Following the successful prosecution of the Peninsula Club in Dromana, Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) CEO Annette Kimmitt AM reiterated the regulator would continue to crack down on venues that allow children to enter poker machine areas.

The Magistrates’ Court of Victoria fined Victorian Amateur Turf Club, the venue owner, $7000 for 2 breaches of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (Vic) and ordered it to pay VGCCC costs of $3500. No conviction was recorded.

Ms Kimmitt said: “This is a warning to every venue. The onus is on you to ensure that children cannot and do not enter the gambling area or participate in any gambling activity, even if they’re with an adult.

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“Equally, staff must be adequately trained and present in the gambling area to supervise while machines are in use.

“Research tells us that people who begin gambling at a young age are at greater risk of developing gambling problems as an adult.

“The rules exist to protect children from exposure to, and harm from, gambling.”

On 10 June 2023, a child entered the gambling area of the Peninsula Club twice and was able to use the poker machines on both occasions. During the second visit to the area, while with adults, the child used a poker machine for about 5 minutes, until staff intervened.

Magistrate Ayres considered the venue’s self-reporting, its lack of prior convictions, early plea and remediations implemented to reduce the chance of future offending.

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The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has made the 2025 Risk Evaluation Questionnaire (REQ 2025) available on the Compliance and Supervision Platform for Assessing Risk (CASPAR) portal as from 3rd March 2025.

The deadline for gaming operators to submit their REQs is 10 April 2025.

To assist with the process, an Excel and PDF version is available in advance for information gathering. However, submissions must be made exclusively through CASPAR.

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Failure to submit the REQ by 10 April 2025 may result in breaches of Regulation 19 of the PMLFTR and Sections 5.12 of the Implementing Procedures, which could lead to administrative penalties under Regulation 21 of the PMLFTR.

Operators must be registered on CASPAR and ensure their Subject Person Profile is up to date, including ownership details, financials, target markets and a Business Risk Assessment.

Operators who did not engage in “relevant activity” or “relevant financial business” during the review year may request an exemption by emailing [email protected] before the deadline.