The VGCCC has found evidence, the regulator stated, that ALH had operated EGMs at eight venues outside of the designated trading hours and had not complied with mandatory shutdowns, which take effect every 20 hours of gaming. A venue must be shut down for at least four hours.

VGCCC Steps in to Fine Offending Venues

As a result, the company has been struck with an AU$480,000 fine. According to the regulator, eight of the 76 venues that AHL is responsible for had failed to comply with VGCCC’s permitted hours of operation. The issue only relates to 15 EGM machines, and the period of the offenses varies from February 15, 2023, through May 25, 2023.

The venues operated by the company were named publicly in the regulator’s account of events, naming the First and Last Hotel, Croxton Park Hotel, Albion Charles Hotel, Berwick Inn Taverner, The Millers Inn Hotel, Village Green Hotel, and Elsternwick Hotel as the places where the unauthorized activity took place.

These seven venues mandated an AU$420,000 fine, with an eighth one, Boundary Taverner, adding AU$60,000 to the total penalty payable by ALH. This is not the first time regulators and ALH butted heads over matters of regulation.

In August this year, the company was also fined AU$550,000 for running 220 EGMs without implementing the mandatory YourPlay pre-commitment technology which is part of the state’s broader efforts to continually reduce gambling harm, minimize money laundering, and create a more transparent and accountable industry.

Australia as a whole has considerably upped the ante when it comes to matters of consumer protection with a new nationwide self-exclusion platform designed to protect players, which has already seen more than 13,000 people register.

Ongoing Commitment to Tackling Unregulated Gambling

This means that the total fines payable by ALH this year in Victoria alone are now more than AU$1 million. Commenting on the new fine, VGCCC CEO Annette Kimmitt said that the regulator was expecting all venues to demonstrate a high level of ethics and commitment to the set regulatory standards.

“Ensuring patrons take breaks and are not exposed to extended, continuous periods of play is critical to the responsible service of gambling,” Kimmitt added, arguing that the VGCCC will not flag in its determination to keep close tabs on the industry and issue enforcement action where and if appropriate.

The VGCCC has gone after offenders this year, including the Tower Hotel which was cited to have breached responsible gambling standards. Similarly, another venue was named in a case that had to do with breaching consumer protection standards by allowing – although unintentionally – a 16-year-old patron with considerable gambling debt to play at the venue.

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In September, the gambling regulator in Victoria, Australia, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), issued 35 charges against the operator of the Tower Hotel in Hawthorn East, Rumotel Pty Ltd, over alleged failures to implement YourPlay, a mandatory pre-commitment technology, on their electronic gaming machines and kiosks. At the time, the regulator alleged that the operator also failed to ensure compulsory training for its employees.

Now, the VGCCC hit Rumotel with additional charges, alleging breaches related to responsible gambling. On Thursday, the gambling regulator revealed that the operator is facing an additional three new charges, claiming it breached the Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct. This happened after allegedly Rumotel failed to ensure a Responsible Gambling Officer was present at all times on the gaming floor.

According to the Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct, part of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, currently in effect in the state, operators that fail to ensure the presence of a Responsible Gambling Officer breach their license conditions. Moreover, the VGCCC alleged that the operator failed to maintain a Responsible Gambling Register.

Gambling operators in Victoria are required to have a Responsible Gambling Officer present at all times during operating hours. Such officers intervene whenever patrons show signs of excessive gambling or distress. Whenever such incidents happen, they must be recorded in a dedicated Register, something Rumotel failed to implement, as announced by the VGCCC.

The Regulator Continues to Monitor Compliance of the Gambling Operators

Annette Kimmitt, VGCCC’s CEO, revealed that there are strict rules in effect for gambling operators. Those rules, similar to the ones in other sectors, seek to protect the well-being of casino visitors and protect players from harm. “The VGCCC will continue to pursue venues that deliberately fail to apply their responsible gambling code of conducts in full,” explained Kimmitt in conclusion.

“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, CEO at VGCCC

In light of the additional three charges, the VGCCC said that a fine of AU$1,386,900 ($880,600) may be implemented. Considering the previously described 35 additional alleged breaches, the total for the 38 charges may result in a fine of AU$2,145,072 ($1.36 million).

Last month, the VGCCC hit eight gambling operators, alleging underage gambling. One of the gambling companies impacted at the time was Tabcorp. At the time of the announcement, Kimmitt said that it is an obligation of the gambling operators to stop underage individuals from accessing their venues.

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Gambling addiction in Australia is recognized as a serious public health issue. With pokies available on every corner in bustling cities and easy access to online gambling, each month, hundreds of millions of dollars are lost to gambling. Amid the growing concerns about the negative impact of problem gambling, lawmakers in New South Wales and Victoria initiated changes to the gambling regulations that seek to protect consumers.

Now, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), the regulatory body in charge of gambling in the state, announced new requirements impacting the deals between sports clubs and online gambling operators. The Commission urged sporting clubs that offer incentives for their members by teaming up with online wagering operators to discontinue such agreements.

The gambling watchdog said that it was able to identify some sporting clubs that have signed agreements with online betting operators offering different financial incentives for members that engage in gambling activities. Additionally, the Commission said that some sporting clubs benefit from different incentives that are determined by the spending of their clients.

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

reads a statement released by the VGCCC

Inducements Are in Breach of the Gambling Regulations

In its latest announcement, the VGCCC said that sporting clubs need to be really careful with gambling sponsorships and incentivizing members, especially considering that there are underage members. The commission urged sporting clubs to avoid such partnerships with gambling companies, claiming that they may result in harm to their members.

“The VGCCC demands wagering service providers cease promoting their products in this manner as they may be in breach of legislation by doing so, in addition to being inconsistent with their social license to minimize harm,“

added the VGCCC

It also demanded betting service providers stop promoting their services to sporting clubs in such a way. According to the VGCCC, online betting companies must adhere to the established regulations and follow the social rules that seek to minimize harm. Moreover, it said that online betting providers that offer “any credit, voucher, reward, or other benefit as an incentive to open an account or refer another person to open an account” are breaching Section 4.1.10 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003.

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The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) announced that it issued an AUD 550,000 ($353,540 in USD) fine to the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH). According to the regulator, the gambling company had operated 220 gaming machines without mandatory pre-commitment technology (YourPlay) installed, violating Victoria’s gambling laws.

In addition to paying the fine, the operator will also be required to cover the legal costs of AUD 50,000 ($32,000).

For reference, YourPlay is the statewide pre-commitment scheme that allows players to set limits and moderate their playtime and spending. All electronic machines in the state are required to employ the scheme in order to protect players from gambling harm.

As noted by the VGCCC, ALH’s breach is a “serious and willful” one. The regulator slammed the operator for allegedly not installing YourPlay on purpose. While the gravity of ALH’s breach led to a fairly big fine, the operator’s guilty plea helped it avoid the maximum fine of AUD 1.35 million ($870,000). The regulator also acknowledged ALH’s cooperativeness with the investigation.

VGCCC Asked Operators to Be Responsible  

In an official statement, Annette Kimmitt, the chief executive officer of the VGCCC, praised the final verdict. She said that the outcome highlights the regulator’s commitment to protecting the Victorian market from the harmful opportunism and deliberate contraventions of gambling companies.

Kimmitt said that gambling companies should be responsible and wary of the negative impact their negligence can have on the market.

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

Annette Kimmitt, CEO, VGCCC

The fine concludes a months-long saga that saw the VGCCC probe ALH’s venues across the state. Thanks to an anonymous tip-off, the regulator launched an investigation and learned that a total of 220 machines across many of ALH’s properties did not have the YourPlay scheme installed.

The machines are now identified and turned off.

The VGCCC noted that this example proves that it takes public reports very seriously. The authority urged Victorian gamblers to communicate their concerns to the VGCCC through its official website.

In the meantime, Australia’s Communications and Media Authority continues its crackdown on offshore websites as Australia seeks to protect its customers from gambling harm and sites that lack sufficient player protections.

The post VGCCC Hands a $350,000 Fine to ALH over YourPlay Violations appeared first on Keno Wizard.

The Victoria casino gaming regulator, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has issued a new formal director to Crown Melbourne, which will now have to comply with several important measures.

VGCCC Introduces New Rules for Crown Melbourne

Among those are obligatory implementations of mandatory carded play, mandatory time and spend pre-commitments for players on all electronic gaming machines (EGMs). These changes must become part of the industry by December.

The recommendations and formal direction are issued as a result of an extensive Royal Commission probe into the company, which has failed to uphold key anti-money laundering standards. Moving forward, though, Crown Melbourne will have to comply with the measure for all of its EGMs.

This measure may seem somewhat overreaching, but it is not necessary so, as it might give the property an edge in the rapidly changing regulatory landscape for gambling companies in Victoria and Australia in general. Moving forward, the use of cards to let players play at EGMs may become pretty much the norm.

Crown Melbourne will have time to adapt, as well as time to implement the technology and see how it impacts its revenue – if at all. Some lobbyists, independently from Crown Melbourne, have grumbled at the prospect of asking players to have pre-set time and spending limits, but this is precisely what is happening at the casino.

To do so, patrons would have to use the YourPlay system, a state-backed technological infrastructure. YourPlay system is only introduced as a voluntary system at other venues, though, meaning that only Crown Melbourne patrons would have to comply with the measure.

Going Beyond VGCCC Recommendations to Safeguard Consumers

Crown Melbourne has not wasted time and has sent a clear message that the company intent to help bolster player protection measures on its own, going well beyond what the VGCCC has recommended.

For one, the property has confirmed that it will be introducing more measures designed to help consumers stay on the right track. The company will remove any machines that feature an “unrestricted” bet limit, spin rate, or any other feature that could lead to pathological gambling behavior.

“We have again demonstrated our strong commitment to minimizing gambling harm and reducing the risk of money laundering by going above and beyond Royal Commission recommendations in our direction to Crown,” said VGCCC chairperson Fran Thorn commenting on the latest direction issued to Crown Melbourne, assuring that its careful implementation would be carefully monitored.

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