Guide for new gaming machine licensees

Congratulations on receiving your new Queensland gaming machine licence. This guide will help you understand your responsibilities as a new gaming machine licensee and avoid common mistakes that can lead to breaching the Gaming Machine Act 1991.

If you used a consultant or legal representative to help get your licence, they can also help you understand your obligations as a new gaming machine licensee.

Gambling harm minimisation and safer gambling

Gambling can cause significant harm to individuals, families and communities. To ensure you meet your obligations to prevent and minimise gambling harm, you must understand your role in delivering safer gambling environments and products. This guide will help you keep your customers and communities safe.

Frontline venue staff play a critical role in observing, engaging, monitoring and interacting with patrons—they are key to identifying the risk of harm and intervening early.

Your local Gambling Help service provider can help you train staff, provide advice and guidance, and help and support patrons experiencing harm.

You must exclude patrons who ask to be banned from your premises. A self-exclusion order remains valid if the licensee or venue name changes—you must share details of exclusion orders, including photos, with a new licensee.

To understand what's expected, read:

You can also watch the responsible service of gambling videos to see how some licensees are meeting their responsibilities to reduce gambling-related harm. The videos feature interviews with gaming staff from venues that are prioritising safer gambling and patron wellbeing.

Important steps in meeting your responsibilities

Follow these steps to understand what you need to do to operate gaming machines.

The steps are a guide only—they're not everything you need to know, so we've included links to more reading in each section.

Tell us if your contact details change

We need your current email address to keep you informed of important information (e.g. regulation changes).

To keep your contact details up to date use the OLGR client portal or email us at OLGRlicensing@justice.qld.gov.au.

Change something about your gaming machine licence

You can apply to make the following changes to your gaming machine licence:

Before applying:

Changing your approved gaming area plan

You don't need our approval to reposition your gaming machines within your approved gaming area—you will need a licensed gaming repairer to reposition them. Contact your Licensed Monitoring Operator (LMO) for advice.

You must seek our approval for all other changes before they occur.

If you want to change the location of your ATMs, email us at OLGRlicensing@justice.qld.gov.au with a copy of the new plan showing the proposed location. We'll assess your request and let you know the outcome.

Otherwise, complete the application for relocation of gaming machine area (form 7B) to apply to change your gaming area.

How to apply

Submit the relevant application form, along with any supporting documents:

Fees apply to these applications.

Note: We can't accept fee payments over the phone or by email as debit and credit card payments aren't secure using these methods. If we get an email containing these details, we'll have to immediately delete it and your application and payment won't be processed.

Also consider...