Australia
VGCCC: Minors Exposed to Gambling at ALH Venues
Victorian venues are putting young people at risk when they turn a blind eye to, or otherwise fail to prevent, minors entering poker machine areas, according to Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) CEO Suzy Neilan.
Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH) was fined $38,000 without conviction in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria for offences involving 3 minors at 3 venues on 4 dates in 2024.
ALH pleaded guilty to 6 charges, having self-reported the breaches to the VGCCC, which Ms Neilan said was important to recognise as a positive step towards improving industry practices.
“Being accountable for wrongdoing demonstrates integrity, which has been a focus of the VGCCC’s ongoing work with gambling operators,” she said.
“But it’s not enough to own up after the fact. Venues must be proactive about ensuring that minors do not access poker machine areas by ensuring they have in place appropriate systems, processes and staff.
“Operators should undertake a risk assessment and put in place controls to prevent minors from entering gambling areas. Some examples of controls could include displaying clear signage that the poker machine room is for adults only and checking the identification of anyone who appears under 25 years of age.”
Ms Neilan said it was not acceptable that any Victorian clubs and hotels – in this case, the Cramers and Excelsior hotels – were repeat offenders.
A 17-year-old was able to enter the poker machine area of Cramers Hotel in Preston multiple times without having to show ID, despite several interactions with staff and visits to the poker machine area on 24 January 2024. Staff intervened on 25 January 2024 only after the underage teen placed his belongings next to a poker machine.
Separately, a child in the company of 2 adults entered the poker machine area of the Excelsior Hotel in Thomastown on 24 April 2024. The child, who was seated with one of the adults, pressed buttons on the poker machine before they were both escorted from the area.
And on 27 September 2024, a 14-year-old boy entered the poker machine room of the Mountain View Hotel in Glen Waverley and gambled on a poker machine before staff intervened.
Ms Neilan said the VGCCC would continue to be vigilant about prosecuting venues for allowing minors to access the gambling areas of their premises, but that “prevention is better than cure”.
“I encourage all hotels and clubs to review their operations, including staff training, and consider making any adjustments required to ensure compliance with the law.”
In addition to the fine, the Magistrate ordered ALH to pay VGCCC’s legal costs of $40,000. The Magistrate also noted that but for the guilty plea, he would have fined ALH $90,000 and recorded a criminal conviction.
Summary of charges:
Incident 1 – Cramers Hotel:
Charge 1: Offences in respect of a minor entering a gaming machine area
Charge 2: Offences in respect of allowing a minor to gamble
Incident 2 – Excelsior Hotel:
Charge 3: Offences in respect of a minor entering a gaming machine area
Charge 4: Offences in respect of allowing a minor to gamble
Incident 3 – Mountain View Hotel:
Charge 5: Offences in respect of a minor entering a gaming machine area
Charge 6: Offences in respect of allowing a minor to gamble.
The post VGCCC: Minors Exposed to Gambling at ALH Venues appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Australia
BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API
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BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API
BetMakers Technology Group is pleased to announce the successful launch of its new partnership with Kiron Interactive, a global leader in virtual sports and number games. Kiron’s full suite of virtual horse racing, greyhound racing, and harness racing content is now fully integrated and available through the BetMakers CoreAPI.
The completed integration enables BetMakers’ global network of wagering operators to activate Kiron’s market-leading virtual racing content directly within their existing BetMakers setup. This delivers high-frequency, always-on racing products that complement live racing, enhance customer engagement, and drive incremental turnover.
“Kiron has built a reputation as a world-class provider of virtual racing content, and we’re excited to bring their high-quality, high-frequency products directly to our operator network,” said Joey Carroll, Director of Business Development & Partnerships at BetMakers. “With the integration now live, our partners can switch on virtual racing immediately and seamlessly expand their racing offering across all three codes.”
Steven Spartinos, Co-CEO at Kiron Interactive added: “Kiron’s focus has always been to give operators content that fits the way people play today. Virtual racing delivers fast, session-based entertainment that complements the live schedule and keeps audiences connected on their own terms. Integrating with BetMakers opens that experience to a broader network through a single, streamlined API. It strengthens our reach and gives operators a practical way to grow their racing portfolio with reliable, always available content.”
With virtual racing now available via a single, modern API alongside BetMakers’ global racing content, fixed-odds pricing, and tote solutions, operators can offer an even more comprehensive racing experience without any additional platform complexity.
Operators interested in enabling virtual racing can contact their BetMakers Account Manager for activation details.
The post BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Australia
BetMakers Signs Multi-Year Agreement to Launch CrownBet
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BetMakers Technology Group Ltd announced that it has entered into an exclusive five-year agreement with Betfair Australia (Betfair) as the sole technology provider for the launch of the premium Australian wagering brand CrownBet.
Highlights:
• BetMakers signed an exclusive five-year technology and services agreement with Betfair to deliver a full wagering stack for the development of CrownBet.
• BetMakers to supply its complete end-to-end solution, including a fully customised deployment of the Apollo wagering platform, trading and risk services, a content engine and the core Apollo technology.
• The agreement marks the most significant commercial milestone for the Apollo products and establishes a Tier-1 strategic partnership with Betfair, part of the Crown Resorts group.
• Commercial terms include a hybrid of fixed fees and revenue share, designed to expand recurring revenue and align BetMakers’ with the long-term success of CrownBet.
• CrownBet is targeting to launch in Q1 CY26, with platform activation and compliance workstreams already underway.
Under the agreement, BetMakers will deliver its full wagering stack for CrownBet, including a fully customised deployment of the Company’s Apollo wagering platform, trading and risk management, content engine and core platform technology. The end-to-end solution positions BetMakers as the technology and operational backbone of the CrownBet offering from launch.
The partnership represents the most significant commercial milestone to date for the Apollo platform and further validates BetMakers’ strategy to provide a complete, vertically integrated B2B wagering solution to Tier-1 operators globally. The agreement also establishes a landmark alignment with Betfair and its parent company, Crown Resorts – one of Australia’s most recognised entertainment and hospitality groups.
The agreement contains customary terms and conditions for a contract of this nature, including with respect to termination.
BetMakers COO, Martin Tripp, said: “This partnership is a major endorsement of our end-to-end B2B strategy and a milestone for the Apollo platform. To be selected by Betfair to power the return of CrownBet demonstrates the scalability, performance and commercial flexibility of our technology stack. By combining our Apollo platform with deep industry expertise and talent within Betfair, we are confident we can deliver a market-leading wagering experience and help to position CrownBet as a formidable player in the Australian market.”
Amy Zavros, CEO of Betfair, added: “Betfair is evolving to meet the changing needs of Australian customers by introducing a new fixed odds product under the CrownBet brand and required a technology partner capable of delivering a top tier product from day one. Following a rigorous RFI and evaluation process, BetMakers was the clear choice. Their technology, trading and services capability provides the foundation we need to bring CrownBet to market at the intended scale and complement our Betfair betting exchange, giving customers greater choice, value and innovation. The launch of CrownBet is targeted for early 2026.”
The post BetMakers Signs Multi-Year Agreement to Launch CrownBet appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Australia
BNDRY Announced as the Next Innovation to Feature at Pitch! – Regulating the Game 2026 Sydney
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Pitch! @RTG is designed to surface transformative ideas — a crucible where technology meets real-world regulatory challenges, where compliance is re-engineered for purpose, and where new approaches to governance and sector leadership are tested in front of regulators, operators and innovators.
BNDRY exemplifies this mission. As pubs and clubs come under heightened scrutiny under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act, BNDRY has partnered with Cherryhub to deliver a compliance platform purpose-built for the operational realities of hospitality venues. Rather than retrofitting systems designed for banks, BNDRY and Cherryhub have engineered a solution for gaming floors, member-based venues and mixed-cash environments.
Many venues grapple with fragmented systems and the complexity of monitoring both carded and uncarded play. BNDRY and Cherryhub tackle this head-on. The platform integrates gaming machine data, member and visitor profiles, and frontline observational inputs into a single operational dashboard — providing clarity and automation where venues have long struggled.
The platform streamlines and automates the core AML/CTF obligations that pubs and clubs need to do continuously:
• Knowing members, visitors and staff
• Monitoring behaviour and transactions to detect anomalies
• Reporting to AUSTRAC
• Securely storing compliance records for seven years.
This new approach bridges the gap between bank-grade compliance capability and the fast-paced, people-driven realities of pubs and clubs — offering a scalable, auditable and future-ready solution as regulatory expectations continue to rise.
“BNDRY is a standout example of the practical innovation Pitch! was built to spotlight. Pitch! exists to surface the RegTech, policy and research innovations the sector often doesn’t know are out there — a crucible where ideas, technology and regulatory practice are tested and refined. That mix of capability and imagination is exactly what will strengthen regulatory outcomes and uplift the sector,” said Paul Newson, Principal at Vanguard Overwatch and founder of Regulating the Game.
“Australia’s pubs and clubs are facing financial crime risks and compliance expectations unlike anything before, and AUSTRAC’s focus on the sector is only intensifying. Venues need solutions built for their operational realities — not repurposed bank tech — which is why we built BNDRY. Through our partnership with Cherryhub, we’re integrating data from multiple systems, reconciling player activity, and automating the heavy lifting, to make AML/CTF compliance operationally achievable while showing what’s possible when purpose-built technology meets real-world challenges,” said John Rayment, CEO of BNDRY.
The post BNDRY Announced as the Next Innovation to Feature at Pitch! – Regulating the Game 2026 Sydney appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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