Queensland Government Introduce New Laws Combatting Gambling Addiction and Money Laundering

In a landmark move, the government of Queensland has introduced stringent laws aimed at minimizing the harm caused by gambling and at the same time, cracking down on criminal activities in casinos.

These new laws are a result of the recommendations proposed by a comprehensive review of operations at The Star Entertainment Group, and are primarily directed at combatting poker machine addiction.

The review was conducted two years ago and suggested a series of reformative changes in the existing gambling laws. The Casino Control Bill, which was recently passed, implements these recommendations.

Key Highlights of the Legislation

The new legislation includes several stringent measures such as:

According to Yvette D’Ath, the Attorney-General, these reforms represent one of the most significant steps towards mitigating gambling harm in the country’s history.

One of the most innovative features of these regulations is the introduction of ‘carded play’. This requires gamblers to tap onto a machine before play, which allows casinos to track data for problematic habits or criminal activity.

The government plans to implement carded gaming machines across the state by 2025. This will be a significant step in ensuring safer gambling practices.

The bill also mandates periodic independent reviews of licensing, making it harder for casinos to abuse their privileges.

Casino operators will be required to pay a supervision levy for the implementation of these regulations and gambling harm minimisation programs. This ensures that the cost of these reforms does not fall on taxpayers.

The 2022 review that led to these laws was conducted by Robert Gotterson KC. The government has now legislatively implemented all the recommendations proposed in the review.

The laws, when first updated post the review, introduced hefty penalties for casinos, with fines reaching up to $100 million. Star Entertainment was fined $100 million for negligence in anti-money laundering and responsible gaming duties, and for misleading the regulator.