Western Australian Government’s response to the Perth Casino Royal Commission, which found shortcomings in its oversight of Crown Perth casino, was tabled in Parliament, marking an important milestone for the only casino in the state. In it, the WA Gaming Minister has defended the decision not to establish a dedicated group to take into consideration the matter of the oversight of the state’s only casino.
As Casino Guardian previously reported, in March 2022, the Royal Commission into Crown Perth found the casino unsuitable to hold an operating permit in Western Australia. The Commission, which had been specially established to investigate the casino operator’s alleged transgressions, found failures by local regulators and Government departments, apart from the fact that Crown Perth allowed junkets associated with criminal organisations to operate at the casino and did nothing to prevent money laundering instances from occurring there.
The Perth Casino Royal Commission also found that Crown Perth’s staff members were too close to the state’s regulatory body, saying that they seemed to be friends rather than occupying the roles of a watchdog and licensee based on email communications found at the time of the investigation.
Despite the findings of the casino’s transgressions, Crown Resorts was permitted to keep its Perth casino venue operational as long as it undertook remediation action under the oversight of a third-party inspector in order to become fit for the operating permit.
WA Racing and Gaming Minister Says More Work Has to Be Done in Terms of Risk Mitigation
Now, the Government tabled its official response to the Royal Commission, fully supporting 49 of the inquiry’s 59 recommendations, with eight other recommendations supported in principle, one in part.
Reece Whitby, the state’s Racing and Gaming Minister, said that work still needed to be done in terms of effective risk mitigations and other improvements implementation, the Government supports the structural and cultural changes Crown Resorts was required to make to ensure accountability and stability. He further noted that Western Australia’s Government remained committed to restoring the community’s confidence in the management and oversight of the state’s only casino and made sure its patrons and staff members are provided with a safe, well-regulated environment.
The Government gave partial support to the suggestion that the local gambling regulator – WA’s Gaming and Wagering Commission (GWC) – should oversee appointments to the commission and establish a skills matrix to set up some qualities that board members need to have.
Currently, there are eight commission members, who are appointed by the state’s Racing and Gaming Minister. The recommendation made by the Royal Commission resulted from a finding that the local gambling watchdog had never been consulted about new appointments or the skills its new members should have. According to the inquiry, the development of a regulatory-reviewed skills matrix and a nominations committee would provide the Gaming and Wagering Commission with the chance to minimise the risk of skill gaps in the future.
WA Government Supports Proposed Skill Matrix but Turns Down Nominations Committee Recommendation
WA’s Racing and Gaming Minister Mr Whitby revealed that the Government would support the proposed skill matrix but also noted that state lawmakers did not believe the implementation of a nominations committee was necessary to formally advise the Government.
Currently, it is his responsibility to make the appointments to the Gaming and Wagering Commission and Mr Whitby shared that, in his opinion, that was the right way to proceed. According to him, having the right set of skills was extremely important for members of Western Australia’s gambling regulatory body in order to make sure the right people sat on the board. He further shared that the current members of the GWC’s board were absolutely spot-on”.
The Racing and Gaming Minister of Western Australia did not provide a timeline for further changes to be brought in the state’s gambling legislation but admitted some findings that it was not suitable for its purposes, considering the fact it was introduced back in the 1980s. Since then, there have been a lot of changes in terms of electronic gaming and technology, not to mention that expectations have also increased, so an overhaul of gambling laws across the country is definitely needed.
Some changes have already been brought by the WA Government, which decided to boost fines for non-compliance, with maximum penalties now increased to AU$100 million. Local lawmakers also increased the maximum fine for not following GWC orders to AU$250,000, with other monetary penalties also set to be reviewed at a later stage.
- Author
Olivia Cole
