Maxgaming Holdings has been awarded the exclusive Tasmanian Monitoring Operator Licence to provide and operate an Electronic Monitoring System for all EGMs in hotels and licensed clubs in the island state.
As part of its tender bid, Maxgaming will pay the Tasmanian Government an upfront Licence Fee of $2 million and will also provide an additional $1 million grant over the term of the licence to be paid into the Community Support Fund for gambling harm research. The licence is for a 20-year period, commencing 1 July 2023.
One of the key elements of the Tasmanian Government’s Go Future Gaming Market reforms was to end an existing monopoly and to allocate the Licensed Monitoring Operator contract for all EGM networks through an open-market tender which was released on 25 March this year.
“Maxgaming is a highly experienced and qualified provider of EGM monitoring services, currently operating in NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory,” Tasmania’s Treasurer Michael Ferguson said.
“Maxgaming monitors over 135,000 machines across its network, including more than 30,000 gaming machines in Queensland (as the primary monitoring operator in a competitive market) and all machines in NSW and the Northern Territory as the exclusive monitoring operator.”
MAX is the largest monitor of gaming machines in Australia and it is committed to providing a world-class service that upholds the integrity of gaming in Tasmania and ensures all machines operate in compliance of regulatory requirements, Tabcorp Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Adam Rytenskild said.
“We’re really looking forward to working closely with the Tasmanian Government to maintain and enhance the integrity of electronic gaming machines in pubs and clubs throughout the state,” he said. “A priority for us is ensuring Tasmanians are employed as part of this agreement and that we invest substantially to assist in the research of potential gambling harm.”
Maxgaming is now starting preparatory work in consultation with Tasmanian venues to be ready to transition to the new monitoring system from 1 July, 2023.
The Tasmania service will include integrity management, electronic data collection, facilitation of linked jackpot arrangements, financial data collection and reporting, installation, maintenance and repair of gaming machines.
Mr Rytenskild said Tabcorp’s Gaming Services arm would continue to transition into an Integrity Services operation.
“We were very clear at our recent investor day that we are focussed on transitioning Gaming Services into a broader Integrity Services provider and securing this contract is a proof point of that transition,’’ he said.
“It’s also another strong outcome for Tabcorp following the demerger. In the three months since the demerger Tabcorp has commenced work with the Star Entertainment Group to transition their Sydney casino onto our NSW monitoring platform.”
