Operator News

Australia – Players at Crown Casino forced to ‘take a break’ as part of Royal Commission’s recommendations

By Phil - 3 April 2023

Customers at Melbourne’s Crown Casino will be forced to take a 15-minute break from play every three hours and will be restricted to 36 hours of gambling in a single week under changes introduced by the state’s gaming regulator.

Anyone who has gambled for 12 hours in any 24-hour period will be have to then take a break for 24 hours

Victoria’s Gaming Minister, Melissa Horne, 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 is on track to implement mandatory pre-commitment 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.”

The changes have been brought in following 33 recommendations by the Royal Commission into Crown’s suitability to hold a casino licence, with now 29 of the reccomendations being either fully implemented or waiting to be launched in the coming months.

From March 30 2023, all betting service providers who provide interactive wagering and betting services, such as online or telephone betting have been required to use specific taglines and calls to action in their advertising.

The new taglines are ‘Chances are you’re about to lose,”Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?’,’What’s gambling really costing you?’ ‘What are you prepared to lose today? Set a deposit limit.’ ‘Imagine what you could be buying instead.’ ‘You win some. You lost more,’ and ‘What are you really gambling with?’

Crown CEO Mike Volkert said: “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. We will now work at pace to train our team members and embed the new Code.

“This work builds on our whole-of-company transformation that has been underway for more than 18 months, as we continue to build a Crown that exceeds the expectations of our stakeholders and communities,” he added. “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.”