{"id":777011623,"date":"2023-12-04T08:54:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T11:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777011623"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:00:48","slug":"nsw-steps-up-controls-on-illegal-gambling-signage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/nsw-steps-up-controls-on-illegal-gambling-signage","title":{"rendered":"NSW steps up controls on illegal gambling signage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A zero-tolerance approach began on December 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Australia.- The Liquor &amp; Gaming New South Wales (L&amp;GNSW) has initiated the final phase of its compliance programme against <strong>prohibited gaming signage<\/strong>.\u00a0A zero-tolerance approach began on December 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">External and internal gaming-related signage is <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/nsw-government-to-force-pubs-and-clubs-to-remove-gambling-signage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prohibited<\/a>, and there must be no allusion to gaming at all. During an inspection, L&amp;GNSW inspectors found fault with<strong>\u00a0the Royal Hotel at Granville<\/strong>\u00a0for using large external signs with cartoon imagery promoting its restaurant, Mr Choy&#8217;s Wok, because the imagery was similar to that used in the Choy&#8217;s Kingdom electronic gaming machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The licensee received a statutory direction under section 75 of the Liquor Act, requiring the signage to be changed or removed.\u00a0It has now complied but has applied for the decision to be reviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inspectors also found that a digital archway around the external gaming room entrance at <strong>the Stardust Hotel at Cabramatta<\/strong> contained animations of a panda holding and chewing on a branch similar to those used in the &#8216;Panda Magic&#8217; electronic gaming machine. This licensee was also issued a statutory direction to cease use. Failure to adhere carries penalties of up to AU$11,000 per violation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>See also:&nbsp;<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/nsw-pubs-and-clubs-show-high-compliance-with-gambling-signage-ban\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NSW pubs and clubs show high compliance with gambling signage ban<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minister for Gaming &amp; Racing,<strong>\u00a0David Harris<\/strong>, said L&amp;GNSW will no longer accept any reason for a delay in the removal of prohibited signage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said: \u201cAny signage that attempts to circumvent the prohibition on gambling-related signage will be met with an escalated enforcement response. This includes the use of animations, symbols or characters commonly associated with gambling, poker machine graphics or gambling franchises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSince the ban took effect in September,<strong>&nbsp;Liquor &amp; Gaming inspectors have attended over 1,200 venues across 53 local government areas (LGAs) in NSW<\/strong>, including 19 regional LGAs, which represents over 55 per cent of the venues in the state that hold gaming machine entitlements. Inspections have indicated a compliance rate of 99 per cent for external gaming-related signage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy now, venue operators should have a full understanding of the requirements and all illegal signage should be removed. Removing this signage is just one important part of our commitment to gambling reform to reduce harm and tackle money laundering head on in NSW.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A zero-tolerance approach began on December 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Liquor & Gaming New South Wales (L&GNSW) has initiated a zero-tolerance enforcement phase for prohibited gaming signage in New South Wales, Australia, effective December 1. This regulatory action targets both explicit and allusive gaming promotions, with two venues already receiving statutory directions for non-compliance. This underscores the government's commitment to broader gambling reform, harm reduction, and anti-money laundering (AML) initiatives.","focusai_entities":"Liquor & Gaming New South Wales (L&GNSW), Royal Hotel, Mr Choy\u2019s Wok, Stardust Hotel, David Harris","focusai_location":"Australia, New South Wales (NSW), Granville, Cabramatta","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), affiliate_publisher (0.7), marketing_crm (0.9), investor_analyst (0.8), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Enforcement Scope Expansion?","query":"Given the L&GNSW's zero-tolerance stance on 'allusion to gaming,' what are the specific criteria or guidelines being developed to prevent subjective interpretation and ensure consistent enforcement across diverse promotional materials, including digital assets?"},{"label":"Financial Impact Analysis?","query":"What is the projected financial impact of these escalated compliance requirements and potential penalties on venue operators, particularly smaller establishments, and how might this influence market consolidation or operational viability?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,156],"tags":[23911],"class_list":["post-777011623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-regulation-news","tag-gambling-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777011623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777011623"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777011623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777011630,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777011623\/revisions\/777011630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777011623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777011623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777011623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}