Crown Casino introduces gambling time caps under strict new laws

A peak gambling reform authority has slammed Crown’s new 15 minute gaming breaks, warning punters could lose up to $6000 in 30 minutes if stricter rules weren’t imposed.

Crown Melbourne will be required by law to enforce strict new gambling time limits.

The Andrews government is refusing to introduce gambling limits in suburban pokies venues, despite growing calls from councils and advocates to protect at-risk punters.

The call comes as Crown ­casino prepares to implement tough new restrictions that will force punters to take regular gambling breaks.

Gamblers at Crown Melbourne will be required to take a 15-minute time out if they game for longer than three hours, while a 36-hour weekly cap would also be enforced under a new ministerial order.

People that gamble for 12 hours within the one day must also take a 24-hour break from the casino.

Crown Casino will be required to enforce 15-minute breaks to people gambling for three continuous hours.

Crown’s responsible gambling team, which has been boosted by almost 80 per cent in 18 months, will be issued powers to remove rule breakers from the casino floor.

Gambling Minister Melissa Horne on Monday ordered that Crown implement the measures within six months in a bid to crack down on gambling-related harm.

But Alliance for Gambling Reform spokesman Tim Costello said the “bare minimum” changes should go further and be rolled out at every ­Victorian pokies venue.

Mr Costello said a 15-minute time-out wasn’t long enough to “disrupt the zone”, while failing to lower maximum bets was unacceptable – warning that $10 bet spins could lose a person $6000 within 30 minutes.

“It absolutely does not go far enough,” he said.

“It’s a waterbed. You close down some of the crime and harm in the casino and it simply goes to suburban pokies.” Ms Horne said: “We’ve got a number of measures in place to protect players in suburban venues”, adding: “We always stand ready to do more should there be that evidence.”

Monash Mayor Tina Samardzija said: “Any measures to curb this harm are to be encouraged, but we believe other levels of government need to take even further action”.

Kingston Council mayor Hadi Saab called for poker machine caps in the municipality to be tightened and closures between 2am and 6am. “The state government has taken a great first step and would most certainly have our backing if further positive ­action was taken,” he said.

Mr Costello said the Andrews government needed to move to cashless gaming cards, which Crown will implement in December.

Independent and Greens MPs in New South Wales are set to push the new minority Labor government in NSW to introduce cashless gaming.

Mr Costello warned that Vicoria must follow suit, or risk criminals crossing the ­border to launder money.

Alliance for Gambling Reform spokesman Tim Costello said the “bare minimum” changes should go further.

What will change?

The new laws are a key recommendation from the Royal Commission into Crown.

Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation Minister Melissa Horne has also directed gambling advertisers to update their gaming advertisements.

Instead of the well known “gamble responsibly” tagline, Ms Horne said advertisers must now use new evidence-based warnings which will better challenge a person’s gambling activity.

Nee taglines include: “Chances are, you’re about to lose,” and ”You win some. You lose more.”

Crown has six months to update its code to include the new gambling time caps, and any breaches of the code could lead to significant disciplinary action from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission.

The maximum penalty for a breach of the direction is up to $100m.

Ms Horne said Crown Casino is now “on track” to implement mandatory precommitment in all electronic gaming machines by the end of this year.

“When combined with the strengthened code of conduct, the harm reduction protections will be world leading for a casino of this size,” she said.

“This Direction reflects my expectations that Crown must aim to be a global leader in the reduction of gambling harm – or lose their license.”

Crown Melbourne chief executive Mike Volkert said the work builds on a “whole-of-company transformation” that has been underway for more than 18 months.

“Crown has been working collaboratively with the Victorian government on these world-class reforms and once implemented will put Crown on a path to industry best practice by reducing and preventing gambling-related harm,” Mr Volkert said.

“We will now work at pace to train our team members and embed the new Code.

“This includes the implementation of our new and enhanced approach to responsible gambling which aims to bring about a healthier, safer gambling culture for all.”

Crown Melbourne has increased its responsible gambling team’s staffing levels by nearly 80 per cent in the past 18 months.

The team is led by academic Jamie Wiebe, who specialises in gaming, mental health and addiction research and policy.