The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), the independent regulatory body for the Victorian gambling industry, has been informed of incidents where some online betting suppliers sign sponsorship deals with sports clubs to persuade their members to make accounts with the supplier by attaching financial incentives to each to the club member who registers. In addition, clubs are occasionally given extra incentives “based on the spend by their members.”
Such practice is prohibited by law:
According to Section 4.7.10 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003: “providers are prohibited from offering any credit, voucher, reward, or other benefit as an incentive to open an account or refer another person to open an account.” The VGCCC is therefore requesting that betting service suppliers stop advertising their products in the manner mentioned above as they are potentially in violation of the said law by continuing to do so, beside being “inconsistent with their social licence to minimize harm.”
Furthermore, the Victorian gambling and gaming regulator, in addition to being responsible for granting gambling lincenses to casinos, is also responsible for issuing their social licence. Due to the above, the VGCCC warns sports clubs to have in mind public expectations regarding encouraging members, and possibly younger members, to gamble, which is why they should stop getting into sponsorship agreements, which can damage members and can cause non-legal behavior by the betting operator.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission oversees all gaming and gambling activities in Victoria; from pokies to casinos. Its governance and structure were guided by an independent review of casino regulation, led by eminent regulatory and public policy reform expert Deborah Cope.
The new regulator has greater oversight of the monitoring of gambling harm reduction measures in the gambling and casino sectors than the existing regulator. Unlike the existing regulator, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR), the new one does not regulate liquor licensing, ensuring its focus is solely on regulating gambling operators and casinos and minimizing harm.
When the regulator was first established, Melissa Horne, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, said: “We said we’d take action to strengthen casino oversight, and that’s what we’re doing with the establishment of a new gambling and casino regulator. Unethical practices in the gambling industry won’t be tolerated – the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission will provide robust regulation of the Melbourne casino and wider gambling activity across the state.”
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