Casino Control Act 1982

Casino operators (licensees). Bear the primary operational and compliance obligations across all parts of the Act. They must maintain facilities, conduct operations competently, supervise gaming, comply with internal control and accounting requirements, and implement harm minimisation measures.

Casino key employees and casino employees. Must be licensed and may only perform work matching their licence type. Employment of unlicensed persons, or allocation of unlicensed work, attracts substantial penalties.

Casino patrons and players. Benefit from the Act's consumer protection provisions: games must be fair, odds and rules must be transparent, self-exclusion is available, and gaming equipment must be approved.

Persons seeking exclusion. May invoke the self-exclusion mechanism in Part 9, Division 2 (ss 91N-91P).

Applicants for casino licences. Must undergo suitability investigations covering character, honesty, integrity, financial stability, corporate structure, business ability, and freedom from disqualifying associations (s 20).

The Department and chief executive. Administer the licensing and approval regime, appoint inspectors, and exercise the regulatory powers in Parts 8 and 9.

Third parties associated with casino operations. Including auditors, technical advisers, suppliers of gaming equipment, and parties to casino agreements - all potentially subject to licensing or approval requirements.

Casino operator operational obligations (Part 6):

• Maintain all casino facilities in a condition ensuring maximum patron comfort (s 58(a)), operate the casino in a proper and competent manner (s 58(b)), and maintain security and safety procedures (s 58(c)). Maximum penalties of 100 to 200 penalty units per offence.
• Ensure each gaming area can be observed clearly (s 59).
• Provide floor plans and CCTV diagrams to the chief executive before commencing operations (s 59(2)).
• Notify the chief executive of changes to casino layout at least three days before making changes (s 60).

Internal controls and accounting (Part 7): Casino operators must submit internal control statements for approval, maintain accounting records in the approved form, and submit to annual audits by external auditors.

Harm minimisation measures (Part 6):

• Implement and maintain self-exclusion facilities (ss 91N-91P).
• Display approved problem gambling notices.
• Provide gambling counselling referral details with self-exclusion orders (s 91O(1)(b)).
• Refuse entry to self-excluded persons.

Employee licensing (Part 4):

• A casino operator must not employ a person as a casino key employee or casino employee unless that person holds the relevant licence (s 34(2)).
• Casino key employee: maximum penalty 400 penalty units for employing unlicensed persons.

Supervision levy (Part 5, Division 1):

• Casino licensees must pay the supervision levy for each financial year in which they hold a licence (s 50A).
• The amount is set proportionally by regulation, having regard to each casino's gross revenue relative to the total gross revenue of all Queensland casinos.

Confidentiality (s 14): Inspectors and departmental officers must not disclose confidential information obtained under the Act. Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.

Licence grant (s 18). The Governor in Council may grant a casino licence on conditions. The Act confers no right to a licence; the grant is entirely discretionary.

Suitability investigations (s 20). The Minister must cause investigations into the suitability of the prospective licensee and all persons associated with the casino operation. Suitability criteria include good repute, sound financial background, appropriate corporate structure, adequate financial resources, business ability, and absence of disqualifying associations.

Casino agreement (s 19). The Minister negotiates the casino agreement; the Governor in Council approves it; Parliament ratifies it. Ratification is the critical step: the agreement has no effect until Parliament passes the ratifying legislation.

Inspection powers (Part 9). Inspectors may:

• enter and remain in a casino at any time without prior notice;
• examine, take possession of, and test gaming equipment;
• require production of documents and records;
• question casino staff and patrons;
• exercise any other powers authorised by the Act.

Commissioner's suitability assessment (Part 4). The chief executive may refuse a casino employee licence on suitability grounds (s 36) or suspend or cancel a licence already granted.

Tribunal review (Part 9A). Certain decisions may be reviewed by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Ministerial levy setting (s 50B). The Minister fixes the total annual supervision levy before the start of each financial year, having regard to likely regulatory costs.

The Act imposes a graduated penalty structure:

| Provision | Obligation | Maximum penalty | |---|---|---| | s 34(1) | Working without casino employee licence | 200 penalty units | | s 34(2) | Employing unlicensed casino key employee | 400 penalty units | | s 58(a) | Failing to maintain casino facilities | 100 penalty units | | s 58(b)/(c) | Improper operation or failure to maintain security | 200 penalty units | | s 59(1) | Failure to ensure gaming areas observable | 200 penalty units | | s 59(2) | Failure to provide floor plans/CCTV diagram | 200 penalty units | | s 60 | Failure to notify layout changes | 100 penalty units | | s 91O(1) | Failure to issue self-exclusion order | 50 penalty units | | s 14 | Confidentiality breach by inspector/officer | 200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment |

Inspectors and departmental officers acting honestly and without negligence are protected from personal civil liability under s 13; liability in such cases falls on the State.

Licence application process:

1. Expressions of interest (the Act prescribes suitability investigations; the process and timeline are set by the Minister).
2. Casino agreement negotiated and approved by the Governor in Council.
3. Agreement ratified by Parliament.
4. Casino licence granted by the Governor in Council.

Casino layout notification (s 60): At least three days before any non-temporary change to gaming areas or CCTV.

Supervision levy (ss 50A-50B): The Minister fixes the total levy before the start of each financial year; individual casino proportions are prescribed by regulation.

Self-exclusion (s 91O): The casino operator must issue a self-exclusion order "as soon as practicable" after receiving a self-exclusion notice. Orders last up to five years.

Tribunal review (Part 9A): Specific decisions may be reviewed by QCAT; applicable timelines are those under the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009.

Gaming Acts generally. The Act defines "a gaming Act" to include the other gaming and wagering Acts in Queensland. Several provisions cross-reference obligations and authorisations under those Acts.

Casino-specific ratifying Acts. Each casino licence in Queensland has an associated Act that ratifies the casino agreement (for example, the Brisbane Casino Agreement Act 1992). The ratified agreements are an important source of the specific terms applicable to each casino.

Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth). Section 4B declares that a casino licence is not "personal property" under the PPSA. This has practical implications for security interests and insolvency proceedings relating to casino licences.

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld). The Part 9A review mechanism uses QCAT as the review tribunal. All QCAT procedural rules apply.

Responsible Gambling legislation and National Consumer Protection Framework. The Act's harm minimisation provisions (self-exclusion, signage, counselling referrals) operate alongside the broader Queensland and national responsible gambling frameworks.

The casino agreement is as important as the Act. The specific conditions applicable to each Queensland casino are set partly by the Act and partly by the ratified casino agreement. Legal analysis of casino operations requires reading both documents together. The agreement may be more restrictive or more permissive than the Act's general provisions in particular areas.

Employee licensing is strict. Any person who works as a casino key employee or casino employee without the relevant licence commits an offence (s 34(1)). The employer also commits a separate offence (s 34(2)), with a higher maximum penalty. The type of work specified in the licence is also limited: an employee cannot be assigned to work types outside their licence description (s 34(3)).

The supervision levy is calculated on gross revenue relative to other casinos. The proportion of the total levy payable by each casino licensee is prescribed by regulation and based on relative gross revenue. A casino with a larger share of Queensland casino gross revenue will pay a larger share of the total levy. This creates an annually recalculated financial obligation that cannot be fixed in advance.

Self-exclusion orders are automatically time-limited. Orders last five years at most (s 91O(2)). A person who has been self-excluded and wishes to continue exclusion must renew. There is no permanent self-exclusion mechanism under the current Act provisions.

CCTV coverage is mandatory for all gaming areas. Section 59 requires that all gaming areas can be clearly observed. This is not just a surveillance requirement; it is a layout requirement that must be maintained continuously. Changes to the CCTV system (other than temporary assessment changes of no more than 14 days) require advance notification.

Example 1: Employee licensing compliance. A Queensland casino operator recruits a new casino shift manager (a casino key employee role). Before the person starts work, the operator must ensure the person holds a current casino key employee licence for the relevant work type. If the person does not yet hold a licence and the operator allows them to work, both the individual (s 34(1), maximum 200 penalty units) and the operator (s 34(2), maximum 400 penalty units) commit offences.

Example 2: Self-exclusion process. A patron approaches the casino cage and says they want to stop gambling at the casino. They complete an approved-form self-exclusion notice and provide a recent photo. The casino operator must, as soon as practicable, issue a self-exclusion order prohibiting the patron from entering or remaining in the casino, and provide the contact details for at least one gambling counselling service (s 91O(1)). The order lasts up to five years. If the patron re-enters the casino while the order is in force, both the patron (for violating the order) and the operator (if they permitted or failed to prevent entry) may face consequences under the Act.

Example 3: Casino layout change notification. The casino proposes to move three blackjack tables to a different area of the gaming floor and update the CCTV camera positions to cover the new area. This is a non-temporary change affecting the accuracy of the submitted floor plan and CCTV diagram. Under s 60, the operator must give the chief executive an amended floor plan and CCTV diagram at least three days before making the change. Failure to notify attracts a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units.

Example 4: Supervision levy calculation. Assume Queensland has three casino licensees and the Minister fixes a total supervision levy of $10 million for the financial year. Regulations prescribe proportions based on prior-year gross revenue: Casino A 60%, Casino B 30%, Casino C 10%. Casino A's supervision levy for the year is $6 million, regardless of its actual profitability that year.