A tipoff from a member of the public has led to dozens of charges for Tabcorp, seven pubs and a TAB for allegedly allowing a minor to gamble.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) launched an investigation after receiving a complaint. It has now announced charges on Tabcorp and eight venues relating to allowing a minor to access gambling, in breach of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003.
The hotel operators face allegations of allowing a minor to gamble, allowing a minor within a gaming machine area and failure to ensure gambling vending machines were reasonably supervised at all times. The TAB agency was charged with allowing a minor to gamble and failing to ensure reasonable supervision of its electronic betting terminals.
Charges relate to 27 occasions between 8 September and 1 November 2022, and the operators face a maximum collective fine of more than $1 million.
Separately, Tabcorp faces a total of 54 charges, based in allowing a minor to gamble and failing to reasonably supervise its electronic betting terminals. The company faces a maximum fine of almost $699k.
The Commission has stated it will not provide further comment while the matter is before the court, such as the number of individual minors involved, however the venues do all fall within a radius of around 10 kilometres, in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Parkview Hotel in Fitzroy North faces three counts, Edwardes Lakes Hotel in Reservoir five counts and Olympic Hotel in Preston eight counts, while Australian Leisure & Hospitality group’s Rose Shamrock & Thistle Hotel faces eight counts, its Doncaster Hotel sees nine counts, and the group’s Albion Charles Hotel in Northcote is looking at a total of 27 counts.
Brunswick’s Brunswick Club was hit with seven charges, while the Northcote Tab Agency copped four counts.
The VGCCC has been taking major action on operators, this month fining Bells Hotel $30k for not having sufficient funds in its gaming tax account, and already fining Tabcorp $1 million over its recent systems outage.
“One of the most serious harms is allowing minors to gamble,” expressed VGCCC CEO Annette Kimmitt AM.
“All gambling venues must ensure they do not accept a bet from a minor and must ask for identification from anyone they suspect could be underage.”
The Victorian regulator encourages people with gambling-related issues or information to contact it through the VGCCC complaints and tip-offs webpage.
