Serving food and drinks in venues - know what to do

Rules around serving food or drinks to customers are there to encourage patrons to take breaks in game play. This aligns with the Ministerial Direction on Responsible Gambling Codes of Conduct for venue operators.  

In gaming venues, management and staff: 

• Can encourage customers to take a break in play by offering them food or drinks. 

• Cannot serve food or drinks to customers at the poker machine. 

• Can allow customers to bring back their food or drinks to the poker machine.  

At the patron’s request, and where mobility is restricted (i.e someone on crutches) staff can assist the patron to carry their food or drinks, but the patron must have had a break in play. For example, the patron leaves a poker machine to order at the counter or consumes food or drinks away from the gaming area. This interaction must be recorded in the venue’s Responsible Service of Gaming register. 

Here is a poster (PDF, 1.15 MB) to help staff and customers know their obligations. We will also share more information on our social channels to help inform customers about staff obligations around serving food or drinks away from poker machines, so make sure you follow us.