Cambodia’s Commercial Gambling Management Commission visited Victoria’s Gambling and Casino Control Commission during a study tour in Australia, with the two regulators exchanging know-how on casino regulation, compliance, enforcement, risk-based supervision and responsible gambling.
The VGCCC said the discussions also covered Victoria’s Public Lotteries licence framework. Through open dialogue, the two sides looked at ways to strengthen regulatory capability and support effective, evidence-based gambling regulation.
The Cambodian commission’s visit comes as the country continues to phase in rules under the 2020 Law on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling, which established a formal licensing and regulatory framework for the sector. ASGAM reported that the CGMC wants to tighten oversight amid international pressure and reported links between some licensed casino sites and online scams.
Victoria’s regulator is itself the product of a major overhaul. The VGCCC was established in January 2022, replacing the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation as Victoria’s standalone gambling regulator after the 2021 Royal Commission into Crown Melbourne.
According to the Victorian premier’s office, the new body oversees gambling and gaming activity across the state, from pokies to the casino, and has a dedicated casino regulation division. It was also meant to bring greater focus to gambling-harm minimisation, while leaving liquor licensing to a separate authority.
The VGCCC says its regulatory approach is built to keep the industry compliant, safe, fair and free from criminal influence. Its monitoring combines risk-based and targeted methods, and its enforcement is meant to be proportionate to the risk and harm caused by non-compliance.
The commission says it takes a zero-tolerance approach to deliberate breaches and scrutinises licensing and approvals for criminal influence, including money-laundering and terrorism-financing risk. It also says it regularly liaises, cooperates and exchanges information with partner agencies, including ACMA, Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and AUSTRAC, as well as other interstate and international regulators.
