Digest No. 1677
Purpose
"The Gambling Act 2003 (the principal Act) is a large, complex, and prescriptive piece of legislation. As is common with an Act of this nature, a number of issues have been identified while implementing it. The Bill contains several small policy amendments and many technical amendments to allow the Act to operate as originally intended"
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The Bill as introduced is described in Bills Digest No 1539.
Main Provisions
Definition of "gaming machine"
Section 4(1) of the Gambling Act 2003 at present defines the term "gaming machine" as, inter alia:
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"a device, whether totally or partly mechanically or electronically operated, that is adapted or designed and constructed for use in gambling" (paragraph (a)); but
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"does not include—
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(i) a device used only to draw a lottery; or
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(ii) a random selection device used in a game of housie; or
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(iii) a device used only to dispense tickets that is not capable of being used to decide the outcome of gambling; or
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(iv) a communication device that is used both to dispense tickets in and draw a lottery that is a sales promotion scheme" (paragraph (d)).
The Select Committee has recommended that Paragraph (a) be replaced by the following:
“means a device, whether totally or partly mechanically or electronically operated, that—
“(i) is adapted or designed and constructed for gambling; and
“(ii) is played or confers a right to participate, whether totally or partly, by the insertion of money into it or by the direct or indirect payment of money by any other means".
The Select Committee has also recommended that Paragraph (d) be supplemented by adding a new sub-paragraph:
“(iiia) a jackpot device that links a series of gaming machines and that can only be played through those gaming machines” (Part 1, Clause 5, inserting new sub-clauses (5A) and (5B), amending the definition of "gaming machine' in Section 4(1) of the Gambling Act 2003).
Comment
These amendments to the definition of “gaming machine” are made " ... to ensure that [the definition] does not unintentionally capture equipment associated with gambling (such as electronic card shufflers) that does not need to be regulated in the same way"
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"Risk" and "possibility"
The Select Committee has recommended that it be clarified that, when referring to problem or underage gambling, the words “risk” and “possibility” are synonymous (Part 1, Clause 5, subclause 18, inserting new subsection 2B into Section 4 of the Gambling Act 2003).
Comment
"This change is intended to forestall any future interpretation by a judicial body to the effect that the Act intends these words to be understood to mean different things"
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Problem gambling
The Select Committee has recommended that a venue manager, rather than the holder of the class 4 venue licence, should be liable for any failure to display a notice in the gambling area advising customers that the venue has a policy for identifying problem gamblers (Part 3, Clause 80, inserting new subclause (1AA), amending Section 308(3) of the Gambling Act 2003).
Exclusion of problem gamblers
The Select Committee has recommended that it be made clear in the Bill that a problem gambler who is the subject of an exclusion order is excluded from the venue’s gambling area, rather than the whole venue (Part 3, Clause 83, inserting new subclause (1A), amending Section 310(1)(b) of the Gambling Act 2003).
Effectiveness of exclusion orders
The Select Committee has recommended that a venue manager or holder of a casino operator’s licence (or person acting on their behalf) can refuse to issue an exclusion order if there is a failure to provide a photograph that allows the person to be excluded to be readily identified (Part 3, Clause 83 substituting subclause (2)).
Records of excluded persons
The Bill as introduced requires the holder of a class 4 venue licence or a casino operator’s licence to keep a record of every person excluded from their venue and to provide this information to the Secretary of Internal Affairs on request.
The Select Committee has recommended that rather than their name and address, the initials and date of birth of an excluded person should be provided (Part 3, Clause 85, amending New Section 312A of the Gambling Act 2003) .
Comment
"These changes address any privacy concerns about the passing on of personal information, but maintain the new section’s aim of obtaining information about the number of exclusion orders issued under the Act in a form that distinguishes between one person who is excluded from several venues and several people each excluded from a single venue. Collecting this information would also enable the Secretary to determine whether venues were meeting their statutory responsibilities"
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Regulations for EFTPOS devices
The Select Committee has recommended that a regulation-making power in the Bill in relation to EFTPOS devices be made more specific. Such regulations could only be made in relation to " ... the availability of EFTPOS devices in close proximity to gambling equipment at a venue (Part 3, Clause 86, subclause (8), amending paragraph (i) of Section 313(1) of the Gambling Act 2003 by inserting a new subparagraph, subparagraph (ii)).
Comment
"The bill is not intended to permit the making of regulations that would completely prohibit EFTPOS devices in gambling venues. Rather, consistent with the Act’s harm minimisation objectives, the intention is to allow regulations that would require a player to walk away from the gaming machine to obtain additional money from an EFTPOS device"
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Information gathering
The Select Committee has recommended that the Secretary, who already had the duty to collect certain information, should be able to specify what information should be collected from persons involved in the conduct of gambling, how often, and the manner and form in which the information should be provided. The amendment further requires the Secretary to publish any resulting statistical information on the Department of Internal Affairs website or in another publicly accessible electronic form (Part 3, inserting New Clause 99A into the Bill, amending Section 365 of the Gambling Act. 2003).
Comment
"The Act requires societies that own and operate gaming machines to be transparent in their distribution of funds in order to be accountable to the communities they serve. Some submitters expressed concern about how and where community funds are distributed. While the Act allows societies to make grants to the causes they choose, provided that they are authorised purposes, we believe that the public should be well informed about what happens to funds generated from gambling. Better information gathering would inform policy development and put communities in a better position to influence the behaviour of gaming machine societies"
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