A new Ministerial Direction has ordered venue operators in Australia to comply and amend their Responsible Gambling Codes of Conduct in six months
The minister for consumer affairs, gaming and liquor regulation, the Hon. Marlene Kairouz, has issued a new Ministerial Direction for changes to the content that must be included in Responsible Gambling Codes of Conduct by venue operators which comes into effect March 1, 2020.
Under the new direction, a venue’s code will have to include that a venue operator will take steps to prevent and minimise harm from gaming machines in their venue and requirements for operators to:
- interact with a person who is playing gaming machines without a break
- not reinforce or encourage fallacies or misconceptions about gaming machines
- regularly monitor the gaming machine area and its entrances
- monitor customer behaviour that seems consistent with gambling harm
Venue operators have until september 1, 2020, to ensure their code complies with the new direction.
Between March, 1 and September 1, 2020, venue operators can continue to comply with their existing code in accordance with the previous ministerial directions issued on September 10, 2018.
It is a condition of every venue operator’s licence for a venue operator to implement a Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct that is compliant with a direction made under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003.