Crown directed to implement harm minimisation and anti-money laundering measures

Published:
Wednesday, 19 July 2023 at 1:14 pm

We have again demonstrated our strong commitment to minimising gambling harm and reducing the risk of money laundering by going above and beyond Royal Commission recommendations in our latest direction to Crown.

The direction ensures that, by the end of the year, all players wanting to play Crown’s electronic gaming machines must sign up to and use the YourPlay precommitment system.

This means that during and after December 2023, all players wanting to use Crown’s electronic gaming machines must have signed up with and use the Victorian YourPlay precommitment system. YourPlay operates on a voluntary basis for patrons at other venues. The YourPlay system helps players gamble responsibly by setting time and spend limits prior to playing.

At the Melbourne casino, a player will not be able to continue to play beyond the limits they have set.

The direction also ensures Crown implements other positive measures they have agreed to, to further reduce the risks of harm and money laundering at the Melbourne casino. These measures are:

  • removing unrestricted gaming machines from the general gaming floor
  • for all unrestricted gaming machines, removing continuous play (the ability to hold down a button and continue gambling) and imposing the same spin rate as other gaming machines in Victoria
  • reducing the maximum credit limits on EGMs from $9,949 to $1,000 to prevent an EGM being ‘loaded-up’ with bank notes.

We take our role in minimising the harms from gambling and reducing the risk of money laundering very seriously, and we expect all venues, including Crown, to do the same.

Holding a gambling licence in Victoria involves a duty to ensure the fairness and safety of the service of gambling.

We expect industry participants to comply with the spirit and intent of their regulatory obligations, including any directions, so we can ensure Victoria’s gambling industry operates with integrity, and is safe and fair.

Read our media release

If you, a family member or friend are experiencing harm from gambling, free and confidential support is available through these services:

Gambler’s Help: 1800858 858

Gambler’s Help Youthline: 1800 262 376

National Debt Helpline: 1800 007 007

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