The state Government of Victoria has announced some widespread reforms that are set to be brought to the electronic gambling sector. The changes will include new mandatory pre-commitment limits for local people, who would be allowed to spend no more than AU$100 on an electronic gaming machine at one time. In comparison, the current spending limit is set at AU$1,000.
Apart from that, the use of a special card will be mandatory for so-called pokies, with the Government expecting to see the measure help prevent money laundering through local gaming venues.
The Government revealed that all venues offering poker machines in the state of Victoria, except Crown Casino, will have to shut down their gaming areas in the hours between 4:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
As Premier Daniel Andrews shared, the changes would provide the state with the strictest regulations in terms of electronic gambling across the country. He highlighted the fact that, to this date, the majority of Victorian residents recognise gambling as a “perfectly legitimate recreational activity” but, unfortunately, there are people who suffer extremely serious harm as a result of the activity. And what is worse, the number of people who get negatively affected by gambling is constantly growing.
According to Premier Andrews, the latest reform package represents a major step forward, and probably the biggest step of any jurisdiction across Australia.
The Victorian Government has estimated that about 330,000 local residents suffer gambling-related harm every year, with their losses nearing AU$7 billion.
Victorian Gambling Regulator to Take Over Some Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation Responsibilities
Apart from the official roll-out of the lower spending limits and the requirements for carded play, poker machines in Victoria are set to be slowed to a spin rate of three seconds per game, a measure that also aims at limiting the amount of money that can be lost.
The state’s Gaming Minister, Melissa Horne, explained that the latest reforms package unveiled by the Victorian Government looks to effectively set rules about when and how people are allowed to play in order to protect them from potential gambling-related harm. She shared that the competent authorities’ research showed that the faster the spin rate of the pokies, the quicker people lose money.
The Victorian Government has further revealed that some of the services that have previously been provided by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation are set to be taken over by the local gambling regulator – the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission – as of July 1st, 2024. The gambling regulatory body of the state was set to receive AU$71 million in the state budget.
The latest changes in the sector that are aimed at tackling money laundering activities were welcomed by Community Clubs Victoria (CCV). The organisation, however, questioned whether the smaller clubs should be subject to the same restrictions faced by casinos and bigger venues. According to Community Clubs Victoria, the gaming environment at a casino could and should not be compared to the gaming environment at smaller gambling venues, so the organisation said it remains concerned about potential hyper-regulation and gambling migration to the online gambling sector in such cases.
- Author
Daniel Williams
