Crown Melbourne breaches obligations with poker machines
Machines on the casino floor did not adhere to YourPlay standards for more than half a year.
Key points:
– Players at Crown Melbourne were able to play on poker slot machines with no harm minimisation controls
– The machines were meant to have time and spending limits in place
– Crown Melbourne has been formally censured
Crown Melbourne has been censured by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) after breaching harm minimisation obligations around poker machines.
Poker machines, colloquially known as pokies, come with the YourPlay pre-commitment programme pre-installed on them, with additional mandatory carded play restrictions in place.
However, between December 2023 and July 2024, customers were able to continue playing on the poker machines even after their nominated spend or time limits were exceeded.
A further ten customers were able to play with cards not linked to their legal name.
Chris O’Neill, VGCCC Chair, said: “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.
“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.”
Good to know: Australia has 1% of the world’s population and 18% of the world’s poker slot machines
O’Neill also considered the casino’s cooperation when formally censuring Crown Melbourne.
He continued: “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.”
A few days ago, Former Crown majority shareholder James Packer reportedly invested a total of AU$510m (US$332.1m) in Flutter and Light & Wonder.
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