Victoria Introduces New Responsible Gaming Measures for Crown Melbourne

The Government of Victoria, Australia’s second most populated state, has announced the introduction of new responsible gaming measures which are expected to be implemented mainly at Crown Melbourne, the largest and most prominent casino in the state.

The Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Melissa Horne, issued a direction requiring the casino to update its responsible gambling code of conduct with the new rules.

Under these new rules, anyone who has gambled for more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period must take a 24-hour break, with a maximum limit of 36 hours of gambling per week for any person. Crown Melbourne’s responsible gambling staff will have to enforce these rules and will also have the power to exclude a customer from the casino floor.

In addition to the cool-off period, the operator is expected to enforce 15-minute breaks if a person has been gambling for more than three hours. According to the Minister, the updated code of conduct and the mandatory pre-commitment in all electronic gaming machines, which the operator plans to implement by the end of the year, will make the gambling harm reduction protections “world leading for a casino of this size.”

Moreover, Melissa Horne explained that Crown Melbourne has two choices: become “a global leader in the reduction of gambling harm” or lose their casino license in the state of Victoria.

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These measures are part of the government’s efforts to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and License. The Commission, which investigated the activity of Crown Melbourne, found that the operator allowed “illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative” behavior.

The report published by the Commission found that the casino was “unsuitable” to hold a casino license in Victoria but the government decided to keep Crown Melbourne alive by allowing it to continue operating under the supervision of an independent manager.

The report contained 33 recommendations and for now the government of Victoria said that 29 have either been fully implemented or legislated and awaiting commencement in the “coming months.”

The new direction was developed following consultations with a number of key stakeholders, including the union, the operator, advocacy groups and harm researchers. Crown has six months to update its code in accordance with the direction. Any breaches of the code could result in disciplinary action from the regulator, with a maximum penalty of 100 million Australian dollars.

Mike Volkert, the Chief Executive Officer of Crown Melbourne, said that the operator had been working collaboratively with the Victorian Government on these reforms and, once implemented, would put Crown on a path to industry best practice by reducing and preventing gambling-related harm.

Source:

“Victorian government issues direction requiring Crown Melbourne to impose strict time limits on gamblers“, asgam.com, April 3, 2023.