The CEO of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), Annette Kimmitt, is going to be retiring despite two years left in her term.
According to a report in The Guardian, shared by the VGCCC on social media, Annette Kimmitt will leave the regulator in late March of 2025.
Kimmitt assumed her role with the VGCCC in March of 2022, during a heady period in which the regulator was imposing fines and punishments on operators in its bid to clean up the industry and avoid gambling harm.
Some of the moves taken during the period against Australian gaming operators have been termed by some experts as heavy-handed, but the regulator defends that its actions are in defense of residents.
Speaking of her resignation, Kimmitt told The Guardian that it had been “a very challenging and difficult three years” and that her initial impression when joining was a “pretty shell-shocked and under-resourced regulator on the retreat”.
That being said, she praised what has been accomplished since then, noting “We are now recognized as the nation’s strongest gambling regulator. We have really held the industry to account. Since January 2022, we have levied nearly AU$260m in fines. We had 88 disciplinary actions against the industry just last year”.
Speaking of the departure, VGCCC Chair Fran Thorn noted: “Annette’s leadership, drive and laser-like focus were fundamental to transforming the VGCCC following the Crown Royal Commission and, by extension, the state’s gambling industry.”
