All venue operators must submit unclaimed winnings every year to the State Revenue Office (SRO).
This comes under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003(opens in a new window) (the Act).
Unclaimed winnings
Unclaimed winnings are winnings from a poker machine (also known as gaming machine), in the form of:
- a cheque
- accumulated credits
- a ticket, or other payment tool from a poker machine
- any coins left in the coin tray of a poker machine.
When to submit unclaimed winnings
On March 1, all unclaimed winnings from more than 12 months must be submitted to the SRO. This applies regardless of dollar amount.
You have until 31 May of that same year to make the submission.
*Note: We advise not leaving the duties of unclaimed winnings until they're due for payment.
Every day, you must review the status of the previous day's tickets. This makes sure:
- paid tickets were correctly redeemed on the monitoring and Ticket-In Ticket-Out (TITO) systems
- a complete, accurate list of unclaimed tickets is maintained.
It also helps you meet your yearly obligation. The monitoring system report on 1 March will be a genuine reflection of all unclaimed tickets.
The above comes under the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission's (VGCCC) Accounting and Auditing Venue Requirements(opens in a new window).
Unclaimed winnings costs
There are some costs involved when calculating unclaimed winnings. Reasonable expenses can be deducted from the total amount submitted to the SRO, but this doesn't include the cost of complying.
Compliance activities include:
- the cost of running reports
- locating paid tickets, and
- accessing the SRO website.
Reasonable expenses are:
- costs involved with finding the owner of unclaimed winnings.
Third-party reconciliation systems
The VGCCC uses the monitor’s reports, and actual tickets redeemed as the source of data on unclaimed winnings.
Evidence of a redeemed ticket based only on third-party gaming settlement software is not suitable for unclaimed winnings.
Unclaimed winnings not submitted
Submitting unclaimed winnings is a legal requirement and must occur by 31 May each year.
The VGCCC will take enforcement action if you fail to comply with this.
Ticket-In-Ticket-Out (TITO) system
Until advised otherwise by the VGCCC, you should refer to reports from your TITO system provider in the reconciliation of unredeemed TITO tickets.
Your payment to the SRO will then be made up of:
- non-TITO ticket information from the IGS BOS portal
- un-redeemed TITO tickets as reported by TITO system provider
- other forms of unclaimed winnings, like:
- cheques
- accumulated credits
- money left in the gaming machine area (GMA).
Download the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission's Unclaimed Winnings Register. This template indicates the minimum details required:
Venues may wish to produce their own document.
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