Monitoring Regulatory Provisions
:. The Victorian
Commission on Gambling Regulation (VCGR) is the primary regulator
and administrator of the gambling industry in Victoria.
:. The Gambling
Advocacy Project is active in assisting communities to communicate their
concerns about possible breaches of gambling regulations to the VCGR. Since
the inception of the project, these concerns have centred on possible breaches
of EGM signage regulations, regulations related to advertising EGM’s,
other gambling activities on the internet and in print media, and the conduct
of gambling activities in local hotels and clubs.
Gambling 'Toys' for Young People & Children Being Investigated A cursory investigation of the toys and games aisle at your local department store could well reveal the popularity and availability of 'gambling' type games to children and young people. The types of products found range from plastic poker machine toys, roulette wheels, casino-type table and card games, holographic jigsaw puzzles of a poker machines and software games that allow the playing of virtual poker machines with its a ssociated lights and sounds. As none of these games involve the use of 'real money' they are deemed legal.
The federal Office of Film and Literature Classification has provided most of the gaming software with either 'G' or 'PG' ratings. Notionally, this classification status makes the products available for purchase by children and youth of all ages. The rating of some of these software games contrasts with the '18+' ratings given by classifiers in European countries for a number of these same games. In addition to the familiarization of young people with poker machine play years before they can legally enter a gaming venue, concerns have been raised about the relative easy access to real on-line gambling sites and pornographic sites through web-links implanted within some of the software's visual displays.
Over the past few months, the Community Advocacy on Gambling Partnership Group has taken steps to communicate community concerns about gambling toys and software games that target the children and youth markets. The concerns relate to content and socialisation impacts on young people. Discussions have been held with the Council of Gamblers Help Services and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVIC). YACVIC went on to voice their concerns over these products to the Minister for Youth Affairs, Jacinta Allan. In addition, formal concerns have been raised with the Minister for Gaming, and the matter has now been referred to the federal level within the Attorney General's area for further investigation into both the content and the classification status of the various gaming products.
Correspondence outlining concerns about some of the software products we were referred, were also sent to the corporate offices of a number of major retail companies who stock the products requesting a review of their purchasing policies. Responses to these letters have been mixed, with some retailers declining any action, while others have instigated further investigation and reviews of the software products in their stores. The outcomes of these actions taken to express concern over early socialisation of young people into a popular gambling culture are now partly dependent of the actions of the federal government. It is worth highlighting that the concerns of the community in this regard have been treated seriously by government, and we will advise of the outcomes of the federal investigation in future bulletins and on the project's website www.gamblingadvocacy.org.au.
