Changes to gaming machine entitlements - do they affect you?

These changes came effective 3 November 2017 and include:

• six new regions have been created, four are fully capped (Central Goldfields, East Gippsland, Wellington and Maroondah) and two are partially capped (Frankston and Wyndham)
• the existing partially capped regions of Brimbank and Hume have been extended to fully cap the local government area
• the existing partially capped regions of Banyule and Casey have been extended to include more areas vulnerable to harm from problem gambling
• the removal of the Shire of Yarra as a partially capped region and its designation as a municipal district
• new maximum permissible number of gaming machine entitlements in most municipal districts.

Full details of the changes are available via the Ministerial Order.

These changes will impact gaming machine entitlements and for some venues, a new application will be required to amend the geographic area condition applying to the gaming machine entitlements they hold. A geographic area condition is a condition applying to an entitlement which specifies the region or municipal district in which gaming may be conducted under that entitlement.

These changes will not reduce your entitlements or impact on the number of machines you can operate as a gaming venue operator, except in the Rural City of Swan Hill. Venues in this local government area will be contacted by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission as soon as possible.

Individual venues remain responsible for ensuring that the gaming machine entitlements they hold contain the correct geographic area condition and to apply to the Commission to change that condition on the basis of the foreshadowed changes.

However, on the basis of current information, we have identified the impacted venues across the state who will be contacted directly and assisted to make the relevant changes to their gaming machine entitlements.

More information about these changes can be found via the Minister’s media release.