The Malinauskas Labor Government’s new nation-leading casino penalties have passed Parliament.

In the wake of unprecedented findings of misconduct by casino operators around Australia, the Malinauskas Government has significantly increased the penalties for breaching our state’s casino laws.

In June, the Federal Court ruled SkyCity Adelaide had breached the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and fined it $67 million in response to civil proceedings brought against it by AUSTRAC.

In the lead up to this and in the wake of adverse findings against casinos in four other states, the Malinauskas Government undertook a review of the penalties applicable to the gambling operations of the Adelaide Casino, many of which hadn’t been substantially changed since their introduction in 1997.

Under the Government’s new laws, the fines faced by the licensee have increased from a maximum of $100,000 to $75 million when imposed through disciplinary action taken by the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner.

Provisions relating to disciplinary action will cover both past and future conduct, with measures in place to ensure the Commissioner takes into account penalties already imposed by a court when considering any additional penalties.

The maximum penalties for many criminal offences have increased under the new laws such as offences for failing to keep proper financial accounts, evading the payment of casino duty and failure to take action specified in a compliance notice issued by the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner.

Quotes

Attributable to Andrea Michaels

Holding a casino licence is a privilege and the Malinauskas Government will not allow the penalties for breaches to merely be a slap on the wrist.

These are serious offences and so the penalties cannot be something that a multimillion-dollar business can simply disregard as an acceptable cost of doing business.

South Australia has a single casino licence holder and this comes with significant responsibilities.

These reforms will deliver what South Australians expect and ensure a greater level of accountability and responsibility in future.