Crown Melbourne has been reprimanded by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) in Australia for several breaches related to gambling harm minimisation.
According to a statement on the VGCCC website, Crown Melbourne allowed customers to use poker machines “in contravention of mandatory pre-commitment requirements” between December 2023 and August 2024.
YourPlay is the Victorian Government’s pre-commitment program, which is installed on all poker machines in the state. Meanwhile, mandatory carded play and pre-commitment currently apply to all poker machines at the casino.
Between December 2023 and July 2024, when mandatory carded play and pre-commitment were introduced, poker machines were used by 22 Crown Melbourne customers despite them reaching their allocated time or spend limit.
In addition, between 23 December 2023 and 4 August 2024, 10 other Crown Melbourne customers gambled on casino poker machines using a card linked to a YourPlay account that was not in their legal name.
“Poker machines are a high-risk, high-harm product, which is why we place so much emphasis on holding industry to account when they fail to honour their legal and social licenses to protect customers from gambling harm,” commented VGCCC Chair Chris O’Neill APM.
“Pre-commitment programs empower people to manage their gambling by making decisions, before they start gambling, about the amount of time and money they will spend.
“Research has shown that well-designed pre-commitment systems with binding limits can be effective in preventing harm from poker machine use. It is imperative, therefore, from both a legal and ethical perspective, that the casino is vigilant about meeting its pre-commitment obligations.”
O’Neill added that the VGCCC considered Crown Melbourne’s cooperation with its investigation when making a discipline decision, adding that evidence was found that the incidents were isolated and remedial efforts had been undertaken, including additional monitoring and staff training.
“This reprimand is now on Crown’s record, and we will not hesitate to take more serious disciplinary action in the future, should similar or further breaches occur,” noted O’Neill.
Crown Melbourne told iGaming Expert that mandatory carded play’s introduction required significant transformation and investment across the operator’s technology, processes and team member training, with the breaches – recorded before August 2024 – representing 0.016% of all registrations in this early period, “a minimal rate of team member error during a complex system transition”.
The operator noted that the incidents “were not systemic” as the cases were isolated and linked to technical elements of the initiative and frontline efforts to maintain customer service.
Crown Melbourne added that it “proactively identified and reported” the issues to the VGCCC, and that extensive remediation has been completed with over 200 staff receiving additional training, access controls being tightened and automated safeguards and welfare checks being introduced.
A Crown Melbourne spokesperson said to iGaming Expert: “The small number of inadvertent errors in the initial rollout of this world-first safe gaming initiative were isolated, promptly self-reported and addressed through rigorous remediation measures.”
While Crown Melbourne has fallen foul, Crown Perth venue has been given the nod recently to retain its casino licence by the Western Australian Government, bringing an end to a three-year regulatory situation.
Crown Perth was deemed by the Government to have been “overhauled” following its new corporate and governance structure, as well as improved employee screening and training models to promote ethical behaviours and actions to minimise gambling harm.
Adequate and legislatively compliant anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing measures, such as transaction monitoring and technology, had also been implemented by the casino to prevent criminal infiltration.
The final report by the Independent Monitor, Paul Steel, was also informed by the suitability assessment, approval and monitoring of the remediation plan’s implementation proposed by Crown Perth.
“Three years ago, the State Government established the Perth Casino Royal Commission due to failures by Crown Perth to meet anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing obligations and prevent criminal activity,” said Racing and Gaming Minister, Paul Papalia.
“Today, I can confirm we won’t be taking punitive action against Crown Perth, as it is now deemed a suitable entity to continue holding a gaming licence under the Casino Control Act 1984.
“The Gaming and Wagering Commission will make former Independent Monitor Paul Steel a part of the GWC team to continue to monitor remediated activities by the casino and ensure effectiveness.”
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