News November 2024
Te Star retains licence after second inquiry Legislation
Te NSW Independent Casino Commission has handed Te Star a $15m fine and imposed a suite of directions and licence conditions on the Sydney casino operator in response to the Bell Two Inquiry but has opted not to revoke its operating licence. Te Star’s licence will remain suspended and the NICC-appointed Manager, Mr Nick Weeks, will continue to have oversight of casino operations until at least 31 March 2025, at which time the NICC will reassess Te Star’s suitability to regain its casino licence. NICC Chief Commissioner, Mr Philip
Crawford, said the second Bell inquiry identified continuing compliance failures and operations at Te Star that fell far short of suitability. “Despite more prescriptive supervision that prevented the type of misconduct seen in the
Irish Gambling Regulation Bill passes Legislation
Minister of State at the Department of Justice with responsibility for Law Reform, James Browne TD, has welcomed the passage of the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 through both Houses of the Oireachtas. Te historic legislation sets out the framework and legislative basis for the establishment of a new, independent statutory body – Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland – and for a modern and robust licensing and regulatory framework for both in- person and online gambling. Te bill provides for the establishment and operation of the National Gambling Exclusion
SkyCity Adelaide loses in High Court Operator News
Te High Court of Australia ruled against SkyCity Adelaide’s appeal regarding whether loyalty points used for gaming credits should be classed as revenue, meaning the operator will pay an extra AU$10.3m in casino duties to the Treasurer of South Australia. SkyCity had appealed the South Australian Court of Appeal’s judgment on the interpretation of the provisions in the Casino Duty Agreement dated October 27 between SkyCity Adelaide and
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first inquiry, numerous shortcomings in governance, regulatory compliance, technology and risk management remain, including in areas that Te Star claimed it had remediated. Reform in the systems, policies, processes and culture that support these areas cannot be understated in a business as complex as Te Star’s. “In a casino setting, compliance breaches
can have serious consequences for the community, and the Bell Report illustrated how quickly weak controls can lead to criminal infiltration and gambling harm.”
ECA, AGA and BGC forge strategic dialogue Operator News
Te American Gaming Association (AGA), European Casino Association (ECA), and the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) have jointly announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that marks the beginning of a collaboration grounded in shared industry values and priorities. Te MOU formalises a commitment to address key issues facing the industry, including: illegal gambling, responsible gaming, innovation, and security. Te first initiative, a law enforcement roundtable, is scheduled to be held in Janaury 2025.
treatment activities. With regard to black market operators, the Bill contains a suite of measures to address illegal or criminal gambling activity and includes explicit prohibitions on illegal activity or practices, some of which could result in significant custodial sentences. Commenting on this major milestone, Minister
Register and introduces tight restrictions on the advertisement of gambling activities. It also provides for the creation of a Social Impact Fund to support awareness – raising and educational measures and to support problem gambling
the Treasurer of South Australia which determined the treatment of loyalty points converted to gaming machine play for the purpose of calculating casino duty at the SkyCity Adelaide casino. As detailed in SkyCity’s 2024 Annual Report and
Group FY24 financial statements released on 22 August 2024, the matter has been the subject of a longstanding contractual dispute concerning the interpretation of the Agreement. Given the complexity of the issues involved, both parties agreed to seek declaratory relief from the South Australian Supreme Court as to the proper construction of the Agreement.
of State Browne said: “I am truly delighted to welcome the passage of this long-awaited legislation, which is the result of many years of hard work by myself and a team of dedicated Departmental officials. It provides for a new streamlined, simplified and coherent licensing framework – one that reflects the nature of gambling in modern society and addresses the proliferation of digital gambling activities and advertising in recent years.”
Te High Court has confirmed the Court of
Appeal’s interpretation of the Agreement finding that credits on gaming machines arising from the conversion of loyalty points, when played by customers, are to be included in gaming revenue for the purpose of calculating casino duty at the SkyCity Adelaide casino. Accordingly, it is estimated that SkyCity
Adelaide is obliged to pay additional casino duty of A$70.3m to January 2024 in addition to A$2.8m of additional casino duty payable as a consequence of that part of the Court of Appeal’s earlier judgment that was not appealed to the High Court.
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