Deadline for mandatory carded play at Crown Casino

Crown Casino has been ordered to ensure all electronic gaming machines have carded play and spending limits by the end of the year.

The formal direction from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission was made public on Thursday and must be implemented by December 2023.

It means all games played on electronic machines at the Southbank casino will be linked to a person’s identity through their gaming card, which the commission says is intended as an anti-money laundering measure.

Patrons must also commit to a spending limit and a maximum time on the machine before starting play.

The commission commended Crown for pledging to shift unrestricted gaming machines away from general areas, remove all machines that allow continuous play and limit credits to $1000 per machine.

Chairwoman Fran Thorn said the commission would carefully monitor how the measures were implemented.

Crown Melbourne’s chef executive Mike Volkert said the changes would significantly enhance the company’s ability to prevent and reduce gambling harm.

“These industry-leading reforms are an essential part of Crown’s ambition to be a world leader in safe and responsible gambling and entertainment,” Mr Volkert said.

It comes one week after the casino was fined $30 million for letting gamblers deposit bank cheques made out to themselves, breaching problem gambling and slotqq money laundering controls.

Last year the casino was hit with fines totalling $200 million for breaches of its responsible service of gambling standards and facilitating customers’ illegal use of their credit cards to access money.