Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Limited has been fined AU$300,000 by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) for the unauthorized use of blanking plates on slot machines at Crown Melbourne.
The fine relates to a trial conducted in March and April 2017 where blanking plates were placed over certain buttons on 17 slot machines over a period of three weeks, effectively limiting players’ betting options. The blanking plates concealed play line options so that only minimum and maximum betting options were available.
In a statement, the VCGLR said it considers the way in which Crown used the blanking plates constituted a variation to the gaming machines and therefore required prior approval.
As well as being fined AU$300,000, Crown has also been issued with a letter of censure requiring it to present a draft updated compliance framework to the VCGLR within six months and explain how the updated framework will prevent a re-occurrence.
The VCGLR pointed out that the magnitude of the fine reflected the seriousness of the issue, however it also noted that Crown had fully co-operated with its investigation, that the contravention was not deliberate, that the decision to conduct the trial was made by a small group of Crown staff who did not believe approval was required and that Crown acted quickly to cease the trial following a complaint.
In response, Crown said, “The Commission accepted that the contravention was not deliberate and that the gaming machine trial did not impact on the return to player ratio.
“While Crown Melbourne’s position throughout this process was that the gaming machine trial did not require the prior approval of the Commission, Crown Melbourne respects the Commission’s decision, which brings this process to a close.”
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