The Victoria casino gaming regulator, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has issued a new formal director to Crown Melbourne, which will now have to comply with several important measures.

VGCCC Introduces New Rules for Crown Melbourne

Among those are obligatory implementations of mandatory carded play, mandatory time and spend pre-commitments for players on all electronic gaming machines (EGMs). These changes must become part of the industry by December.

The recommendations and formal direction are issued as a result of an extensive Royal Commission probe into the company, which has failed to uphold key anti-money laundering standards. Moving forward, though, Crown Melbourne will have to comply with the measure for all of its EGMs.

This measure may seem somewhat overreaching, but it is not necessary so, as it might give the property an edge in the rapidly changing regulatory landscape for gambling companies in Victoria and Australia in general. Moving forward, the use of cards to let players play at EGMs may become pretty much the norm.

Crown Melbourne will have time to adapt, as well as time to implement the technology and see how it impacts its revenue – if at all. Some lobbyists, independently from Crown Melbourne, have grumbled at the prospect of asking players to have pre-set time and spending limits, but this is precisely what is happening at the casino.

To do so, patrons would have to use the YourPlay system, a state-backed technological infrastructure. YourPlay system is only introduced as a voluntary system at other venues, though, meaning that only Crown Melbourne patrons would have to comply with the measure.

Going Beyond VGCCC Recommendations to Safeguard Consumers

Crown Melbourne has not wasted time and has sent a clear message that the company intent to help bolster player protection measures on its own, going well beyond what the VGCCC has recommended.

For one, the property has confirmed that it will be introducing more measures designed to help consumers stay on the right track. The company will remove any machines that feature an “unrestricted” bet limit, spin rate, or any other feature that could lead to pathological gambling behavior.

“We have again demonstrated our strong commitment to minimizing gambling harm and reducing the risk of money laundering by going above and beyond Royal Commission recommendations in our direction to Crown,” said VGCCC chairperson Fran Thorn commenting on the latest direction issued to Crown Melbourne, assuring that its careful implementation would be carefully monitored.