The Government of Victoria admitted that the problematic deal with the casino giant Crown will put a setback to the authorities’ decision, concerning the gambling legislation procedure.
The license of Crown has been significantly extended and the operator was enabled to provide its products and services to the Australian residents until 2050. Plus, the managers got a permission to extend their business by installing over a hundred poker machines.
During the period 2014-2050 the casino will contribute to the Australian economy with more than $1 milliard. The government will receive an upfront payment equal to $250 million and the rest of the amount will be paid during the rest of the years.
However, the Victorian residents will be supposed to pay the Crown owners taxes that may go over $200 million if any issues with the gambling regulations occur and the revenue of the casino experience a rapid decline.
Edward O’Donohue, the Minister, responsible for the gambling affairs regulation in Victoria, refused to reveal more information about the actions he is going to take. The clause, mentioned above, might or might not be included in the refined laws. The players and taxpayers can only guess what the next move will be.
He gave a short interview for a respected media and said that luckily, the deal with Crown hasn’t affected the pre-commitment and the new gambling facilities will be available on the casino floor by the end of 2015. He didn’t miss to pinpoint the fact that the gambling activities, available in the state, are not likely to suffer a setback as well.
Actually, he added that the contract extension, approved by the Victorian authorities, ensured the certainty necessary and the future proper maintenance of the local gambling sector for the years to come.
O’Donohue also said that people, who work in the field of the responsible gambling, are serious and reliable individuals so the chances any issues to arise are really slim.
However, the deal with Crown is likely to pose difficulties as far as the amount of the maximum bets limitation is concerned. The Productivity Commission experts recommend it to be $1 but the regulators will have the final say. Nevertheless the pre-commitment on a voluntary basis will become valid in 2015.
Meanwhile, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has put forward the idea of establishing programs that intend to protect the vulnerable part of the society – namely the teenagers, and figure out the measures that have to be taken towards limiting the gambling addiction issues and helping those who are already addicted.
An advertising campaign, aimed at popularizing the problems, the reckless gambling activities can cause, is supposed to be launched this Thursday.
The organizers of the campaign are planning to concentrate their efforts on explaining the risks the excessive use of poker machines poses to the players. They are also concerned about the growth of the online gambling industry.
The campaign supports the standpoint of the councils, who are totally against the development of the gambling sector, let alone the scheduled installation of more poker machines.
