Deposit limit controls should be accompanied by more education and tools to help customers stick to their limits. Introducing friction in the process, such as having to call or text, may reduce the likelihood people increase their deposit limits. Increased friction could also reduce limit setting,113 although the Committee notes this would be less of an issue if there was a mandatory minimum limit. In the wake of unprecedented findings of misconduct by casino operators around Australia, the Malinauskas Government has significantly increased the penalties for breaching our state’s casino laws. In June, the Federal Court ruled SkyCity Adelaide had breached the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and fined it $67 million in response to civil proceedings brought against it by AUSTRAC. Under the Government’s new laws, the fines faced by the licensee have increased from a maximum of $100,000 to $75 million when imposed through disciplinary action taken by the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner.

Committee comment

4.152Following the implementation of national regulation, online gambling staff should be required to demonstrate a sound awareness of the new legal obligations and guidelines for practice in responsible service of online gambling. This may require the national unit of competency, CHCFIN005 – Provide responsible online wagering services, to be updated. Research-informed curriculum should be developed based on the national regulation and regulatory guidelines for operators.

This provision will help implement commitments in national agreements such as the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering (NCPF) between the Commonwealth, States and Territories. The NCPF is a set of standard minimum protections developed for online gamblers that all online wagering providers must adhere to, aiming to reduce the harm of online wagering to Australian consumers. Inspections are carried out in the casino on individual gaming machines, tables, personnel and venues. 4.139Allowing WSPs 72 hours to verify their customers creates a window of opportunity for minors to gamble and for the highest risk gamblers to circumvent self-exclusion. AUSTRAC’s description of the 72-hour window for gambling companies to verify their customers as a business efficacy measure demonstrates that we should not be relying on AUSTRAC to reduce gambling harm.

Interactive gambling licensing is regulated in Queensland by the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR). Whether you are registered with BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register or still considering it, there are many other supports available if you want to take control of your gambling. In 2011, amendments were made to the CBI Agreement Act to authorise casino gaming to occur on cruise ships travelling through WA waters on interstate or overseas cruises whilst the ship was more than 12 nautical miles away from the WA baseline. This authorisation was subsequently extended to intrastate cruises under certain conditions in 2017. ‘Casino gaming’ facilities include gaming machines, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps, keno, two-up, mini dice, money wheel, big and small and any other game commonly played in Casinos (both in Australia and elsewhere). Cruise ships travelling through or docked within Western Australian waters were therefore prohibited from using their onboard casino gaming facilities.

• The Casino Control Act will be an Act prescribed for the purposes of this section and offences may be subject to the issuance of an infringement notice with a modified penalty.
• 4.117Most complaints and disputes with online WSPs must be raised with the relevant state or territory regulator in which the operator is licenced.
• 4.139Allowing WSPs 72 hours to verify their customers creates a window of opportunity for minors to gamble and for the highest risk gamblers to circumvent self-exclusion.
• 4.163The Committee recommends the Australian Government consult with industry and people who gamble to determine minimum bet limits for online wagering for inclusion in national regulation.

The Commission proactively focuseson education and encouraging voluntary compliance by individuals and entities involved in gaming and wagering. Reactive compliance and enforcement activities will be undertaken in a targeted and proportionate manner as required. BetStop dragon link pokies has the potential to be a powerful consumer protection tool once there is a requirement that a customer’s identity is verified before they are allowed to open an account. Until then, it is likely to be effective for most Australians, but may not offer protections for those who are at the highest risk of gambling harm.

Australian Casino Regulations

4.142The Committee recommends that the Australian Government prohibit all online gambling inducements and inducement advertising, and that it do so without delay. However, adding a modest amount of friction to online gambling for everyone, to help people make safe decisions and to keep gambling crime free, is not unreasonable given the harms online gambling does cause to too many Australians. It should be enough for a customer to flag verbally or in writing that they want to stop gambling without having to use any magic words with a specific operator meaning. The penalties need to be commensurate with IGA self-exclusion breach penalties, recognising the likely harm to this extremely vulnerable cohort. This part introduces a centralised infringement notice framework under the Gaming and Wagering Commission Act 1987. The Casino (Burswood Island) Agreement Act will be an Act prescribed for the purposes of this section and offences may be subject to the issuance of an infringement notice with a modified penalty.

The delay enables the customer to provide the necessary documentation at a later time, within the 72-hour time limit. This regulation making power will provide that regulations may be made by the Governor to give effect to requirements providing for compliance with national policies or frameworks related to gambling law that the WA Government enters into with other Australian jurisdictions. New section 120 is inserted to support and transition to the new, centralised infringement notice framework provided under new section 36 of the Act. This part replaces the current infringement notice framework contained in Part VB with a centralised infringement notice framework under the Gaming and Wagering Commission Act 1987.

The following list provides a summary of the legislation that informs the Commission’s regulatory role and its key objectives. For the full list of interactive gambling fees, read Schedule 3 of the Interactive Gaming (Player Protection) Regulation (Qld). Once a licence is granted, licensees must submit all proposed interactive games for assessment and approval by the Minister prior to being introduced in Queensland. Tipping competitions can also be conducted online so long as all proceeds are returned to the players as prizes and it is conducted by an association or individual as defined in the CNPG Act. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain images and voices of deceased people.

These revelations are extraordinarily damning for an industry that claims to provide entertainment and whose business model depends on customers having faith they will be paid when they win. The Committee suggests that it is in the industry’s best interests to agree to modest minimum bet limits to demonstrate good faith with their customers. 4.158Current penalties for serious breaches of WSPs’ legal obligations, where they exist, are manifestly inadequate, as was highlighted by the NTRC’s fine against Ladbrokes in Mr Fineff’s case.

Only an eligible association can conduct charitable and non-profit games online, for profit. One of the primary objectives of the CNPG Act is to prevent individuals from obtaining a personal gain from the conduct of games such as raffles. Visit our support tools page to find out about other services and supports that are available. This includes counselling, help managing your finances and information about supporting others. BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register™ is a safe and free Australian Government initiative to block yourself from all licensed Australian online and phone gambling providers.