LATEST IMPORTANT NEWS:

On 4th August the Victorian Office of Gambling Regulation announced it was seeking submissions from the public on a topic of particular interest to the Blackjack community:-

REVIEW OF THE RULES OF THE GAME OF BLACKJACK UNDER SECTION 60 OF THE CASINO CONTROL ACT 1991

Under section 60 of the Casino Control Act 1991 (“the Act”) the approval of the Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority (“the Authority”) is required for the games that may be played in the casino and the rules for those games.

The Authority has determined to conduct a review of the rules for the game of Blackjack and has agreed that in conducting the review it will examine the following:

(i) Whether Blackjack should be considered a game of chance or should be considered a game that is partly a game of chance and partly a game of skill;
(ii) Whether the Blackjack rules should permit Crown Ltd. to treat differently from other players those players who practise card counting without the use of a device;
(iii) Whether card counting without the use of a device presents a risk to gaming in the casino being conducted honestly;
(iv) Card shuffling in Blackjack, in particular-
(a) The use of continuous shuffling by automatic shufflers
(b) The frequency of shuffling following the exposure of a “cut card”;
(v) Rules 3.1, 4.1.5, 4.5 and 5.12 of Blackjack. *

* The rules of Blackjack are available on the Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority web site, http://www.gambling.vcga.vic.gov.au under “public announcements”.

The Authority invites written submissions from the public regarding this review.

The closing date for receipt of submissions is 31 August 2001.

Submissions should be addressed to:

Attention: Mr P. Shelton
Blackjack Rules Review
Office of Gambling Regulation
P.O. Box 1988R
Melbourne 3001.
Email: OGR.Contact@ogr.vic.gov.au



Receipt of all written submissions will be acknowledged. The Authority requests that submissions of 10 pages or more in length be submitted both on paper and on a 3.5 inch 1.44 MB diskette in Microsoft Word 97.

Submissions must include the name, address and telephone number of the author for the purpose of clarification of the submission if necessary. [Your details will remain strictly confidential]

Should any person require further information about making a submission to the Authority, please contact Mr P. Shelton on (03) 9651 3882 or at the above address.


A copy of the above appeared in the Herald-Sun and the Age, on Saturday 4/08/01 under “Public Notices”.


Best of Betting!
‘CC’