Gamblers at Melbourne’s Crown casino are to be required to set a limit on how much they’re willing to spend before hitting the pokies, following a direction from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC).
Announcing the move, VCGGG said it had gone above and beyond Royal Commission recommendations in its latest direction in a bid to minimise gambling harm and reduce the risk of money laundering.
“The direction ensures that by the end of the year, all players wanting to play Crown’s electronic gaming machines (EGM) must sign up to and use the YourPlay pre-commitment system,” VGCCC said.
“This means that during and after December 2023, all players wanting to use Crown’s electronic gaming machines must have signed up with and use the Victorian YourPlay precommitment system,” it said.
“The YourPlay system helps players gamble responsibly by setting time and spend limits prior to playing.”
VGCCC said YourPlay operated on a voluntary basis for patrons at other venues, but at the Melbourne casino, a player would not be able to continue to play beyond the limits they’d set.
It said the direction also ensured Crown implemented other positive measures they had agreed to, including removing unrestricted gaming machines from the general gaming floor; removing continuous play from unrestricted machines; and reducing the maximum credit limits on EGMs from $9,949 to $1,000.