The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has banned Australian betting giant Tabcorp from accepting cash bets at most of its Victorian terminals. A statewide direction was issued by the regulator after it was found the company had not prevented minors from using Electronic Betting Terminals (EBTs) to wager.
From late 2024 onwards, EBTs can no longer accept cash unless the machine is within five meters and line of sight of the counter. It is estimated that this will affect around 70 percent of the company’s 1,800 terminals across the Australian state. To use terminals outside of these criteria, punters will in future have to go to the counter to buy a voucher, where ID checks will be carried before a purchase can be made.
In addition, the company is also being ordered to introduce a mystery shopper scheme to ensure compliance with age verification requirements. Venues that fail to comply with these new rules will face escalating penalties that can include having all of the EBTs switched to voucher mode for six months and seeing their agreements with Tabcorp terminated.
The move comes after the state regulator charged Tabcorp and nine venues for various failings in 2022 and 2023, alleging offences being committed that include allowing a minor within a gaming machine area, allowing a minor to gamble, and failing to reasonably supervise EBTs. In one case, a venue was fined AU$25,300 ($16,900) by a Magistrate for allowing a then 16 year old male to gamble on betting terminals in 2022. In total, the operator currently faces 72 charges of allowing an underaged person to gamble and failing to reasonably supervise its betting machines.
