Victoria (Australia): gambling regulation and licensing

Victoria is regulated by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, which replaced the former Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation. The renaming was not cosmetic: casino control was written into the title and the commission was given strengthened powers following a royal commission into the state's casino operator, one of the more consequential gambling inquiries conducted anywhere in the last decade. That history makes Victoria a reference point for anyone studying what happens when a regulator is judged to have been too close to a licensee. The reforms that followed covered the commission's structure, its enforcement powers and the conditions attached to the casino licence itself, and the sequence has been cited in reform debates well beyond Australia. This profile records the commission and leaves the substantive detail as honest gaps. Vertical status, licence types, fees, tax treatment, advertising rules and compliance obligations have not yet been verified against primary sources. As with the other Australian states, the online wagering a Victorian can access is mostly supplied under licences granted elsewhere in the federation, so the commission's remit describes what it supervises rather than what is available to residents.

Regulator

Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission

Regulator type

Sub-national body

Headline tax

Not yet verified

Licence required

Not yet verified

Minimum age

Not yet verified

Tax base

Not yet verified

Advertising permitted

Yes

Watershed

There is no clock-based watershed in force today. Broadcast codes restrict gambling advertising around live sport, and from 1 January 2027 the federal reforms ban wagering advertising during live sport coverage from 15 minutes before until five minutes after events shown between 05:00 and 20:30.

Affiliate rules

Affiliates are not separately licensed. From 1 January 2027 the federal reforms ban commissions to affiliates calculated on customer activity, which removes revenue share as it is commonly structured.

Sponsorship rules

Sponsorship is permitted today, with arrangements varying by sporting code. The federal reforms commencing on 1 January 2027 prohibit wagering advertising in sports venues.

Celebrity and influencer rules

Advertising must not be directed at minors. From 1 January 2027 the ban on commissions to staff or affiliates based on customer activity removes a central part of the influencer and affiliate model.

Social media rules

Online advertising is within scope of the Interactive Gambling Act where the service advertised is prohibited. From 1 January 2027 the reforms extend restrictions to online advertising generally and add an opt-out register.

Bonus advertising rules

Inducements are restricted, and the position varies by state. From 1 January 2027 the federal reforms restrict direct marketing of inducements to new account holders for 14 days, to people who left BetStop within three months, and to any customer identified as at risk.

Mandatory warnings

Wagering advertising must carry one of the mandated rotating taglines introduced on 30 March 2023, which replaced the single "gamble responsibly" message with stronger and more specific wording.

Penalties for breach

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission supervises compliance and can act against the licence.

1. Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission

   State Government of Victoria

   Tier 1Accessed 27 Aug 2026
2. Interactive Gambling Act 2001

   Federal Register of Legislation (Australia)

   Tier 1Accessed 29 Aug 2026Published 11 Jul 2001
3. Chances are you are about to lose: new gambling advertising taglines

   Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission

   Tier 1Accessed 30 Aug 2026