Crown Resorts is about to get a license to finally open its Sydney casino 15 months after being deemed “unfit” by the NSW gaming regulator.
Key points:
- Last year, Bergin’s research said Crown had to make radical cultural changes if it wanted to be a suitable operator.
- The investigation investigated incidents of money laundering and links with international criminal unions
- Prominent casino analyst says if Crown gets a license now it would be a “burden”
The plan, which has been confirmed by the ABC, would allow Crown to grant a conditional license for a specified period of time with the possibility of full accreditation.
The state cabinet will meet on Monday to decide whether to ratify the plan.
Last year, the gambling giant was found “unfit” to have a gaming license for the Barangaroo casino following a one-year investigation instigated by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority ( ILGA).
At the end of the investigation, Commissioner Patricia Bergin said the company had to make radical cultural changes if it was to be considered a suitable operator in the future.
His decision meant that the $ 2.2 billion Crown skyscraper casino component in Sydney Harbor was blocked from opening, however, the hotel and restaurants in the building could operate freely.
But now it looks like Crown is so confident the casino will finally open that it is announcing a series of Sydney-based gaming positions.
The company is looking for “experienced board game distributors” and a CEO of games, according to ads posted online.
Crown Resorts has been contacted for comment.
Deputy Prime Minister Paul Toole said he would receive advice on the proposal.
“This is a decision of the regulator and they are certainly the authority and the body that identifies itself independently to carry out this assessment of the casino,” he said.
Last year, Crown Resorts made new commitments to ILGA to try to finally open the casino.
Commitments included plans to pay part of the costs of the investigation, pay a casino supervision fee, cease all international partnerships, adopt a cashless gambling model, and phase out indoor smoking.
The game rooms at Barangaroo Resort have never been open to the public. (ABC News: James Carmody)
Macau-based casino consultant Ben Lee said that giving the green light to the plan would make gambling licenses a “total scam.”
“For a newcomer to be granted a license despite being convicted of crimes is a scam,” he said.
“Where is the diligence that requires a completely clean baggage before granting a casino license?”
Lee said the Chinese government’s regulatory action against gambling meant the VIP market had shrunk since billionaire James Packer first launched the casino in 2012.
“The fact that the Chinese market has completely disappeared and is likely to never return means that the business justification for having a second casino, especially one as high-end as Barangaroo, is no longer there.”
The Bergin investigation found that Crown operated two subsidiary bank accounts as part of its VIP gaming operation, which was later found to have facilitated money laundering.
Packer, who owns 37 percent of Crown, agreed to withdraw from the company as a result of the investigation.
Earlier this year, the Royal Perth Casino Commission found that Crown was unfit to hold the only gaming license in Western Australia.
However, the commission did not call for Crown to be removed from its license, saying the casino giant would have to undertake repair work to be adequate and calling for an independent monitor to be set up.
In 2021, the Royal Victorian Crown Commission found the casino guilty of “shameful” conduct and recommended that its license be revoked if it could not prove that it had been refurbished in 2023.
Last month, Crown Melbourne was fined $ 80 million for a plan that allowed the illegal transfer of funds from China.
Allegations of criminality within the casino’s operations were first publicly raised by an ABC Four Corners investigation in 2014 and again by Fairfax investigations five years later.
Last month, Crown shareholders backed the company’s $ 8.9 billion sale to the world’s largest global investment business, Blackstone.
Posted 23 hours, 23 hours ago, Friday, June 3, 2022 at 3:12 AM, updated 18 hours, 18 hours ago, Friday, June 3, 2022 at 8:33 AM