Gaming Control Amendment Act 1998

Gaming Control Amendment Act 1998

An Act to amend the Gaming Control Act 1993

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Gaming Control Amendment Act 1998 .

2.   Commencement

This Act commences on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3.   Principal Act

In this Act, the Gaming Control Act 1993 is referred to as the Principal Act.

4.    Section 3 amended (Interpretation)

Section 3(1) of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting the definition of keno and substituting the following definition:

keno means a game in which a person wagers –

(a) that certain numbers selected by that person will be among a group of numbers randomly selected from a total pool of 80 numbers; or

(b) on the outcome of the numbers randomly selected from a total pool of 80 numbers;

(b) by omitting the definition of restricted area and substituting the following definition:

restricted gaming area means a physically discrete area within an approved venue which minors must not enter and which is devoted primarily to the conduct of gaming;

5.    Section 36 amended (Application for licensed premises gaming licence)

Section 36 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (8) and substituting the following subsection:

(8)  The Commission, at its discretion, may refund the whole or part of an application fee –

(a) if an application is refused under subsection (7) or withdrawn by the applicant; or

(b) for any other reason the Commission considers appropriate.

6.    Sections 43A and 43B inserted

After section 43 of the Principal Act , the following sections are inserted in Division 2:

43A.   Surrender of licensed premises gaming licence

(1)  The holder of a licensed premises gaming licence may surrender the licence by giving written notice to the Commission.

(2)  The surrender takes effect only if the Commission consents to the surrender.

43B.   Renewal of licensed premises gaming licence

(1)  The holder of a licensed premises gaming licence may, not earlier than such period before the expiration of the current licence as is determined by the Commission, apply to the Commission for the renewal of the licence.

(2)  If an application is made under subsection (1)  –

(a) the current licence continues in force until the licence is renewed or its renewal is refused; and

(b) if renewed, the renewal takes effect from the day on which the current licence was due to expire.

(3)  An application for renewal must be made in a form approved by the Commission and must be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

(4)  Sections 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 and 42 apply to an application for the renewal of a licensed premises gaming licence in the same manner as they apply to an application for the granting of a licensed premises gaming licence.

7.    Section 47 amended (Disciplinary action)

Section 47 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting from subsection (4)(a) "or the variation of the terms of the licence" and substituting ", the variation of the terms of the licence or the imposition of a fine";

(b) by inserting in subsection (7) "or impose a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units" after "licence";

(c) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (9) :

(10)  A fine imposed under this section may be recovered as a debt due to the Crown.

8.    Section 47A inserted

After section 47 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Division 2:

47A.   Suspension of licensed premises gaming licence in certain circumstances

(1)  The Commission may suspend a licensed premises gaming licence by notice in writing given to the licensee if it is satisfied that the licensee or an associate of the licensee has been convicted of an offence against this Act or, whether in Tasmania or not, with an offence involving fraud or dishonesty.

(2)  A licensed premises gaming licence is of no effect for the purposes of section 9 while it is suspended but the suspension does not affect its operation for any other purposes.

(3)  The Commission may, at any time, terminate or reduce a period of suspension.

9.    Section 50 amended (Special employees to be licensed)

Section 50 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting from subsection (3) "the venue operator or gaming operator employing, or" and substituting "a venue operator or gaming operator who has employed, is employing or is";

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3) :

(4)  The Commission may, on such occasions as it may require after the receipt of a certificate of competence under subsection (3) in respect of a licensee, request the venue operator or gaming operator employing the licensee to provide another certificate as to the competence of the licensee.

10.    Section 51 amended (Application for licence)

Section 51 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (7) and substituting the following subsection:

(7)  The Commission, at its discretion, may refund the whole or part of an application fee –

(a) if an application is refused under subsection (6) or withdrawn by the applicant; or

(b) for any other reason the Commission considers appropriate.

11.    Section 56A inserted

After section 56 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Division 3:

56A.   Replacement licence

(1)  A special employee may apply to the Commission for a replacement of his or her licence.

(2)  An application for a replacement licence must be made in a form approved by the Commission and must be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

(3)  A replacement licence is to be in a form approved by the Commission.

12.    Section 65 amended (Provision of information relating to licensee)

Section 65 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (1) .

13.    Section 66 amended (Interpretation)

Section 66 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting "installs," after "who " in the definition of technician .

14.    Section 69 amended (Offences)

Section 69 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by inserting in subsection (1) "install," after "must not";

(b) by inserting in subsection (2) "install," after "person to".

15.    Section 75 substituted

Section 75 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is substituted:

75.   Removal from Roll on disciplinary grounds

(1)  In this section –

disciplinary action means –

(a) the issuing of a letter of censure; or

(b) the imposition of a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units; or

(c) the suspension of the listing of the name of a person on the Roll for a specified period; or

(d) the removal of the listing of the name of a person from the Roll;

grounds for disciplinary action, in relation to the listing of the name of a person on the Roll, means any of the following grounds:

(a) that the listing was improperly obtained in that, at the time the application for listing was granted, there were grounds for refusing it;

(b) that a change in the situation of the person listed on the Roll has taken place and the person has failed to notify the Commission in accordance with section 161 ;

(c) that the person listed on the Roll, or any associate of that person, has been convicted of an offence against this Act or, whether or not in Tasmania, of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty punishable on conviction by imprisonment for 3 months or more (whether or not in addition to a fine);

(d) that the person listed on the Roll has provided information that he or she is required by this Act to provide knowing it to be false or misleading;

(e) that any gaming equipment manufactured or supplied by the person listed on the Roll is, in the opinion of the Commission, unreliable or otherwise unsatisfactory;

(f) that for any reason, the person listed on the Roll is not a suitable person to be listed on the Roll or an associate of that person is not suitable to be an associate of a person listed on the Roll;

(g) that the person listed on the Roll or an associate, employee, agent or other person engaged by the person listed on the Roll has contravened a provision of this Act and in the Commission's view the contravention is so serious as to warrant disciplinary action.

(2)  The Commission may serve on a person listed on the Roll a notice in writing affording the person an opportunity to show cause within 28 days why disciplinary action should not be taken on grounds for disciplinary action specified in the notice.

(3)  The person listed on the Roll, within the period specified in the notice, may arrange with the Commission for the making of submissions to the Commission as to why disciplinary action should not be taken and the Commission must consider any submissions so made.

(4)  The Commission may then take disciplinary action against the person listed on the Roll as the Commission sees fit and does so by giving written notice to the person –

(a) of the removal of the listing of the name of the person from the Roll; or

(b) of the suspension of the listing of the name of the person on the Roll for the period specified in the notice; or

(c) of the imposition of a fine; or

(d) in the form of a letter of censure.

(5)  The removal of the listing of the name of a person from the Roll or the suspension of the listing of the name of a person on the Roll takes effect when the notice is given or on a later date specified in the notice.

(6)  A letter of censure may censure the person listed on the Roll in respect of any matter connected with the listing of the name of that person on the Roll and may include a direction to the person to rectify within a specified time any matter giving rise to the letter of censure.

(7)  If any direction given under subsection (6) is not complied with in the specified time, the Commission may, by giving written notice to the person listed on the Roll, remove the listing of the name of the person from the Roll, suspend the listing of the name of the person on the Roll for the period specified in the notice or impose a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units without affording the person a further opportunity to be heard.

(8)  The Commission may, at any time, terminate or reduce a period of suspension of the listing of the name of a person on the Roll.

(9)  The Commission may remove the listing of the name of a person from the Roll or suspend the listing of the name of a person on the Roll if the person has been or is being placed under external administration under the Corporations Law.

(10)  A fine imposed under this section may be recovered as a debt due to the Crown.

16.    Section 75A inserted

After section 75 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Division 5:

75A.   Removal from Roll in certain cases

The Commission may remove the name of a person from the Roll if –

(a) in the case of a natural person, the person has died; and

(b) in any other case, the person is no longer in existence.

17.    Section 85 amended (Identification of machines)

Section 85(3) of the Principal Act is amended by omitting "one internal and".

18.    Section 91 amended (The Commission's rules)

Section 91(1) of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting from paragraph (a) "restricted areas" and substituting "restricted gaming areas";

(b) by omitting from paragraph (b) "restricted areas" and substituting "restricted gaming areas";

(c) by omitting from paragraph (c) "restricted areas" and substituting "restricted gaming areas".

19.    Section 98 amended (Defective gaming machines not allowed)

Section 98 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsection:

(1A)  A person listed on the Roll who supplies approved gaming equipment to a venue operator or a gaming operator which does not function in the manner in which it was designed and programmed to function or to a standard approved by the Commission is guilty of an offence.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 100 penalty units.

20.    Section 139 amended (Banking)

Section 139 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting from subsection (1) "venue operator" and substituting "casino operator";

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1) :

(1A)  A licensed premises gaming operator must provide the Commission, as required, and in a form approved by the Commission, with a written authority addressed to a bank, building society or credit union authorising the bank, building society or credit union to comply with any requirements of an inspector exercising the powers conferred by this section in relation to the financial transactions arising from the conduct of gaming by the licensed premises gaming operator.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 100 penalty units.

(c) by omitting from subsection (2) " subsection (1) " and substituting " subsection (1) or (1A) ";

(d) by omitting from subsection (2) "that subsection" and substituting "those subsections".

21.    Section 148 amended (Licensed premises gaming licence fee)

Section 148 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsection:

(3)  If the holder of a licensed premises gaming licence ceases to hold that licence during the currency of the licence, the Commission may refund to that person an amount calculated in accordance with the following formula:

where –

A is the amount to be refunded;

LF is the licence fee paid in respect of the 12-month period referred to in subsection (1) ;

M is the number of months remaining after the person ceased to hold the licence in respect of the 12-month period for which the licence fee was paid.

22.    Section 161 substituted

Section 161 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is substituted:

161.   Change in situation of licensee or person listed on the Roll

(1)  Whenever a change of a kind specified by the Commission in writing given to the holder of any licence under this Act or a manufacturer or supplier listed on the Roll takes place in the situation existing in relation to that person, the person must, in a form approved by the Commission and on payment of the prescribed fee, notify the Commission of the change within 14 days after it takes place.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.

(2)  Where notification of a change relates to a change in an associate of a licensee or a person whose name is listed on the Roll, the Commission must investigate and consider each notification of change –

(a) if the change relates to a licensed operator, in accordance with sections 23 , 24 and 25 ; or

(b) if the change relates to a licensed premises gaming operator, in accordance with sections 38 , 39 and 40 ; or

(c) if the change relates to a person whose name is listed on the Roll, in accordance with section 71 .

23.    Section 162 amended (Destruction of finger prints, &c.)

Section 162 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting from subsection (1) "must" and substituting "may";

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2) :

(2A)  The Commission may destroy any finger prints or palm prints obtained by the Commission under this Act and any copies of them in any circumstances it considers appropriate.

24.    Section 173 amended (Appeals)

Section 173(1) of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraph (c) and substituting the following paragraph:

(c) to list or refuse to list the name of a person on the Roll, to remove the listing of the name of a person from the Roll or to suspend the listing of the name of a person on the Roll –

25.   Substitutions

Each of the provisions of the Principal Act specified in Column 1 of Schedule 1 is amended by omitting "restricted area" on the number of occurrences specified in Column 2 of that Schedule and substituting "restricted gaming area".

SCHEDULE 1 - Substitutions

Section 25

[Second reading presentation speech made in:

House of Assembly on 21 APRIL 1998

Legislative Council on 30 APRIL 1998]