On the last Saturday in October the Melbourne Cup Carnival in Australia begins. In 2004 the Spring Racing Carnival generated an estimated $A467.4 million (US$355.2 million) in revenue in the state of Victoria. The first Melbourne Cup was held in 1861 in front of a crowd of around four thousand, last year over ninety-eight thousand went to watch the event and the four days of the Spring Carnival attracted a total of 370,114 visitors.

Earlier this year Victoria made amendments to its Racing Act (1958) and widened powers for banning ‘undesirables,’ such as those suspected of organized crime, from racecourses. Previous powers for banning people from entering Melbourne’s Crown Casino have also been extended. The new powers have now been used by Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon to ban 15 people at Flemington Racecourse and Crown Casino. There is no right of appeal against the ban, but breaching it is subject to a fine of A$2,000 (US$1,520).

The US state of Nevada’s Gaming Control Board has tougher penalties on its books, but any ‘excluded person’ may request a hearing. The Board publishes a list of names of ‘candidates,’ believed to be of notorious or unsavoury reputation, who are to be excluded or ejected from licensed gaming establishments that conduct pari-mutuel wagering or operate any horse race book, sports pool or games, other than slot machines only. Failure to comply carries several penalties, including action by the Commission to revoke, limit, condition, suspend or fine an individual licensee or licensed gaming establishment.

The State Gaming Control Board’s ‘Most Wanted List’ comes complete with mug shots. Of the 26 photos, two have ‘CAPTURED’ stamped across their faces. There is also an ‘Excluded Person List’ that presently shows 38 names with photo and link to further information about the individual. Crime bosses and gambling cheats pose side by side.

Most jurisdictions will have a list of people deemed to be a threat to the correct operation of gambling venues, but many are less open than Nevada about who is on the list. However, it was public recognition of an alleged underworld figure out on bail from drug trafficking charges at last year’s Spring Carnival in Melbourne that led to Victoria amending its laws. (E-10.05.05)

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