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MEDIA RELEASE
NICK XENOPHON M.L.C. INDEPENDENT NO POKIES
MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 28th April 2004
LIQUOR AND
GAMBLING COMMISSIONER FINDS CASINO BREACHED CODES OF PRACTICE CASINO
IN DEEP WATER OVER DOLPHIN POKIES PROMOTION AND
SHOPPING ·
Casino Faces Hefty Fines/Penalties From Independent Gambling
Authority. Skycity
Adelaide Casino faces disciplinary action and hefty fines as a result of being
found to have breached Gambling law Codes of Practice in relation to two recent
promotions. Potential penalties under the legislation include a $100 000 fine, a Supreme
Court injunction, or even loss or suspension of the Casino licence. Last
month, No Pokies MLC Nick Xenophon - made a complaint to the Liquor and Gambling
Commissioner, Bill Pryor about two Casino promotions. The
first related to an advertisement headed: ‘“Think
how much shopping you could do if you won $10 000”,
offering ‘ The
Advertising Code of Practice prohibits gambling advertising that is tied in with
obtaining basic household purchases. Commissioner Pryor found that:
“I
agree that the advertisement links gambling with household staples. The
advertisement is also misleading in that patrons are led to believe that they
must play machines or table games to enter the draw. This is actually not the
case. All that is required is to log on to the loyalty system by inserting the
Action card into a card reader at a machine or table game. The advertisement
also breaches clause 5 in that it fails to include sufficient information to
allow a reasonable informed person to understand the overall return to player or
odds of winning.”
The
second complaint related to the heavily promoted Dolphin
Treasure Pokie Tournament
which offered free credit, prizes for free play to Casino patrons.
The
Commissioner found that:
"[t]he
advertisement offends clause 5 of the Advertising Code of Practice because it
fails to include sufficient information to allow a reasonably informed person to
understand the overall return to player or odds of winning; and as the
advertisement/promotion encourages a person to gamble during a particular
period, it failed to include sufficient information to allow a reasonably
informed person to appreciate how likely it is that the prize will be won by
someone during that period.” It is now up to the Independent Gambling Authority to determine the appropriate
penalty to be imposed on the Casino. It is understood that the Casino has
requested time to make a submission to the Authority before a penalty is
imposed. “These
codes of practice are meant to reign in conduct by gambling venues that could
exacerbate problem gambling. The Commissioner’s findings should be taken
seriously, and the Casino deserves a significant penalty to act as a deterrent
for this type of conduct not to occur again – and to send a warning to other
gambling operators”.
Written and authorised by Nick Xenophon, 653 Lower North East Road, Paradise, SA 5075
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