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The Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group has been fined $177,500 after pleading guilty to a jaw-dropping 24 charges for allowing minors to gamble or be within a certain amount of space of a poker machine area.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission issued charges against ALH with five of its establishments cited. The infractions took place between September 2022 and October 2023. Those venues were the Albion Charles Hotel, Cramers Hotel, Doncaster Hotel, Excelsior Hotel and the Rose Shamrock & Thistle Hotel.
Additionally in August 2023, an 8-year-old child, while in the company of an adult, was not stopped from entering the poker machine area at another ALH venue, Westside Taverner. Minors are not permitted to enter gambling areas in Victoria.
Staff at the venue did pull the adult accompanying the child to the side and ask them to leave before reporting the incident to the VGCCC, according to the findings.
VGCCC CEO, Annette Kimmitt AM, welcomed the Magistrate’s decision.
“It is well established that minors who gamble are more likely to experience severe harm from gambling as adults. All venues therefore have a legal and social obligation to protect children from that risk.
“We have zero tolerance for operators that flout the law, especially when children are involved.
“While I commend the staff at Westside Taverner for intervening when they became aware there was a minor in the poker machine area, it is never acceptable for a child to gain access to a venue’s gambling area,” Ms Kimmitt said.
ALH was fined $175,000 for the teenager, $2,500 for the child, and ordered to pay the VGCCC $45,000 in costs.
The prosecution was part of a suite of actions taken by the VGCCC against venues and Tabcorp for allowing a minor to gamble, with two actions still before the Magistrates’ Court. The following licensees were previously fined:
- Preston Hotel – $25,300
- Parkview Hotel – $5,220
- The Brunswick Club – $8,720
- The Olympic Hotel – $8,820
- Northcote TAB Agency in Northcote – $9,960
- Edwardes Lakes Hotel in Reservoir – $9,900
- Tabcorp – $370,417.
