As featured in the latest edition of Club Insight Magazine
As you would know, operating a licensed venue in Queensland comes with numerous legal obligations, including when advertising liquor and gaming services. To ensure that your venue remains compliant under the Liquor Act 1992 and the Gaming Machine Act 1991, it is essential to understand your legal obligations surrounding promotional/advertising activities. Here, we break down the key requirements you should be aware of.
When advertising liquor, there are strict obligations that you must adhere to that exist to reduce alcohol-related harm and encourage responsible consumption. Accordingly, any advertisements or promotions (signage, print, orally, electronically etc.) must not:
- Advertise free liquor or multiple quantities of liquor, contain the sale price of liquor for consumption at the venue, or otherwise promote that drinks are available at a price less than normally charged (happy hours, all you can drink, toss the boss etc.) unless the advertising only occurs within the venue and is not visible or audible to a person outside the venue. There are some exemptions to this for package deals, functions and restaurant menus.
- Advertise or encourage unacceptable practices or promotions such as those that:
- encourage the irresponsible consumption of liquor;
- discourage a patron from monitoring or controlling the patron’s consumption of liquor;
- is likely to have special appeal to children (designs, names, motifs, characters etc.);
- is indecent or offensive;
- use emotive descriptions that are likely to encourage the irresponsible consumption of liquor; and/or
- involve providing free drinks or discounted drinks in a way that encourages patrons to consume excessive amounts of liquor or consume liquor more rapidly than they otherwise normally would.
When advertising gaming services, there are strict obligations that you must comply with to avoid encouraging problem gambling or the exploitation of vulnerable individuals. Accordingly, any advertisements or promotions must not:
- be indecent, offensive, not based on fact, or otherwise be false, deceptive, or misleading; and/or
- make up the majority of external signage or the marketing/promotional activities for the licensed venue.
This means in addition to the above, advertisements or promotions for gaming should not:
- misrepresent the odds, prizes or chances of winning;
- imply gambling is a reasonable strategy for financial improvement;
- be directed at minors or other vulnerable/disadvantaged groups;
- promote drinking alcohol whilst gambling; and/or
- involve irresponsible trading practices.
A failure to consider or otherwise neglecting these obligations prior to implementing new promotions or advertising can result in your venue having exposure to penalties being imposed by the OLGR, including but not limited to:
- reprimanding the licensee;
- fines ranging from $16,130 to $32,260 for both the licensee and approved manager;
- varying licence conditions;
- limiting authority to trade;
- reducing trading hours;
- imposing training requirements such as the licensee’s course;
- suspension or cancellation of licences; and/or
- disqualifying the licensee from holding a licence.
If your club has implemented new promotions/advertising or is planning to, it is strongly recommended you engage experienced professionals for trusted advice that is appropriate and tailored to your circumstances, your organisation and your needs.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me on 07 3224 0353 if I can assist you with this.
