Annette Kimmitt to step down as CEO of Victorian gambling regulator
Kimmitt will leave her role in late March next year.
Australia.- Annette Kimmitt will step down as chief executive officer of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) in March 2025. According to a report in The Guardian, Kimmitt, who had been appointed as VGCCC’s CEO in March 2022, said her decision to resign was influenced by “the pull of family”. Kimmitt still had two years left to serve on her term.
She stated: “I have got my first granddaughter due in January, my mother is ageing and needs a bit more help. It is just that time of life where I’m deciding to step away from full-time executive work.” She then referred to the job done since she was appointed as CEO and said: “I am really proud of what the organisation has done in three short years. We are now recognised as the nation’s strongest gambling regulator. We have really held the industry to account. Since January 2022, we have levied nearly AU$260m in fines. We had 88 disciplinary actions against the industry just last year.”
VGCCC chair Fran Thorn, who is also leaving the organisation, said: “Annette’s leadership, drive and laser-like focus were fundamental to transforming the VGCCC following the Crown Royal Commission and, by extension, the state’s gambling industry.
“Now recognised as the nation’s strongest gambling regulator, under her stewardship the VGCCC has designed and implemented a new risk-based, intelligence-led approach to regulating Victoria’s gambling industry. This will be her enduring legacy.”
VGCCC took 88 disciplinary actions in 2023-24
The regulator has released a report on its actions in the 2023-2024 year. The regulator took 88 disciplinary actions: 78 against gambling employees, 3 against major licensees and 7 against other gambling licensees. It undertook 1,633 audits, completed 2,770 inspections of venues and brought 10 successful prosecutions. The agency found 517 gambling breaches.
Actions against licensees include a fine against Tabcorp for repeated failure to comply with directions during a VGCCC investigation into a major system outage. Meanwhile, Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH) was fined AU$480,000 for operating poker machines at venues outside of nominated trading hours and failing to observe mandatory shutdown periods.
