{"id":777035183,"date":"2025-11-27T08:05:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T11:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777035183"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:38:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:38:27","slug":"victoria-gambling-regulator-issues-warning-ahead-of-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/victoria-gambling-regulator-issues-warning-ahead-of-holiday-season","title":{"rendered":"Victoria gambling regulator warns venues to comply with trading hours over Christmas period"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The regulator issued fines for breaches on Good Friday and ANZAC Day this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Australia.- The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has warned venues to ensure trading hours are compliant over the Christmas period. The warning comes after it issued fines and censures totalling AU$58,000 (US$37,831) to 12 clubs and hotels across Victoria for breaching permitted trading hours on Good Friday and ANZAC Day this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VGCCC found that gaming machines were in use at 12 venues during prohibited hours on Good Friday, while Kerang Bowling Club and Bridge Hotel in Mordialloc breached restrictions on ANZAC Day. Nine venues received fines, and 3 others were censured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a similar breach in 2024, Clayton RSL received the largest fine (AU$15,000) for breaching gaming hours on Good Friday. Permitted gaming trading hours vary on these days and are based on the liquor trading hours as defined in the individual liquor licence of each venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VGCCC CEO Suzy Neilan said: \u201cThe festive season is just around the corner, and we appreciate that it is an extremely busy time for clubs and hotels. That is why it is so important to check your trading hours are compliant now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrading restrictions on days like Good Friday and ANZAC Day reflect the significance many people in the community place on these dates. It is important that we reflect community expectations surrounding these days and ensure that venues comply with the law,\u201d Neilan added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, the VGCCC fined 11 venues a total of AU$180,000 (US$117.051) for similar breaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, VGCCC launched a consultation on proposed reforms to the application process for Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM)<\/a> approvals in Victoria. The updates cover both new premises approvals under section 3.3.6 and EGM increase applications under section 3.4.17 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> MPs push Australian government for gambling ad ban<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The regulator issued fines for breaches on Good Friday and ANZAC Day this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":24745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has issued fines totaling AU$58,000 to 12 venues for breaching gaming machine trading hours on public holidays and warned operators to ensure compliance during the upcoming Christmas period. This enforcement action follows similar breaches last year and coincides with a consultation on proposed reforms to Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) approval processes in Victoria.","focusai_entities":"Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, VGCCC, Kerang Bowling Club, Bridge Hotel, Clayton RSL, Suzy Neilan","focusai_location":"Australia, Victoria, Mordialloc","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), investor_analyst (0.7), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"EGM Reform Impact","query":"What are the anticipated operational and capital expenditure implications for Victorian operators stemming from the VGCCC's proposed reforms to the Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) approval process?"},{"label":"Compliance Burden Analysis","query":"How do recurring fines for trading hour breaches, such as those issued by the VGCCC, impact the aggregate operational compliance burden and profitability margins for multi-venue operators in the Victorian market?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,156],"tags":[289,23911,225],"class_list":["post-777035183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-regulation-news","tag-australia","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-legislation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777035183","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\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777035183"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777035183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777035198,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777035183\/revisions\/777035198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777035183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777035183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777035183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}