Regulator of gambling in Victoria faces charges Stay at the Tower Hotel
Lady Victoria
In Victoria, Tower Hotel is expected to face 34 charges related to the operation of gambling machines that allegedly did not have the YourPlay obligatory pre-commitment technology installed. The purported failure to verify that employees had finished mandatory training gave rise to an additional allegation.
You must install YourPlay on all gaming machines owned by Victoria. With YourPlay, players may monitor their machine play and, if they so want, impose time or money limits.
The VGCCC has responded by instructing Tower Hotel to turn off all gaming machines until the problem is fixed. Fines of up to AU$758,172 (£390,833/€454,542/US$488,443) are possible outcomes of the 35 charges.
Annette Kimmitt, chief executive of the VGCCC, stated that when venues do not allow players to set time and expenditure limitations through the YourPlay system, they are violating a crucial legislative requirement that is meant to protect the community from gambling harm.
All electronic gambling machines must have YourPlay installed, and we are keeping a close eye on venues to make sure they are complying with this rule. Those who wilfully or opportunistically disregard their responsibilities will face consequences.
Charges for ALH in Victoria that are comparable
Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH) was also fined by the VGCCC last month for violations of a similar kind.
The VGCCC checked out several ALH locations throughout Victoria in late 2021 after receiving an anonymous tip. Two hundred and twenty gaming machines were found by the regulator to be operating without the YourPlay software.
The VGCCC filed 62 charges against ALH in November 2022 for failing to properly install YourPlay on machines at 62 of its 77 locations. The magistrates court hearing resulted in a $550,000 fine and a $50,000 order for ALH to pay VGCCC's legal fees.
The operator could face a penalty of up to $945,187 after being charged in August for violating advertising regulations. Over the span of two weeks last year, BlueBet ran three gambling advertising on billboards in Victoria.
According to the VGCCC, this violates state rules that prohibit the display of static gambling advertisements in specific places. Any location on or above a public road, road infrastructure, or road reserve is off-limits, as are locations on or near public transport systems and schools (within 150 meters).
Report satisfactory to Tabcorp
Last week, Tabcorp was sentenced to pay a record-breaking $1.0 million, although that was the biggest fine. Its actions during a significant system failure in 2020 were the subject of this.
During the 2020 Spring Racing Carnival, Tabcorp's Wagering and Betting System experienced an outage that left it inaccessible for around 36 hours. The system must be available at all times per the Wagering and Betting Licence and Agreement.
In the course of their examination, the VGCCC condemned Tabcorp for its actions. The operator was also criticised for how it handled the issue in response to directives from the VGCCC.
In its decision, the VGCCC stated that the regulator should have levied a record fine due to the gravity of the infraction. In addition, the VGCCC brought up Tabcorp's "repeated failure" to follow instructions.
