“It’s concerning for me that people who go and gamble at the casino are offered a set of protections that simply wouldn’t be available, or so actively enforced or encouraged, going to the local RSL,” Livingston said.
Annette Kimmitt, chief executive of the new Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, said questions about whether mandatory pre-commitment rules should be applied even if they were a policy matter for the government.
Annette Kimmitt, chief executive of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission.Credit:Louie Douvis
But she warned that the commission expected pubs and clubs to “pay due regard to their social license to operate as well”.
“It starts with us being very clear with our expectations of the industry, and making clear that they go beyond just compliance with the black letter of the law,” Kimmitt said.
“As a new regulator … we will have zero tolerance for industry participants who don’t actively step up to meet those industry expectations.”
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Kimmitt said the commission would take a similar approach as the Tax Office or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which both use surveillance programs and data in a targeted way to tackle non-compliance before “hitting the streets” with inspections.
“We intend to then be sharing the results of those inspections much more openly,” she said.
Data compiled by the commission shows Victorians spent $2.2 billion playing poker machines in pubs and clubs over the year to June 30, up from $1.6 billion in 2020-21 – which was affected by the pandemic – and just under $2 billion in 2019-20.
Crown’s earnings from its electronic gaming machines are far smaller. In the pandemic-affected 2020-21 financial year, it earned gaming machine revenue of $165.7 million, down 51.5 per cent on the previous year.
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The Age reported last month that Victorians have lost $66 billion in the 30 years since poker machines were introduced. Australia has the highest losses per adult on poker machines in the world.
The Gillard government tried to introduce a mandatory pre-commitment regime, less-rigorous than that now proposed, following a 2010 recommendation by the Productivity Commission. However, the idea was abandoned after a well-funded campaign by Clubs Australia.
It’s unclear if the Andrews government would be targeted by a similar campaign from the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) – which plays a bigger role representing pubs and clubs in Victoria – were it to tighten the legislative screws.
AHA Victorian chief executive Paddy O’Sullivan said his organization rejected any assertion that Crown-style penalties should be imposed on smaller gaming operators.
“The penalties imposed on Crown casino are a consequence of a royal commission into non-compliance,” O’Sullivan said.
The Australian Electoral Commission disclosed in 2020 that the AHA donated a record $761,000 to the state Labor government before the 2018 state election.
Gaming Minister Melissa Horne.Credit:Joe Armao
Asked whether the government had concerns that applying the rules only to the Crown would push money laundering activity and gambling harm elsewhere, a spokeswoman for Gaming Minister Melissa Horne said the government was delivering on its promise to implement the recommendations of the Crown royal commission.
“We’re focused on implementing the nation-leading recommendations of the royal commission to ensure the disgraceful conduct that was uncovered never happens again in Melbourne,” she said.
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The government also highlighted YourPlay, its voluntary pre-commitment scheme operating in pubs and clubs.
But the royal commission found the program had “not been successful”, with a low take-up rate and no obligations for action once a person reached their limit.
The Reverend Tim Costello, chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said he believed the state government had a “long history” of being held captive by the gaming industry.