Gaming Crackdown On Big-ticket Raffles
The Sunday Age
Sunday February 3, 2002
Victoria's top gambling regulator has called for an overhaul of the laws governing charity raffles to ensure they are run honestly.
Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority chairman Brian Forrest said his board would this month consider tighter restrictions on who qualified for charity status, and on how raffles were run and drawn.
In an interview with The Sunday Age, Mr Forrest also questioned whether the authority should be overseen by the Treasury Department because of the public perception of the State Government's financial gain from gambling.
The move on charity raffles follows the charging last month of the founder of the Kids at Sea charity, Lawrence Shannon, with 51 counts relating to luxury car raffles worth $8million he allegedly rigged.
Mr Forrest said the authority would recommend to Gaming Minister John Pandazopoulos that new rules be put in place for raffles of expensive prizes such as cars.
Under the existing law, it is not illegal for the person running a raffle, their relatives, or members of their organisation to win the prizes.
There are also no requirements for an independent person to make the draw, or for audited accounts of the raffle to be supplied to the regulator after each draw.
The authority's administrative arm, the Office of Gambling Regulation, has instituted an interim set of conditions for raffles with prizes worth more than $100,000.
These include raffle permit-holders having to prove they own the prize, a ban on permit-holders or their relatives buying tickets, and a requirement the draw be made by an independent auditor.
Mr Forrest said the proposed regime would not apply to raffles worth less than $5000 run by football clubs and other community organisations.
``But there needs to be a recognition for the big-ticket items that the legislation needs to be updated," he said.
``We are concerned to ensure the punter gets a fair go."
Mr Forrest said he wanted the cumbersome procedure for withdrawing an organisation's charity status simplified.
The Office of Gambling Regulation has 4048 recognised charities on its books.
In the past six months the office has stepped up its random inspections of raffle draws. In the 2001 financial year its officers were present at 21 out of 292 draws. This year the rate is closer to one in four - 39 out of 164.
``We felt it necessary to increase our monitoring and that needs to be maintained," said Mr Forrest, who was appointed in September 2000 after serving as a deputy president of the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
He said that, as a regulatory body, the casino and gaming authority might be better placed within the Justice Department than Treasury.
``... I do raise the question whether we are in the right place.
``When people talk about government dependence on gambling and see the Office of Gambling Regulation is part of Treasury ... this does need to be examined."
A spokeswoman for Mr Pandazopoulos said the minister would be happy to discuss Mr Forrest's concern.
She said the government was interested in tightening raffle regulations and would consider the authority's recommended changes.
© 2002 The Sunday Age