 per cent in hopes of raising an additional SEK 540m (£39.4m) per year.

With concerns surrounding low channelisation, the Swedish government hopes that by increasing the gambling tax, a channelisation target of 90 per cent can be achieved with little negative impact on the legal market.

The proposal – which can be found on pages 289-290, section 12.20 of the 2024 Budget – is expected to be put forth before the Riksdag for approval in the spring of next year.

However, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling – Branschföreningen för Onlinespel – has argued that the proposed changes don’t take into account the current state of the market and the future it is heading toward.

60

Data from GamCare has indicated that the percentage of people calling the National Gambling Helpline for gambling support related to online slots has almost doubled in the last five years.

With this data in mind and in response to the UK government’s gambling white paper consultation, the gambling support charity is calling for the maximum stake for online slots to be set at £2.

The data revealed that 73 per cent of the 5,660 callers to the National Gambling Helpline last year struggled with online gambling.

Of those who contacted the helpline last year, 60 per cent reported online slots as one of the main gambling activities they were struggling with, which is up from 34 per cent in 2018-19. 

Meanwhile, the proportion of people citing challenges with betting exchanges has risen from 0.3 per cent to 7.6 per cent over the last five years. The percentage of gamblers having problems with online financial markets such as cryptocurrency and high-risk trading platforms has increased from 0.02 per cent to 2.17 per cent.

However, the proportion of those who have had difficulties with online sports betting has decreased, falling from 34 per cent in 2018-19 to 20 per cent in 2022-23.

690,947

Lindar Media Limited, the operator of online casino Mr Q, is facing regulatory action by the UK Gambling Commission and has been ordered to pay £690,947 for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

The regulatory action follows an investigation by the UKGC into Lindar Media, which found failings in the operator’s processes aimed at preventing money laundering and protecting individuals from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

The commission found failings in Lindar Media’s implementation of AML policies, procedures and controls, deficiencies in its responsible gambling policies, procedures, controls and practices, and weaknesses in its reporting arrangements in respect of key events.

54

Tabcorp along with eight venues have been charged by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission for allegedly allowing minors to gamble.

In breach of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, Tabcorp faces a total of 54 charges from the VGCCC, including 27 counts of allowing a minor to gamble and failing to reasonably supervise its electronic betting terminals.

The VGCCC has charged eight venues for allowing a minor to gamble, allowing a minor within a gaming machine area and failing to ensure gambling vending machines were reasonably supervised at all times between 8 September 2022 to 1 November 2022.

531.6

New Jersey gaming revenue increased by almost 13 per cent in August in comparison to the previous year, as all verticals saw improvements year-over-year.

Data from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement stated that total gaming revenue from the Garden State’s casinos, racetracks and their partners in August amounted to $531.6m. This figure was a 12.9 per cent increase on the previous year (August 2022: $470.7m).

For the year-to-date, total gaming revenue currently stands at $3.77bn, up 11.2 per cent YoY (2022: $3.38bn).

New Jersey’s nine casino hotel properties led the way in terms of contribution towards August’s revenue total with $280.3m, followed by igaming with a win of $155.3m and sports wagering with gross revenue of $96m.

August’s casino revenue of $280.3m was a 2.3 per cent uptick in comparison to the previous year (2022: $274m). YTD, casino revenue currently stands at $1.93bn, once again a 2.3 per cent increase YoY (2022: $1.88bn).

Slot machine win generated $210.5m towards the casino total for August, up 3 per cent YoY (2022: $204.3m), while table games amounted to $69.7m, a slight improvement on the previous year (2022: $69.6m).

2025

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has declared that it is transitioning to become solely a gambling regulatory agency, moving away from its dual role of an operator and a regulator.

Alejandro H Tengco, CEO and Chair of PAGCOR, stated that the move, to be completed by 2025, has been put in place to fulfil the corporation’s aim of levelling the playing field to “ensure future growth and viability for all gaming industry players”.

“We have started preparing for this transition in earnest, and we are starting where it matters most – within PAGCOR itself,” said Tengco.

Knowing its strengths and limitations, Tengco remarked that PAGCOR aims to become “the gold standard in the Asian gaming scene,” and while it recognises that the shift could impact some employees, it is preparing plans to help those affected avoid displacement, especially those that work in PAGCOR-operated casinos.

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In breach of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, Tabcorp faces a total of 54 charges from the VGCCC, including 27 counts of allowing a minor to gamble and failing to reasonably supervise its electronic betting terminals.

The VGCCC has charged eight venues for allowing a minor to gamble, allowing a minor within a gaming machine area and failing to ensure gambling vending machines were reasonably supervised at all times between 8 September 2022 to 1 November 2022. These venues are:

• Olympic Hotel
• Brunswick Club
• Edwardes Lake Hotel
• Parkview Hotel
• Albion Charles Hotel
• Doncaster Hotel
• Rose Shamrock & Thistle Hotel
• Northcote TAB Agency

The TAB agency has been charged with allowing a minor to gamble and failing to ensure reasonable supervision of its electronic betting terminals. 

If found guilty, the operators could face a maximum collective fine of more than A$1m, while Tabcorp could face a maximum fine of $698,997.60. 

VGCCC CEO Annette Kimmitt AM said: “One of the most serious harms is allowing minors to gamble. All gambling venues must ensure they do not accept a bet from a minor and must ask for identification from anyone they suspect could be underage.”

Earlier this month, the VGCCC also fined Tabcorp A$1m for a major system outage during the 2020 Spring Racing Carnival.

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Set against the backdrop of a 2021 royal commission and numerous recent financial sanctions and gambling reforms, the scale of the fine, the VGCCC said, reflects a failure to comply with directions to provide information concerning the issue. This left the group’s wagering and betting system unavailable for around 36 hours. 

“We will not tolerate licensees that are not forthcoming and cooperative when the Commission investigates,” said Fran Thorn, VGCCC Chair.   

“The Commission had to use its compulsory powers and issue directions because Tabcorp did not provide the information we required about the business continuity and disaster recovery capability of its systems. It is Tabcorp’s failure to comply with these directions that has led to the fine announced today.”  

Historic outage at Tabcorp

Tabcorp suffered the outage on Saturday 7 November 2022, however, due to an obligation for the WBS to be continuously available, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, the VGCCC’s predecessor, commenced an investigation.

The regulator noted that its directions were issued after the company was not voluntarily forthcoming with provision of adequate information concerning the outage.

Furthermore, the VGCCC added that Tabcorp’s conduct during the course of its investigation impacted the authority’s ability to understand the cause of the problem, as well as gain certainty that it would not recur.

It was found that the group did not comply with the VGCCC’s first direction as it did not provide a response that confirmed its business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements were fit for purpose. 

In addition, Tabcorp was also deemed to have failed with a second direction by submitting a compliant report four months after the imposed deadline. 

The maximum penalty for contravening Commission directions is $9,087,000. This is the fourth disciplinary action taken against the firm, with letters of censure, directions and fines of between A$5,000 and A$30,000 previously imposed.

It was noted that due to these previous infractions, and that its latest contraventions are deemed “significantly more serious”, it was not entitled to leniency in this case.

“All entities we regulate — no matter how big or small — have an obligation to be open and honest with the Commission and responsive to its lawfully issued directions,” Thorn added. “We will not tolerate attempts to frustrate our investigations.” 

Regulatory reforms in Victoria

In October 2021, Crown Resorts was able to retain its Melbourne casino licence, despite a royal commission deeming the group to be “unsuitable” on the basis that it engaged in “illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative” conduct.

However, one of a number of recommendations stemming from the case included not striping the operator of its licence as “immediate cancellation of the licence is not in the interests of the Victorian community”.

Subsequently, a number of remediation efforts and financial penalties have followed, with the latter including sanctions of A$120m, A$80m and $20m for a range of failures.

Most recently, pokie giant Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group was fine A$550,000 for operating 220 gaming machines without the installation of a mandatory YourPlay pre-commitment technology.

Additional regulatory action within the state has also hit BlueBet, which was found to have illegally displayed advertisements.

Electronic gaming machines have become one of a number of targets of fresh reforms taking place, with Victoria limiting how much players can stake, when they can do so and the speed of which it can be undertaken.

Furthermore, the region has also cracked down on wagering on minors in sporting events, and issued a warning to sports clubs and online wagering providers regarding community expectations surrounding partnerships between the two.

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The operator is facing 43 charges for allegedly contravening section 4.7.1 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 after ads across various locations were witnessed between August 29 and September 11, 2022.

BlueBet, licensed and regulated by the Northern Territory Racing Commission, faces a fine of 120 penalty units for each charge. Each unit is worth A$184.92 at the time of the offence, meaning that if the company is found guilty of all the charges it faces a maximum fine of up to A$954,187.20.  

Earlier in the month, Victoria followed up othe introduction of a raft of reforms targeting electronic gaming machines by cracking down on wagering on minors in sporting events, with it warned that revocation of approvals could ensue for non-compliance.

This saw the VGCCC ban betting on all under 19 sports competitions, as well as the performance of individual players who are under 18 in junior and senior sport. 

“All wagering service providers advertising in Victoria must comply with relevant legislation,” commented Jason Cremona, VGCCC Regulatory Services Director. 

“Where we detect non-compliance – especially non-compliance that can exacerbate gambling harm – we will take a zero-tolerance approach and use all the enforcement powers available to us.  

“We launched our investigation after receiving an online complaint about the billboard advertisements from a member of the public. 

“We encourage all members of the community to use our complaints and tip-off portals to let us know when they believe they have witnessed non-compliant behaviour by gambling providers. The community can rest assured we will act wherever we can.”  

Recently, the state regulator took action against a gaming venue via the issuance of a fine and letter of censure for the inappropriate use of gaming revenue in their nominated gaming account, which resulted in their failure to have maintain sufficient funds to pay their gaming tax.  

This saw Bell’s Hotel was fined A$30,000 (A$20,000 suspended) for failing to pay relevant taxes and adhering to their key requirements. 

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The regulator, which has been busy as of late, has reminded sports outfits within the state that they must be mindful of community expectations around encouraging members to sign up to gambling products.

“The VGCCC is aware that some online wagering providers are entering into sponsorship agreements with sporting clubs to induce their members to create accounts with the provider by linking financial incentives to each member of the club that signs up,” a media statement noted. 

“Clubs are sometimes given additional incentives based on the spend by their members.”

In addition, the regulator has also demanded that wagering service providers stop promoting their products in this manner immediately as they may be in breach of legislation, in addition to being inconsistent with their social licence to minimise harm. 

The VGCC also cited section 4.7.10 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, which notes that providers are prohibited from offering any credit, voucher, reward, or other benefit as an incentive to open an account or refer another person to open an account.

“The VGCCC doesn’t just hold gambling providers to the minimum letter of the law – but their social licence as well,” it was added.

“Sporting clubs need to be mindful of community expectations around incentivising members, and potentially junior members, to gamble. 

“We encourage sporting clubs to refrain from entering into such sponsorship deals which may harm members and may constitute illegal behaviour by the wagering provider.”

Last week, the VGCCC fined the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group A$550,000 for operating 220 gaming machines without the installation of mandatory YourPlay pre-commitment technology.

The breaches by the country’s largest operator of electronic gaming machines, which runs over 350 pubs across Australia, were described by magistrate’s as serious and wilful.

It was also noted that an early guilty plea and cooperation with the state regulator were key mitigating factors in reducing the fine from the maximum of A$1.35m, however, the group must also pay legal costs of A$50,000.

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The breaches by the country’s largest operator of electronic gaming machines, which runs over 350 pubs across Australia, were described by magistrate’s as serious and wilful.

It was also noted that an early guilty plea and cooperation with the state regulator were key mitigating factors in reducing the fine from the maximum of A$1.35m, however, the group must also pay legal costs of A$50,000.

This comes after an anonymous tip was received in late 2021, following which an “inspection blitz” of ALH venues across Victoria was undertaken. This resulted in 220 non-compliant gaming machines being identified and turned off.

Approximately one year later, the VGCCC charged the group with 62 counts of failing to ensure YourPlay was properly installed on gaming machines across 62 of its 77 venues. 

YourPlay is a statewide pre-commitment scheme that empowers players to set time and loss limits and make informed decisions about their gambling. It is mandatory in Victoria for this to be available on all EGMs.

Given the role that the scheme plays in reducing gambling harm in Victoria, the VGCCC argued that the gravity and wilful nature of ALH’s contravention must be considered a primary factor in sentencing. 

Welcoming the verdict, Annette Kimmitt, VGCCC CEO, noted: “This outcome demonstrates the VGCCC’s commitment to pursuing those operators who opportunistically or deliberately contravene their obligations to protect the community from gambling harm. 

“Gambling providers need to pay close attention to their obligations because the consequences for getting it wrong can be significant”.

Earlier in the week, the VGCC filed 43 charges against BlueBet for alleged violations after ads across various locations were witnessed between August 29 and September 11, 2022.

The operator, licensed and regulated by the Northern Territory Racing Commission, faces a fine of 120 penalty units for each charge. Each unit is worth A$184.92 at the time of the offence, meaning that if the company is found guilty of all the charges it faces a maximum fine of up to A$954,187.20. 

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