The largest casino company in Australia, Crown Resorts, has revealed a significant full-year profit decline at a time when affluent foreign gamblers, including high-roller players from China, have been backing away from the company by spending less money on the table.
The Australian gambling operator revealed that its net profit for the entire year was estimated at AU$401.8 million, while the revenue which foreign high-rollers generated experiences a massive decline of 26.1% to AU$38 billion. The results show that the VIP gambling business of the company continued to shrink, at a time when the firm is facing a wave of criticism over allegations of links with criminal organisations which have used its casinos as laundromats to wash their dirty money.
The weak VIP business of Crown Resorts turned out enough to drag the overall group revenue down, once again demonstrating the dependence of the operator on the money brought to it by affluent overseas visitors. In addition, the regulatory investigations into the group’s businesses which have been using junket operators have also compromised the company’s reputation along with the weakness experienced by its high roller operations.
Unfortunately, the weak performance of the VIP business of Crown Resorts is also having a negative impact on the planned luxury casino of the brand in Sydney, which is scheduled to be completed in 2021 and has been intended to primarily rely on foreign high-roller players.
Crown Resorts Remains Cooperative to Gambling Regulators During Investigations
Once again, Crown Resorts reiterated that media reports alleging that the company has been related to criminal organisations which have been laundering their money in the brand’s casinos only sought to tarnish the gambling giant’s reputation.
The Executive Chairman of the gambling operator, John Alexander, has reminded that Crown Resorts has been offering its services in Australia, which is one of the most regulated gambling industries on a global scale. He further noted that the local anti-money laundering agency Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and state gambling regulators have been controlling the operations of the firm. Mr Alexander also explained that Crown Resorts has zero tolerance for criminal elements and consider the ongoing investigations as a chance for it to once again prove that it has been cooperative to regulators and other agencies.
Unfortunately for Crown, it is not only its VIP gambling business that has been struggling. The gambling operator’s online gambling arm, which includes DGN Games and Betfair Australasia, has been facing some difficulties. The online gambling business of the Australian gambling giant posted a 2.7% decline of its earnings, which reached AU$26.1 million.
Crown Resorts also reported a 1.5% decline in non-gambling operations’ revenue of AU$273 million, despite the fact that hotel occupancy at the company’s most crucial properties remained steady.
- Author
Olivia Cole
