The head of the Royal Commission into Crown Resorts in the state of Victoria shared that the gambling company could get away with stricter regulatory action in case it was allowed to continue operating its casino in Melbourne unhindered.
Only half an hour before Ray Finkelstein, QC, gave the start to the final hearings of the investigation into the Australian gambling giant, Crown Resorts revealed that Xavier Walsh, the chief executive officer of Crown Melbourne, would part ways with the company. The probe into the casino company uncovered illegal behaviour. The legal representative of Crown Resorts said that the operator accepts the Royal Commission’s findings and apologises for the gambling laws breaches.
Commissioner Finkelstein, who referred to the chance of another company to take over Crown Melbourne, questioned the submissions that the lawyers of Crown Resorts have made asking him to permit Crown Melbourne to proceed with independent oversight of the ongoing governance reforms. The gambling company’s legal representatives asked him to help the struggling Australian casino giant once again become an acceptable operator that is compliant with gambling rules and legislation.
Crown Resorts admitted that Mr Finkelstein would have the right to find the company unfit to keep its operating casino licence in Melbourne but the company’s lawyer explained that a cancellation or suspension of the permit would result in massive layoffs and loans for the operator, not to mention it would seriously hurt the economic recovery of Victoria. Such a move would also cut the revenue received by the state.
Crown Resorts Says There Already Are Consequences for the Gambling Group
The Commissioner responded to the suggestion made by Crown Resorts to appoint a more powerful oversight, saying that would actually bring no real consequences for the James Packer-related group that already saw its Barangaroo casino licence get taken away following the New South Wales Royal Commission’s findings.
According to Mr Finkelstein QC, paying the unpaid taxes and some costs do not actually seem like a serious consequence. He said that it would not be acceptable if the authorities leave Crown Resorts to just get away with all the violations committed throughout the years by simply accepting that the company fixed the wrongdoings in a few months.
Michael Borsky, a lawyer of the gambling group, said that the company did not make a submission saying that all the wrongs have been fixed. Apart from that, Mr Borsky said there had been consequences for Crown Resorts, citing that some company officials have resigned and shareholders have lost equity.
For the time being, Crown Melbourne is the largest employer in the state of Victoria, with more than 10,000 people working at its gambling and entertainment complex. The gambling company has been trying to rehabilitate in New South Wales following the Royal Commission’s findings of poor corporate governance, malicious practices allowing money laundering and connections with foreign criminal organisations, while at the same time facing another Royal Commission investigation in the state of Western Australia.
- Author
Daniel Williams
