Australia introduces tougher checks on criminals working in gambling

Australia’s Victoria State government has toughened its stance on convicted criminals working within the gambling industry, by closing a loophole which allowed the avoidance of background checks on employees.

The reform on gambling employee policies, will now include a ban on the employment of convicted offenders of severe criminal offences within the past 10 years from being employed by the industry. The ban on convicted criminals will relate to offences of fraud, corruption, theft and violence.

Jane Garrett the Minister of Consumer Affairs for the gambling industry, announced the closure of the loophole, and that licensed bookmakers would have to undertake more stringent background checks on employees.

In recent months Victoria State government has stepped up its initiatives to tackle sports and racing corruption within Australia. In November the government signed an information treaty with the Australian Racing Integrity Commission, which allowed the industry body to better investigate cases of money laundering, race fixing and other forms of corruption.

Government ministers have further stated that they would look to implement a better monitoring framework for the gambling industry, which would allow the Australian Federal Police  to investigate suspicious activity