Crown Melbourne to follow new rules from Victorian government

The Victorian government has directed Crown Melbourne to put in place necessary reforms to its social responsibility procedures by updating its Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct. This is part of the casino operator’s plan to return to suitability after almost losing its license two years ago following a Royal Commission into its operations.

According to the statement released by the Casino and Gaming Minister, Melissa Horne, Crown Melbourne will now have to impose limits on how long its patrons can play each day and week.

For patrons who have been gambling for three hours at a stretch, Crown will have to require them to take a 15-minute break while for patrons who have gambled for more than 12 hours, Crown will direct them to take a 24-hour break.

All patrons at Crown will be able to play no more than 36 hours of gambling per week. According to Ms Horne, this is to stave off further occurrences of gambling harm on the gaming floor.

“Some of the evidence that we saw during the Royal Commission showed incredibly predatory behaviour on people that were clearly struggling on the casino floor and in the pokie machine rooms in particular,” she said.

According to the minister, the staff of Crown Melbourne will have the power to exclude from the gaming floor players who have been playing for long hours without taking breaks. This will help to position the casino as being responsible and interested in making amends for the various illegalities it committed in the past including tax evasion, facilitating money laundering and dealing with criminal gangs.

“I think being able to encourage a patron to take a break from the gambling floor and to discuss harm services is another important step in making sure that we’ve got a casino that has to be a global leader in the reduction of gambling harm,” Ms Horne concluded.

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