Australia’s VGCCC taking on online gaming products as part of three-year strategy to reduce gambling harm
The gaming watchdog in Australia’s state of Victoria has laid out its strategy for the next three years, with a specific focus on “online products, promotions and payment options.”
That’s according to the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) CEO Suzy Neilan, who indicated that the efforts were reflecting increasingly sophisticated technology to attract and retain gamblers.
“In response, we will leverage technology, data, research and intelligence to allow us to identify risks earlier and act sooner,” noted Neilan.
The executive furthered that its concentration would be on high-impact areas: engagement, education, harm minimization and regulatory action.
“New online products, promotions and payment options are making gambling more accessible and easier to engage with,” indicated Neilan, “New technology and shifts in the market are reshaping how gambling operates and how people experience it. This increases the risk of gambling harm and makes it harder to regulate activity across more channels.”
The VGCCC head indicates that the watchdog will be taking a “proactive” approach and will “use every tool available so that gambling in Victoria is as safe and fair as possible, and the industry operates safely, fairly and with integrity.”
The group has mapped out its strategy leading up to 2029, which engages state government departments including and federal bodies such as the Australian Communications and media Authority (ACMA), the Australian Transactions Reports and Analysis Centre, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Government Department of Social Services.
Within the document, the group lays out expectations to ensure “industry takes greater responsibility for reducing harm and delivering fair outcomes,” while its own role encompasses heavy reliance on systems and data – including AI.
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Victoria sharpens its focus on digital gambling risk
Victoria’s gambling regulator is moving into its next phase with a clearer target: the online products, promotions and payment systems that are changing how Australians bet. The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission’s three-year strategy reflects a market in which gambling is no longer confined to casinos, retail wagering outlets or scheduled sports broadcasts. It is embedded in apps, incentives, frictionless deposits and round-the-clock engagement tools.
The commission’s emphasis on technology, data and earlier intervention follows a series of enforcement actions and market developments that have exposed the limits of traditional oversight. Regulators are increasingly being asked to police conduct that occurs across state borders, digital platforms and payment channels, often before harm becomes visible through conventional complaints or inspections.
That shift is central to the VGCCC’s plan through 2029. The regulator says it will use intelligence, data systems and artificial intelligence to identify risk earlier and press operators to take greater responsibility for fair outcomes. It also places Victoria within a broader national enforcement network that includes the Australian Communications and Media Authority, AUSTRAC, the Australian Federal Police and federal social services officials.
QuestBet case underscored failures in player protection
The most direct recent example of the regulator’s posture came in its case against QuestBet, which was fined AU$80,000 after the VGCCC found the bookmaker failed to respond to clear signs of gambling harm. The decision, detailed in the QuestBet player protection penalty, centered on a customer who repeatedly contacted the operator over several weeks in 2023 seeking extra credits and bonus bets while referring to significant losses.
The customer lost about AU$15,000 in two months. Rather than intervene, the regulator said QuestBet provided bonus bets on five occasions and failed to offer harm-reduction tools such as deposit limits, time tracking, self-exclusion or referrals to support services. The case gave practical force to the VGCCC’s broader concern that promotions and retention mechanics can deepen risk when not matched by adequate safeguards.
It also showed why the commission is emphasizing systems rather than one-off responses. A bookmaker that depends on front-line staff alone to spot risky behavior may miss patterns that automated monitoring should detect. Repeated requests for credits, escalating losses and distress signals are the kinds of data points regulators increasingly expect operators to combine and act on. The VGCCC’s strategy suggests such failures will be treated not just as isolated customer-service lapses but as evidence of weak compliance architecture.
National agencies are widening the perimeter
Victoria’s strategy also reflects a wider Australian regulatory trend: gambling oversight is converging with financial crime, communications and consumer protection enforcement. The ACMA has been active against illegal offshore gambling services and digital marketing breaches, while AUSTRAC has sharpened scrutiny of payment channels and cryptocurrency activity that may facilitate high-risk transactions.
That convergence was evident when AUSTRAC suspended Cryptolink’s registration as a virtual asset service provider for three months, barring it from operating 96 cryptocurrency ATMs over anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing concerns. As reported in AUSTRAC’s Cryptolink suspension, the agency cited failures tied to threshold transaction reporting and risk controls, even after an earlier enforceable undertaking.
Cryptocurrency ATMs are not the same as licensed gambling products, but the enforcement logic overlaps. Regulators are watching how fast, hard-to-monitor payment methods can increase risk in markets where consumers move money quickly and often anonymously or semi-anonymously. For gambling watchdogs, payment options are now part of harm prevention. Faster deposits, alternative rails and emerging financial technology can make gambling easier to access and harder to interrupt.
The VGCCC’s decision to list payment options alongside online products and promotions is therefore significant. It suggests the regulator views harm minimization as inseparable from transaction design. If an operator’s systems make it easier for consumers to continue betting during distress, regulators may scrutinize the payment flow as closely as the wager itself.
Offshore operators test enforcement gaps
The pressure on Australian regulators has also been intensified by offshore gambling operators that target domestic consumers without holding Australian licenses. A recent report on illegal gambling sites using Australian Open promotions showed how unlicensed platforms sought to capitalize on one of the country’s highest-profile sporting events through branding, ticket giveaways and social media engagement.
The Guardian reported that one offshore casino, Vegastars, used Australian Open imagery and offered front-row tickets despite having no affiliation with the tournament. The ACMA confirmed the site was illegal and said it would seek internet service provider blocking. The original report is available from The Guardian’s coverage of offshore gambling promotions.
The episode illustrates the enforcement challenge facing both state and federal authorities. Website blocking can reduce access to specific domains, but offshore operators can reappear under new brands, rely on influencers or redirect users through mirror sites. Consumer advocates have argued that payment blocking could be more effective than site bans alone, underscoring why payment systems have become a regulatory priority.
For Victoria, offshore activity also complicates the task of setting standards for licensed operators. Domestic wagering companies may argue they face competition from illegal rivals that do not follow responsible gambling rules, pay local taxes or honor consumer protections. Regulators, however, are unlikely to treat that competitive pressure as a reason to weaken local obligations. Instead, the growth of offshore activity strengthens the case for coordinated enforcement across communications, finance and gambling agencies.
Industry incentives are under political scrutiny
The VGCCC’s strategy lands as Australia’s wagering sector faces closer scrutiny from investors, policymakers and public health advocates. The debate is not limited to illegal operators. Licensed companies are being pressed over advertising, executive incentives and the balance between growth and harm minimization.
Tabcorp’s recent annual meeting highlighted those tensions. Shareholders approved a second long-term options package for Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan, a plan criticized by the Australian Shareholders Association as “outlandish.” The dispute, outlined in Tabcorp’s executive options vote, came after the company’s share price more than doubled amid cost-cutting, contract renegotiations and plans for a national tote.
Executive pay is not a gambling harm issue on its own, but it reflects the growth pressures facing major wagering businesses. When management incentives are tied to market performance, regulators and policymakers may pay closer attention to whether revenue growth depends on aggressive marketing, higher customer intensity or product designs that encourage frequent play. Former Tabcorp Chief Executive Elmer Funke Kupper’s criticism of the federal government’s hesitation on gambling ad restrictions also points to the unsettled policy environment around promotion.
The regulatory question is how to ensure commercial incentives do not outrun consumer safeguards. Victoria’s strategy answers that by setting expectations that operators carry more responsibility for reducing harm, rather than simply complying after problems emerge.
Technology is both the risk and the tool
The online gambling market is being reshaped by the same forces transforming other digital industries: personalization, instant payments, mobile engagement and automated customer management. Payment firms serving multiple sectors are scaling quickly as businesses seek smoother transaction experiences. PayNearMe, for example, said revenue exceeded $200 million in 2025, driven partly by demand for streamlined payment systems and adoption in verticals including igaming, according to PayNearMe’s 2025 revenue update.
For gambling regulators, those advances cut both ways. Better payments and data infrastructure can improve compliance, support affordability checks, identify risky behavior and make intervention faster. The same tools can also reduce friction, speed repeat deposits and support more sophisticated promotions if operators prioritize revenue over safeguards.
That dual use explains the VGCCC’s emphasis on technology, research and intelligence. The commission is signaling that it intends to meet digital gambling on its own terrain. Rather than relying primarily on complaints or retrospective investigations, it wants earlier detection, stronger operator systems and coordinated action with federal agencies that oversee communications, finance and criminal risk.
The stakes are broader than Victoria. As online gambling products evolve, state regulators will help define how Australia balances a legal wagering market with rising concern over harm, illegal offshore competition and the speed of financial technology. The VGCCC’s strategy suggests the next phase of enforcement will be less about whether regulators can respond after damage is done and more about whether they can force operators to prevent it in the first place.
