Crown Melbourne has received formal criticism from the Victoria Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) over dozens of isolated incidents in which players, using carded play, were able to exceed their pre-determined limits. While the regulator rebuked the property, it found no grounds to impose a stiffer penalty, issuing a censure instead.
Crown Melbourne is the focus of a new VGCCC investigation
Since December 2023, land-based venues in Victoria are obligated to use carded play and pre-commitment for poker machine gameplay. This way, the state can stay on top of financial flows as well as ensure that consumers spend within their limits.
However, Crown Melbourne was found to have allowed 22 customers to exceed their limits through July 2025. Another 10 customers were found to have used accounts that were not legally theirs, i.e., registered in another person’s name.
This second offense occurred between December 2023 and August 2024. While the breaches appeared to be serious at first, the VGCCC conducted a thorough investigation, with Crown Melbourne’s full cooperation, and established that the cases were isolated incidents and not the result of systematic breaches or oversights.
This has not stopped VGCCC’s Chair, Chris O’Neill, from issuing a public rebuke and warning that the breach was not a matter of regulatory record, and in the instance of repeat offenses, the regulator would not hesitate to impose stricter measures.
Evidence-based approach to limit gambling-related harm
"Poker machines are a high-risk, high-harm product, which is why we place so much emphasis on holding industry to account when they fail to honour their legal and social licenses to protect customers from gambling harm," O’Neill explained, and added: "Pre-commitment programs empower people to manage their gambling by making decisions, before they start gambling, about the amount of time and money they will spend."
The VGCCC maintains that pre-commitment systems are based on evidence, and they demonstrate how effective safer gambling measures can be deployed to favor consumers. Earlier this month, the VGCCC fined QuestBet AU$80,000 for failing to intervene in the case of customers who showed gambling-related harm.
