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- 10 March 2004
Public Lotteries Legislation Amendment Bill
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Page: 7010
Second Reading
Debate resumed from 18 February.
Mr GEORGE SOURIS (Upper Hunter) [12.38 p.m.]: I am pleased to lead for the Opposition on the Public Lotteries Legislation Amendment Bill. I indicate at the outset that the Opposition will not oppose the bill. Generally speaking, the bill arises following the statutory five-year review of the Act. In many respects, the Opposition agrees that the amendments clarify and tidy up a number of administrative matters. One item that stands out relates to unclaimed prizes and the intention of this amending bill to introduce a time limit within which prizes can be claimed. The Opposition is in favour of that concept, although I ask the Minister, when he replies to this debate, to indicate what type of time limit is being contemplated by the Government. I imagine that a number of years—but not an unduly large number of years—would be appropriate.
I note from the Minister's earlier comments that some publicity has gone into encouraging people to come forward and to claim unclaimed prizes, although I cannot imagine why anybody would knowingly not claim a prize. A decade later somebody might believe that he or she had a win and somewhere in a tin he or she had a little piece of paper that bore the fruits of a significant lottery win. The Government must make every effort to establish whether there are any such cases. What is the Government's intention in relation to that issue? The Opposition supports the bill, which I commend to the House.
Mr TONY STEWART (Bankstown—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.41 p.m.]: I am pleased to report to the House that the Public Lotteries Legislation Amendment Bill has been subject to extensive consultation within the industry, and all major stakeholders have had a say in it. The bill stems from a review of the New South Wales Lotteries Corporatisation Act 1996 and the Public Lotteries Act 1996. The consultation and review process was undertaken during 2002-03. This bill seeks to address the recommendations that flowed from that review. The culmination of the review process was the need to address three main areas of concern: first, to clarify current provisions to provide for a greater degree of legal certainty; second, to introduce provisions to discourage nuisance and false claims relating to unclaimed prize money; and, third, to introduce a new offence for unauthorised participants in the sale of public lottery products.
It is of concern that certain entities are seeking to profit from the good reputation of lottery licensees and the good business reputation of New South Wales. Those charlatans, without any appropriate authorisation from lottery licensees, are manipulating any opportunity to gain profit for themselves using the good reputation of the New South Wales lotteries system. These types of operations target citizens from foreign countries by direct mail or over the Internet. The people who are vulnerable to that sort of operation are people from a non-English speaking background. These charlatans offer to purchase lottery products on their behalf. The claims that are made in these offers can be vague and are often misleading, especially if the recipient does not have a good grasp of the English language. These organisations charge customers with whom they are dealing inflated entry fees.
There is no way to guarantee that any prize winnings are returned to the people who have ordered and paid for lottery products. Such operations not only damage the commercial reputation of public lottery licence holders, such as New South Wales Lotteries; as I have already indicated they have the potential to damage the perception of the general business environment in New South Wales. The structure of such gambling-type operations means that they are not subject to effective redress within the existing lottery regulatory framework. Accordingly, an amendment to the Public Lotteries Act is warranted specifically to prohibit such operations. Complaints are received about these unauthorised operators but the current Act is limited in the way in which those complaints can be dealt with or with respect to the action that might be taken against those operators.
The bill introduces a new offence to ensure that appropriate action can be taken against operators involved in these types of practices. That will serve to protect the public from falling victim to crooked operators and charlatans, and it will protect the business interests of licensed lottery agents in New South Wales. This offence has no impact on the practice of purchasing lotteries products as gifts for family members or friends. That practice can still continue and those people will not be affected by this legislation. It will apply only to those unauthorised organisations engaged in this activity as part of a commercial enterprise. It is aimed at stopping those activities that will cause detriment to certain individuals. This bill is designed to enhance public lotteries and to provide benefits to members of the community who enjoy participating in New South Wales lotteries. I commend the bill to the House.
Mr ALAN ASHTON (East Hills) [12.45 p.m.]: I support the Public Lotteries Legislation Amendment Bill. I thank Opposition members for their support for the bill. I acknowledge the presence in the gallery of Ms Elina Lindberg, who has travelled all the way from Finland.
Mr Paul Gibson: Just to hear your speech!
Mr ALAN ASHTON: I thank the honourable member for Blacktown for suggesting that she travelled all the way from Finland just to hear my speech. I also welcome Ms Kate Ashton, my niece, who travelled all the way from the house adjacent to my house in Picnic Point. There are three main aspects of concern in the bill. First, it must clarify current provisions to provide for a greater degree of legal certainty; second, it must introduce provisions to discourage nuisance and false claims relating to unclaimed prize money; and, third, it must introduce a new offence for unauthorised participants in the sale of public lottery products.
This bill is the result of extensive consultation in 2002-03—consultation that has continued under the present Minister, for which I congratulate him—as part of the legislative review of the New South Wales Lotteries Corporatisation Act 1996 and the Public Lotteries Act 1996. The Government is seeking to avoid circumstances such as those recently reported in the United States of America where a woman made a false claim for a lottery prize of $162 million. The woman, Elicia Battle, went to the extent of filing a police report for a lottery ticket that she claimed she lost in the car park of a convenience store. The real winner eventually presented for the prize and Ms Battle was found guilty of lying to the police.
The Department of Gaming and Racing has had people attempting to claim unclaimed prize money in the past using the same sort of trick. The upshot of these false claims is that they waste a lot of time, money and resources. It must also result in a lot of heartache for genuine prize winners when other people in the community say that they have won a lottery prize and the rightful owners have the winning tickets in their pockets. It is anticipated that making this practice an offence under the Act will seek to discourage nuisance and false claim making. In addition to the creation of this new offence, the bill will define an "unclaimed prize" as a prize that remains unclaimed for a period of one year after the lottery in question is drawn. Public lottery subscribers have the right to make a claim for an unclaimed prize to which they believe they are entitled. There is no intention to remove that right.
The existing total liability for unclaimed public lottery prizes in New South Wales is a considerable sum of money. The Government is quite happy to make that money available if people can prove that it is their money. The introduction of a limit on the period in which a claim may be lodged for an unclaimed prize will significantly alleviate that problem. As the limits will be gradually reduced from the current open-ended system to a five-year limit, public lottery subscribers will still have up to 15 years to make a claim for an existing unclaimed prize before the new limits are fully in place. As the shadow Minister, the honourable member for Upper Hunter, said earlier, I do not know why anyone would wait 15 years before he or she claimed an unclaimed prize. It is possible that people who bought lottery tickets and scratchies for relatives and who did not check the digits carefully might not have realised the worth of those tickets.
In some cases people quite genuinely do not realise that they have the right to claim a prize. However, there should be a cut-off point. Eventually that cut-off point will be established, and that will be good. That will give all parties involved in lotteries and members of the community who partake in lotteries a substantial period of time to adjust to these new requirements. The introduction of limits on unclaimed prizes will implement an effective means for discharging accrued long-term liability, whilst not unduly limiting the rights of public lottery subscribers. This legislation will help to bring some degree of certainty to people who are often caught up in this area.
I am responsible for ensuring that my father-in-law's lotto ticket is submitted every week as he is presently in a nursing home. As a result, a bit of pressure is placed on me. I have to go to the newsagent to put in his numbers, knowing that if I do not use the same numbers that he has been using ever since lotto was introduced in the 1970s, that is the day his numbers will come up, my life will not be worth living and I will lose an important preselection vote. Any step we can take to refine the lotteries legislation is worthwhile. I congratulate the Government on introducing this bill and the Opposition on supporting it.
Mr PAUL GIBSON (Blacktown) [12.49 p.m.]: The Public Lotteries Legislation Amendment Bill is an important bill. I congratulate both the Minister for Gaming and Racing on having the foresight to bring it before Parliament and the Opposition on supporting it. The object of the bill is to make a number of miscellaneous amendments to the Public Lotteries Act 1996 with respect to the conduct of public lotteries and offences in relation to public lotteries. The bill also makes a number of ancillary and consequential amendments to the Act and repeals certain redundant provisions of the New South Wales Lotteries Corporatisation Act 1996.
The bill tidies up some administration issues. People have spoken to me about the section of the Act that refers to unclaimed prizes, and the bill will introduce a time limit on the claiming of such prizes. I welcome schedule 1 [18] of the bill, which inserts new sections 43A to 43D in the principal Act. New section 43A introduces the offence of unauthorised selling of entries in, or subscriptions to, public lotteries. New section 43B prohibits the unauthorised promotion or marketing of public lotteries. New section 43C prohibits a person from entering or subscribing to a public lottery for, or on behalf of, another for a fee or a reward. New section 43D introduces the offence of lodging a false claim for prizes in public lotteries. Those areas needed tightening as many people have come to me over the years complaining that they bought a lottery ticket through someone who acted for a fee and were then duped out of their winnings. I welcome the bill.
Mr GEOFF CORRIGAN (Camden) [12.51 p.m.]: I am pleased to support the Public Lotteries Legislation Amendment Bill, which will implement reforms to the State lotteries legislation following the recommendations of the review of that legislation conducted during 2001-02. Several rounds of consultation with key stakeholders were undertaken during the review. The first round of consultation occurred after the publication of an issues paper seeking to promote comment on legislation. Further opportunities for consultation were made available following the release of the review report. The issues raised during the consultation period were taken into account in finalising the proposals. Once in place, the amendments will enhance the regulatory framework of public lotteries. That is most important. Furthermore, the changes will provide greater consumer protection for lottery subscribers and greater certainty for lottery licensees.
The bill seeks to achieve these aims by introducing a time limit on claiming unclaimed prize money and banning involvement in the sale of lotteries products by unauthorised entities—as the honourable member for Blacktown explained so eloquently. The bill introduces new offences relating to unauthorised participants in the sale of public lottery products and the making of a false claim for unclaimed lottery prizes. It also introduces a time limit of five years for claims for unclaimed prize money. Unclaimed prize money is a substantial concern under the lotteries legislation. In New South Wales alone, this accrued liability exceeds $115 million. Available information on claims for unclaimed lottery prizes indicates clearly that only a minority date back more than three years. Therefore, the phasing in of a five-year limitation on unclaimed prize money will provide a substantial period for the public and lotteries agents to adjust to these new provisions. In so doing it is hoped that the legislation will discourage the lodging of false claims for unclaimed lottery prizes as the investigation of each false claim is very costly.
Enhanced consumer protection through the introduction of an offence against unauthorised commercial enterprises selling lottery products is another outcome encapsulated in the bill. The Department of Gaming and Racing has received complaints about such organisations offering to purchase New South Wales Lotteries products on behalf of customers outside New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is reported that these groups have offered their services in Britain and Japan. These dubious organisations operate outside the existing regulatory framework for public lotteries so that when complaints are received there are limitations on the action that may be taken against them. In some situations prize moneys are not forwarded to the consumer, who believes that he or she legitimately purchased a lottery ticket. The bill introduces three new offences to address this unauthorised involvement in the sale of lotteries products.
Mr WAYNE MERTON (Baulkham Hills) [12.54 p.m.]: I have read the Public Lotteries Legislation Amendment Bill and, although the Opposition does not oppose it, I am concerned about the introduction of statutory time limits on the claiming of lottery prizes. At present there is no such statutory time limit on claiming a lottery prize; the claim period is open-ended. Unclaimed lottery prizes currently total $115 million. That sum probably comprises small amounts as few people entitled to $100,000, for example, would fail to claim their prize. I have grave doubts as to what benefits, if any, the community will derive from the imposition of a period of statutory limitation on the claiming of lottery prizes. It is not inconceivable that a person could put his lottery ticket in the pocket of a suit that he wears once to Auntie Flo's wedding and then to Uncle Jack's funeral 10 years later, whereupon he discovers the ticket and wonders, "I wonder how that ticket went." Under the law as it presently stands that person could have the ticket checked and then claim the prize that he won 10 years ago. However, that right is at risk from this bill.
The Government is entitled, by delegation and regulation, to introduce a statute of limitations and impose a period in which a person must lodge a claim for a lottery prize. If people discover that they have won a lottery prize after the expiry of that period—deemed by regulation to be five years, two years or whatever—they will be barred by statute from receiving their winnings. While the bill may have other beneficial effects, I wonder whether it is in the public interest to introduce legislation that could deny rightful prize winners the chance to collect their winnings. It is hard enough to win the lottery these days without finding out too late that one has had a win and being denied by a statute of limitations the right to collect one's prize.
Mr TONY McGRANE (Dubbo) [12.58 p.m.]: I support the Public Lotteries Legislation Amendment Bill. Its introduction is most timely. The Australian population is ageing and the baby boomers, who are nearing retirement age—about 400,000 people live in some 700 retirement villages—are particularly keen on small-time gambling in the form of lottery tickets. Therefore, it is important to introduce greater safeguards in this area. I do not agree with the honourable member for Baulkham Hills, who described the scenario of finding a lottery ticket 10 years after its purchase and being prevented by government regulation from claiming the prize. I remind honourable members of the old saying "You can't take it with you." If someone finds, 10 years after its purchase, a lottery ticket in the clothing of a person who has passed on, so be it. The honourable member for Baulkham Hills is not thinking straight when he urges protection for such claims. The bill tightens up the system and that is good for all concerned. I support the bill.
Mr GRANT McBRIDE (The Entrance—Minister for Gaming and Racing) [1.00 p.m.], in reply: I acknowledge the contribution of the shadow Minister, the honourable member for Upper Hunter, and I will shortly address the issues he raised. I also acknowledge the contributions of honourable members representing the electorates of Bankstown, Blacktown, Camden and East Hills. We can always rely on an interesting and entertaining contribution from the honourable member for The Hills, which the honourable member for Dubbo answered in an equally entertaining and amusing manner. It is acknowledged that a change to the limits for unclaimed prizes has to be phased in to provide as good a regime as possible for those who have legitimate claims. As the limits will be gradually reduced from the current open-ended system to a five-year limit system, public lottery subscribers will still have up to 15 years to make a claim for an existing unclaimed prize before the new limits are fully in place. In conclusion, I remind members that the rationale and background of the review was canvassed in my second reading speech.
The bill will implement the recommendations of the review of lotteries legislation that was carried out during 2001-02. Several rounds of consultation with key stakeholders were undertaken, the first of which occurred following the publishing of an issues paper seeking to promote comment on the legislation consultation. Further opportunities for consultation were made available following the release of the review report. Concerns raised during the consultation period were taken into account during the finalisation of the proposals. Clearly there has been full consultation in regard to this issue. Once in place the amendments will enhance the regulatory framework for public lotteries, provide greater consumer protection for lottery subscribers and provide greater certainty for lottery licensees. I commend the bill to the House.
Motion agreed to.
Bill read a second time and passed through remaining stages.
[Mr Acting-Speaker (Mr John Mills) left the chair at 1.02 p.m. The House resumed at 2.15 p.m.]
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