Victoria’s casino regulator has issued a formal direction to Crown Melbourne requiring the company to implement mandatory carded play and mandatory time and spend pre-commitments for players on all electronic gaming machines by December.
In the latest batch of new regulations stemming from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s casino operator, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) described mandatory carded play for all individuals as a key anti-money laundering measure, ensuring all EGM play will be linked to a patron’s identity.
Likewise, all patrons will be required to set time and spend limits prior to playing using the state’s YourPlay system. While use of the YourPlay system will remain voluntary at other venues, Crown Melbourne patrons will not be able to continue playing once they hit their pre-set limits.
The VGCCC did, however, state that it welcomes Crown’s own harm minimization and AML measures on EGMs beyond those recommended by the Royal Commission. These measures, which have been incorporated into the regulator’s direction, will ensure Crown removes all “unrestricted” gaming machines – where spin rate, bet limit, auto play and note acceptors are unrestricted – from the general gaming floor, making them accessible only in high-roller areas, and removes the continuous play function from these machines whereby a player can hold down the button for faster play. The maximum amount of money able to be loaded into a machine at any one time will be AU$1,000.
“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.
“We were pleased to see Crown step up and identify additional measures beyond those recommended by the Royal Commission to improve the safety and integrity of gaming at the Melbourne casino. We will be carefully monitoring the implementation of these changes.”
