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Victoria state’s hardline gambling regulator has placed unprecedented restrictions on Tabcorp Holdings’ betting terminals in response to child gambling incidents, including staff proximity and line-of-sight criteria for cash bets.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) on Sunday (January 14) issued a directive to all gaming outlets in the state that requires Tabcorp betting terminals to only accept cash bets if “within five metres, and in the line of sight of, the counter”.
Gamblers wishing to use terminals that are beyond the five-metre zone and out of sight of staff counters must obtain vouchers, as well as present personal identification if they are or appear to be under the age of 25.
The VGCCC estimated the change will require 70 percent of Tabcorp’s 1,800-strong terminal inventory in Victoria to go cashless within two weeks.
Part of the directive includes a “mystery shopper” program that Tabcorp must implement or else risk “an escalating series of penalties” for betting terminal venues.
The penalties include a six-month moratorium on cash betting for wayward venues and “Tabcorp terminating agreements with the venues”, a VGCCC statement said.
An industry source speaking on condition of anonymity said the “mystery shopper” program is a testing mechanism in which Tabcorp will send independent individuals onto gaming floors to verify operator compliance.
At least one category of “mystery shoppers” is likely to be individuals under the age of 25 who will test venue identification checks, the source told Vixio GamblingCompliance.
The VGCCC directive comes only a month after Tabcorp renewed its exclusive wagering and betting licence in the state for 20 years, effective this August.
The deal jettisons a troubled joint venture with the local racing industry and other obligations, while increasing the online wagering point of consumption tax from 10 percent to 15 percent.
The renewal was a significant victory for Tabcorp, but the increasingly punitive VGCCC has simultaneously tightened the screws on the company over underage gambling on its machines and failing to follow instructions relating to a data outage in Sydney.
Tabcorp faces 72 charges of allowing a minor to gamble and failing to properly supervise its terminals in a case that has implicated nine venues, the statement said, with Tabcorp facing a maximum fine of just under A$1m ($670,000).
The VGCCC also fined Tabcorp A$1m in September for giving its staff short shrift over a request for a third-party assessment covering Tabcorp’s disaster recovery potential and other materials.
