Casino Control Amendment (Cheques) Bill

About this Item
Speakers - Face Mr Jack
Business - Bill, First Reading, Second Reading

CASINO CONTROL AMENDMENT (CHEQUES) BILL

Bill introduced and read a first time.

Second Reading

Mr FACE (Charlestown - Minister for Gaming and Racing, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development) [5.34]: I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The general objective of this bill is to permit a slight alteration to the existing legislative requirement for the presentation of personal cheques from patrons of the Sydney casino. The bill seeks to achieve this objective by ensuring that cheques
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paid into a patron's deposit account with the Sydney casino operator are banked within 20 working days if the cheques are drawn on an account located outside Australia, banked within 10 working days if each cheque is for $5,000 or more and is drawn on an account located in Australia, and banked within one working day in all other cases. Section 74 of the Casino Control Act prohibits the extension of credit to a patron of the Sydney casino. Given that problem gamblers may seek to borrow money for gambling, a restriction on credit has always been considered important.

It is customary for casino operators to accept cheques from patrons. The Act reflects this practice in allowing the Sydney casino operator to establish for a patron a deposit account to which may be credited cash, a personal cheque or a traveller's cheque. Chip purchase vouchers may then be debited against the patron's deposit account. Some of the advantages of a credit restriction are lost if cheques are allowed to be cashed. If there is no money to cover the cheque, in practical terms credit will have been given. However, the Act addresses this potential problem in three ways. First, the casino operator is required to bank a cheque accepted from a patron within one business day after it is accepted. Second, the operator is specifically prohibited from accepting post-dated cheques or cheques from persons whose previous cheques were not met on presentation to a bank within one working day. Third, the operator may not agree to the redemption of a cheque accepted from a patron for the purpose of avoiding the obligation to bank the cheque within one business day.

As a restriction on general domestic patrons chasing wins, which is common in some areas of gaming, the one-day cheque presentation requirement is an effective means of preventing patrons who can least afford to gamble from gaining de facto credit. However, as a means of permitting the Sydney casino operator to attract high stakes domestic and international patrons, the current restriction means that the Sydney casino is uncompetitive in these limited but potentially lucrative markets. The Government has determined that there are no commercial or public interest reasons for a one-day cheque presentation requirement applying to premium domestic and international patrons of the Sydney casino.

In seeking to introduce this change, it should be appreciated that the bill will not interfere with the current arrangements whereby all the risks of a dishonoured cheque would rest with the casino operator. In other words, the State cannot be the loser. The Government will not be affected by any bad debts because the gaming operations funded by those debts are still included in the calculation of the casino duty and, most importantly, the community benefit levy payable to the Government. The bill preserves the status quo for cheques of less than $5,000 in the case of patrons without Australian cheque accounts. This may have the effect, on the one hand, of patrons writing cheques for $5,000 or more, simply to take advantage of available cheque presentation time frames.

On the other hand, it is argued that writing a cheque for $5,000 or more will make many patrons think carefully about their capacity to afford a cheque of that value, which is just as it should be. It must also be borne in mind that the Sydney casino operator is unlikely to accept a cheque from a person without first establishing whether that person has sufficient available assets to meet the amount of the cheque. As patrons will be required to establish a rating with the casino operator prior to gambling, the potential for a general patron to cash a cheque for chasing wins is greatly diminished. In the Government's view, this is an important public interest safeguard. The new provisions will not apply to cheques accepted by the casino before the commencement of the proposed amendments, except that electronic funds transfer redemption will be allowed for cheques that have already been accepted.

A further amendment that the bill makes will allow electronic funds transfer as an additional manner in which cheques can be redeemed by a patron. Currently this can be done by cash or cheque, including a traveller's cheque, or a combination of these. While the proposed amendments essentially preserve the status quo for the receipt of cheques by the casino operator, they also bring the commercial operation of the Sydney casino more into line with practices in other casinos around Australia. However, I stress that the proposed increases in the cheque cashing time frame are still well below the limits set by other casinos in other Australian jurisdictions and overseas. The bill provides benefits for important domestic and international casino visitors while at the same time including appropriate safeguards to discourage those who cannot afford large wagers. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned on motion by Mr Turner.

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