South Australia to dissolve Independent Gambling Authority
Highly criticised regulator to be shut down following parliamentary report
South Australia’s government has issued draft proposals to abolish its Independent Gambling Authority (IGA) consolidating all regulatory powers in the office of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner.
The move follows a scathing report, commissioned by South Australia’s previous Labour government, into the state of gambling regulations in South Australia by its former Supreme Court justice Tim Anderson in September 2016.
In the report, Anderson said that the IGA “has been widely criticised by those who have made submissions in writing and during my interviews with them. This includes representatives from industry and government agencies alike. Some, but not all, of the members of the board accept this criticism.”
The report further alleged that the IGA’s board of directors had tried to reinforce its own position at the expense of both the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner and Consumer and Business Services, which were also involved in the regulation of gambling. IGA chair Robert Chappell was later removed from his role after spending 10 months on paid leave, with no reason given by State authorities.
Anderson said: “I am afraid to say that the IGA brand within the industry is tarnished to such an extent and regarded so poorly that the powers and functions of any replacement body would, at the very least, need to be established under a different organisation with a new charter, if the Government was minded to maintain such a policy-making body moving forward.
“Essentially the relationship between the current regulators has broken down to such an extent that in my opinion it is irretrievable.”
The review later recommended replacing the current two-tier system of regulation which included the IGA and the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner’s office with a single regulatory body as a way of better organising the regulation of gambling in South Australia.
The state’s new majority Liberal government discussed the report on Tuesday, with deputy premier Vickie Chapman saying that the consolidation will “deliver substantial and long-delayed reform to the administration of the gambling industry in South Australia in establishing a single regulator for the commercial gaming industry.”
The changes, which are expected to come into effect on 1 December, will also include the establishment of a new gambling advisory council, involving both government and stakeholders, who will work collaboratively to address critical gambling-related matters.
According to Consumer and Business Services estimates, the consolidation of regulatory powers into one body will save South Australian taxpayers $1.7m.