New South Wales Government Proposes New Gambling Legislation

The government of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, has announced it prepared a new legislative framework for betting, racing and gambling in general in the state.

The main new aspect of this legislation is that it would class special odds and welcome offers as banned inducements to gamble. Moreover, the new Betting and Racing legislation makes it clear that advertising for gambling products should now encourage people to gamble.

Under these new rules, any welcome offer that requires players to create an account is no longer allowed because the Liquor and Gaming Authority deems this procedure as producing “new opportunities for gambling-related harm”.

Special odds would be banned for the same reason, while casino and betting operators would no longer have the possibility to broadcast advertisements during certain sporting events.

The Liquor and Gaming Authority will have the full authority to judge whether any advertisement is considered to violate the rules. The fines for breaking these rules would amount to 15,000 Australian dollars for companies and 5,500 Australian dollars for individuals.

The draft legislation also adds more definitions regarding aspects that were not included in the 2012 edition. One of the main modifications is the inclusion of the “sports controlling body” term.

Kevin Anderson, the Minister responsible for liquor, gaming and racing legislation, will be the person in charge of approving applications for entities that wish to become a sports controlling body for a sporting event.

Gambling in the state of New South Wales is currently regulated by four distinct pieces of legislation: the Betting and Racing Act 1998 and the Betting and Racing Regulation 2012, along with the Totalizator Act 1997 and the Totalizator Regulation 2012.

All these regulations will expire on 1 September 2022. The new regulations have been gathered in two acts called the Betting and Racing Regulation 2022 and the Totalizator Regulation 2022.

The new rules were developed by the New South Wales Liquor and Gaming Authority and will become effective when the previous ones expire. However, the industry stakeholders will be able to submit their feedback and suggestions until 22 June 2022.

Anthony Keon, CEO of hospitality and racing explained that the new rules should lead to a safer gambling environment, allowing punters to “freely pursue wagering as a safe form of leisure and entertainment.”

SOURCE: “NSW to ban enhanced odds and welcome offers“. iGaming Business. June 6, 2022.