Reforms
From 3 December, significant gambling reforms have come into effect in South Australia.
There are changes and new requirements for licensees.
What's changed?
For more details about what has changed see:
New self-assessment checklists are now available for licensees.
These checklists have been developed to help licensees assess their level of compliance with new legislation, regulations and codes of practice.
- Self-assessment compliance checklist - for operators of gaming machines in Hotels and Clubs (PDF 1.2MB)
- Self-assessment compliance checklist - for operators of TAB agencies in Hotels and Clubs (PDF 327KB)
While not mandatory, it is recommended the relevant self-assessment checklist is completed by a licensee at least every 6 months.
The new Gambling Administration Guidelines are now in effect and available for licensees.
A number of these guidelines replace prescription notices issued by the former Independent Gambling Authority (IGA) in relation to:
- account-based cashless gaming systems
- automated risk monitoring systems
- courses of training for employees
New guidelines have also been issued to support other reform measures including:
- the approval of facial recognition technology
- the approval of ticket-in ticket-out (TITO) systems.
See Gambling administration guidelines for the complete list.
The new Gaming Machine Licence Conditions have now come into effect.
A gaming machine licence is subject to the following licence conditions:
The holder of a gaming machine licence must not contravene or fail to comply with a condition of the licence.
New Codes of Practice have now come into effect
The new codes include changes to:
- the way gambling products and activities may be advertised to customers
- times of day when gambling advertising is not permitted
- the way the Barring and Online Employee Notification (BOEN) system is used
- prohibit second-hand dealers or pawnbrokers from conducting business on premises subject to a gaming machine licence
- reflect the operation of gaming machines with banknote acceptors, cashable tickets and cashable ticket redemption terminals.
- Work is progressing on the review of the codes of practice for the Adelaide Casino, Authorised Betting Operators and State Lotteries.
Failing to comply with a mandatory provision of the Codes of Practice is an offence.
As a licence holder you must display a sign if facial recognition technology is operating in the gaming area.
In accordance with the Commissioner’s specifications, the sign must be:
- printed in the original form as downloaded from this website. No modifications or additions to the form or content of the posters is permitted.
- printed in colour on A4 (210 x 297mm) paper
- printed at sufficient quality to ensure it is clearly legible
- displayed so the information contained is clearly visible to the public.
Failure to comply with these requirements may result in an expiation or penalty.
A contingency is an approved betting event in South Australia. Betting operators who are licensed or authorised to operate in SA can only accept bets on contingencies that have been approved by the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner.
A new Approved Betting Contingencies Consolidated Notice (PDF 347KB) has come into effect.
This replaces previous variation notices, and consolidates existing contingencies into one document.
This notice was gazetted on 17 December 2020.
The fee notice under the Gaming Machines Act 1992 has been updated to reflect new application types as a result of amendments included in the gambling reforms.
This notice was gazetted on Thursday 19 November and includes application fees for:
- exemptions from provisions within the Code of Practice
- amalgamating club licences
- varying licence conditions to increase the number of gaming machines approved for operation on a licensed premises.
See the South Australian Government Gazette for a comprehensive list of the fees.
The Social Effect Inquiry Process has been replaced by a new Community Impact Assessment, similar to that required for a liquor licence.
The new Community Impact Assessment Guidelines are now in effect.
Alongside clearer definitions, the guidelines outline new requirements for:
- stakeholder engagement
- simpler statistical and demographic information
- harm minimisation.
See Community Impact Assessment for more details.
Latest updates
As part of the gambling reform package, certain licensees operating gaming machines with banknote acceptors and the Adelaide Casino will need to operate a facial recognition system to identify barred persons about to enter a gaming area.
Licensees will only be allowed to operate facial recognition systems that have been evaluated and approved by the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner.
Applications are now open for FRT providers to submit an application to be evaluated and approved.
See Facial Recognition Technology for more details about the minimum technical requirements and preparing a submission.
As part of the gambling reform package, gaming machines will be able to be operated using banknotes or tickets (commonly known as 'ticket-in ticket-out' or TITO) instead of coins.
Gaming machines to be operated using banknotes or tickets in hotels and clubs will need to:
- comply with the Australian/New Zealand Gaming Machine National Standard 2016 (or any subsequent version) and the SA Appendix
- be QCOM compliant (the communication protocol used by the IGC Monitoring System)
- comply with certain transaction limits on the amount of banknotes and value of tickets to be inserted into a gaming machine.
Gaming machine manufacturers will need to submit an application to CBS so that gaming machines fitted with banknote acceptors and ticket-enabled devices can be approved for use in South Australia.
See Banknote acceptors and TITO for more details.
The prohibition on links between gaming machine dealers and service licensees has been removed.
This means that:
- the holder of a gaming machine dealer's licence can also hold a gaming machine service licence
- the holder of a gaming machine dealer's licence can now be associated with the holder of a gaming machine service licence
- a person can be associated with both a gaming machine dealer licence and the holder of a gaming machine service licence.
On December 1 2018, Consumer and Business Services (CBS) assumed responsibility for all gambling regulatory and policy functions in South Australia – including those previously overseen by the Independent Gambling Authority.
These reforms arose from recommendations in the review by the Hon Tim Anderson QC.
You can read the review on parliament.sa.gov.au by searching 'Tabled Papers and Petitions'.
Search instructions - In the 'Search Text' field, include the full name of the report - Gambling Regulation in South Australia, Administrative Review of - Report 9 December 2016.
Gambling legislation
- Gambling Administration Act 2019 – effective 3 December 2020
- Gambling Administration Act 1995 (formerly the Independent Gambling Authority Act 1995) – ceases 3 December 2020
- Statutes Amendment (Gambling Regulation) Act 2019 – effective 30 July 2020
- Authorised Betting Operations Act 2000
- Casino Act 1997
- Gaming Machines Act 1995
- Lottery & Gaming Act 1936
- Lotteries Act 2019 - uncommenced
Resources
Additional resources are outlined below:
We encourage you to regularly check this website for updates or if you hold a gaming machine licence, sign up for gaming e-notification updates.
Help with problem gambling
If you need immediate help with problem gambling including if you want to be barred, or are already barred from a gaming venue and need further information please visit Help with problem gambling
More information
For queries relating to gambling regulation, enforcement or barring orders, contact CBS on
131 882 or gamblingadministration [at] sa.gov.au