New rules in Australia aim to curb underage gambling through cashless in-person betting and properly separating ATMs from gaming rooms. (Photo by Jake Allen on Unsplash)
The Australian government is putting some new rules in place meant to make gambling safer, especially for young people. This is happening because more folks have been calling for protections. The changes talked about here affect things like betting at stores in person and how you can pay to place a bet.
One story talks about a recent report that showed an increase in underage gambling in the state of Victoria. Because of this, the officials told Tabcorp, which has the exclusive license for taking bets there, that most of their betting machines need to only take vouchers instead of cash. The goal is to have the staff catch any underagers trying to gamble. About 1,800 Tabcorp machines will soon only take vouchers, not cash. Anyone who looks younger than 25 might need to show ID first too.
Another story mentions a popular Sydney hotspot that got in trouble for putting its ATM too close to its gaming area, which breaks the rules from the department in New South Wales in charge of liquor and betting. The rules say ATMs need to be completely separate from any rooms with slot machines or other gambling. But this place had their ATM right next door.
So in general, these stories are about Australia trying to make gambling less dangerous, especially for young people. The government is looking at a bunch of ideas to improve how gambling is overseen.
Aussie Online Casino Industry: You can find out more about gambling entertainment in Australia, via our Aussie casino gambling info guide. There are casinos and sports books that accept players from Australia, and some of the casinos are VPN-friendly, so you can hide your connecti0n. What’s more, you can choose to gamble using crypto or AUD. As for safe online gambling, these casinos use KYC systems to prevent money laundering and underage gambling.
Australia Cracking Down on Underage Betting With New Rules
The Australian government is putting new rules in place to make gambling safer. This comes as more people call for better protections. The regulations affect things like in-person betting at stores and how people can pay to place bets.
No More Cash Bets
A recent report showed an increase in underage gambling in Victoria. Because of this, officials told Tabcorp that most of their betting terminals need to go cashless. Tabcorp has the exclusive license for taking bets in the state. The goal is to have staff catch anyone underage trying to gamble. About 1,800 Tabcorp machines will soon only take vouchers, not cash. Anyone who looks younger than 25 might have to show ID first. Last year, New South Wales also expanded a test of cashless betting. More venues there wanted to try it out.
Industry Leader Says Protecting Kids is Crucial
Responsible Wagering Australia represents some of the country’s largest betting companies. Its CEO says stopping underage gambling is extremely important. Although Tabcorp isn’t one of their members, they also have a duty to help on this issue nationwide. The CEO said online companies already carefully check ages. He wants in-person betting to do the same. Making rules consistent across all gambling would help with risks like money laundering too. The national government is currently looking at 31 ideas to improve gambling oversight. One is limiting TV ads in Victoria.
Livecasinocentral Opinion: It is a tough one. The pros are cashless machines would prevent underage gambling to some extent as cards would detect the age of individuals. Yet, that doesn’t stop them from borrowing the off their big sis or brother, yet this would be rare. Another pro is the prevention of money laundering. The cons are that societies slowly going completely cashless on fiat currency slowly gives governments more control. When that happens, governments have the opportunity to use digital money to control society.
Sydney Hotspot in Hot Water Over ATM Placement
A popular Sydney hotspot has found itself in trouble for putting its ATM too close to its gaming area, breaking the rules set by the New South Wales (NSW) department in charge of booze and betting. The NSW Gaming and Liquor squad reported that the owners of a trendy inner-city venue called Vbar were found guilty of slotting their cash machine into a no-go zone. The rules say ATMs have to be completely separate from any rooms with pokies or other types of gambling.
But this place had their ATM placed right next door to their gaming room. To make things worse, the door had a huge “ATM HERE” sign that you couldn’t miss. The ATM no-no aligns with NSW’s bigger mission to limit how much damage gambling can do. Having an ATM nearby makes it way too easy for problem gamblers to keep hitting the card and draining their accounts without thinking.
So inspectors are keeping their eyes peeled for dodgy ATM spots, and also watching out for stuff like gambling ads outside venues and building layouts that lead people through gaming rooms. They even check that the rooms have warnings about addiction and underage bans. Vbar’s higher-ups were ordered by the local court to cough up $5,500 to cover court costs. According to Jane Lin, NSW’s top gambling cop, putting that ATM so close to the gaming room was “definitely not okay.”
“ATMs need to be placed completely separately, even if there are walls or dividers making it seem out of view,” Lin said. “Having an ATM nearby allows players to withdraw over and over without realizing how much they’ve spent.” Lin said more space between cash access and pokies gives gamblers a chance to think twice about hitting the machines again. She also made clear the squad won’t put up with people finding loopholes in laws made to reduce addiction. The magistrate sided with regulators, agreeing Vbar broke the rules.
Livecasinocental Opinion: In our previous news reports covering regulatory news, Australia’s Crown Casino introduced a self-exclusion tool. With ATMs too close to venues and tackling underage gambling, the country is tightening up on the negatives of gambling. This is great news in our eyes because these are sensible approaches to tackling the negative effects of gambling. Usually the Aussi government is a little OTT, but today we are on their side!
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