Crown Casino has faced a massive AU$1-million monetary penalty for failures to check and evaluate foreign high-roller customers and closely inspect junket companies, some of whom have been linked with criminal organisations.
Casino junkets attract affluent high-roller customers, who usually originate from mainland China, and bring them to Australia to gamble in Crown Resorts’ casinos. Some of these junket operators, however, have been linked to crime and other illegal activities.
The Australian casino giant had to follow strict protocols in order to make sure a robust process of consideration of the operators’ trustworthiness and fairness. However, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) announced that Crown Resorts had not managed to comply with the watchdog’s requirements. The state’s regulatory body concluded that the processes implemented by the gambling operator on the analysed individuals were not what they were supposed to be.
The gambling watchdog in Victoria also found that Crown Resorts had not managed to accumulate the required data in order to make an informed decision regarding the people behind the junket operators. The casino company also failed to check and verify the information directly with the people involved. The Commission found Crown Resorts to have not maintained the necessary records associated with the junket operators.
The VCGLR concluded that the aforementioned failures basically meant that it was not clear how some decisions were made by the Australian gambling giant and whether such decisions were made with the necessary regard to the regulatory obligations which every casino operator in the state has.
Crown Resorts Cuts Ties with Casino Junkets as Part of Reform Agenda
The AU$1-billion fine that is now being faced by Crown Resorts for the aforementioned failures is the maximum that is available under the Casino Control Act.
Apart from the fine, the gambling regulatory body has issued a letter of censure to the casino company, under which Crown Melbourne is prohibited from entering new partnership agreements with junket operators.
The chairman of the VCGLR, Ross Kennedy, explained that the penalty reflected how serious the issue was and the fact that the expected robust process of evaluation and consideration had not been provided by Crown Resorts over an extended period. He further noted that such robust processes are required to be implemented in order to make sure that the Melbourne casino of the Australian gambling giant remains free from criminal influence and exploitation.
Helen Coonan, chair of the gambling operator, explained that the company was still engaged with compliance with the rules imposed by the Victorian Government and the local gambling regulatory body. Ms Coonan further noted that the gambling operator had already stopped any dealings with all casino junkets as part of its reform agenda.
Currently, the suitability of Crown Resorts to keep the operating licence for its Melbourne casino is being considered by a Royal Commission that is expected to issue its report and present it to the state’s Government by August 11th, 2021. The appointment of the Commission followed NSW investigation and Commissioner Bergin’s damning report that found that the Australian gambling giant was not fit to keep the casino licence for its new AU$2.2-billion Barangaroo casino project.
- Author
Olivia Cole
