The government of Victoria, Australia, has drastically restructured the future of its gaming industry. Changes will be seen in the licensing of operations involving slot machines, race and sports betting and keno.
After the year 2012, the state’s 27,500 slot machines located in clubs and hotels will no longer be centrally operated by Tabcorp or Tatts, as is the current arrangement. Instead, individual venues will obtain their licenses directly from the state.
In addition, the license for operating race and sports betting, currently in the hands of Tabcorp but expiring in 2012, will be put up for bid. Likewise, the two licenses for operating keno that Tabcorp and Tatts currently hold until 2012 will be merged into one license, which will also be open to bidding.
The new regulations will not affect the 2,500 slots at Crown Casino Melbourne.
The current cap of 27,500 slots for the entire state-not counting the casino-will be maintained. Venues located within the city of Melbourne will be limited to 80 percent of the machines, with a minimum of 20 percent of machines guaranteed for premises outside the metropolitan area. Venues will be restricted to 105 machines each. The hotel and club industries will each get 50 percent of the total number of slots.
Additional changes to the gaming laws include the banning of ATMs from all non-casino gaming venues. Inside the Melbourne Casino, ATMs will have to be at least 50 meters from any entrance to the gaming floor. Both measures will become effective at the end of 2012.
From 2010 on, all new slot machines will be required to incorporate a “pre-commitment mechanism,” giving players the ability to pre-determine a length of play or amount of loss.
From July 2008 all new machines will limit the maximum bet per game to A$5, which is half of what it is currently. All existing machines will have to comply with this limit by the start of 2010. Again, Melbourne Casino is exempt from this rule.
In the last fiscal year, Victoria recorded A$4.76 billion spent on gambling. Non-casino slot machines accounted for A$2.54 billion, horse and sports betting A$678.2 million, keno A$7.3 million and lotteries A$471.3 million. The Melbourne casino accounted for A$1.06 billion.
