The Government of Western Australia (WA) has increased enforcement powers and penalties to bolster the regulation of WA’s gambling industry through law reform.

The reforms address the findings and recommendations of the Perth Casino Royal Commission which found that the legislation needed to be modernised to be fit for purpose.

Amendments include significant increases in a range of penalties when there is a failure to comply with gambling laws and directions issued by the Gaming and Wagering Commission (GWC).

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Gaming and Wagering Commission Chair Gary Dreibergs said: “I welcome the reforms which will greatly assist the Gaming and Wagering Commission in our important task to enforce gambling laws and disrupt illegal gambling in WA.

“The substantial increase in penalties will act as a more effective deterrent and a more appropriate punishment for law breakers who may regard current lower penalties as an acceptable risk when they consider the profits that can be made from subverting the laws.

“The extra powers for the GWC will help to significantly boost our ability to carry out successful investigations and prosecutions to stamp out illegal activity, which often attracts money launderers and organised crime gangs.”

The Rīga city council is planning to ban gambling in the Latvian capital almost completely according to new regulations it has prepared.

The municipality has developed new binding regulations that will determine the territories in which the organisation of gambling will be prohibited. Rīga Mayor Vilnis Ķirsis said at a press conference that the main goal of the binding regulations is to make Riga gambling-free.

However, the plan is not in fact a blanket ban, though it stipulates that gambling is only possible in a few small areas.

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Gambling will not be allowed to be organised in municipal real estate, neighbourhood centres, cultural monuments and their territories, their protective zones and in the building protection territories specified in the Riga spatial plan.

Juris Celmārs, Chairman of the Board of Olympic Casino Latvia Ltd., said that the planned restrictions could promote the development of a new niche of the shadow economy – unregulated, illegal gambling halls which would not generate any tax revenue.

“By preventing a legal and strictly supervised industry from operating, illegal places will begin to satisfy consumer demand,” Celmārs said.

The Latvian Interactive Gambling Association (LIAB) said that decisions must be proportionate and legal, otherwise the industry will be forced to go to court to defend its rights. There have already been lengthy legal battles over the matter.

“As a result, the industry’s losses and legal expenses may have to be compensated from the city budget,” LIAB representatives said.

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