Crown found unsuitable to run its new Sydney casino

Crown Resorts has been found unfit to run its new Sydney casino at Barangaroo after a months-long public inquiry that exposed allegations of money laundering, among other issues.

A final report from the Crown probe, commissioned by New South Wales' Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA), was tabled in State Parliament on Tuesday. Commissioner Patricia Bergin recommended several changes that Crown would have to make before it could run the casino in its 2.2 billion Australian dollar ($1.7 billion) Sydney tower, the Associated Press reports.

The Crown Sydney Hotel Resort’s restaurants, bars and guest rooms opened in the harborside Barangaroo precinct in December without its centerpiece casino while Bergin completed her inquiry into Crown’s fitness to hold its gambling license. She has left the ILGA, the gambling regulator, to decide the precise changes that Crown would need to make before the casino could open.

Crown said in a statement it was considering the findings in the report and will work with ILGA and the State Government in relation to the findings and recommendations, which must still be officially adopted by the ILGA.

Crown, which owns Australian casinos in Melbourne and Perth, was granted a 99-year license to operate the Sydney high-roller casino in 2014. But news media reported in 2019 allegations including that Crown engaged in money laundering, breached gambling laws and partnered with junket operators linked to organized crime. Crown denied the allegations and dismissed the reporting as unbalanced and sensationalized.

The "core problems" which made Crown unsuitable, the report said, were the operator's "poor corporate governance" and "deficient risk-management structures", ABC News reports. The Commissioner noted the operator recognised a need for cultural change and that it has identified matters requiring "urgent attention and rectification".

Bergin, a retired judge, began her inquiry into the media allegations in January last year. Her recommendations include a forensic probe to make sure all money laundering in Crown accounts has been uncovered. She also recommended a restructuring of Crown’s board of directors.

The report made a total of 19 recommendations, including several changes to the Casino Control Act aimed specifically at addressing money laundering activities which were uncovered during the inquiry. One of the key recommendations was the establishment of the Independent Casino Commission (ICC) to operate as an independent oversight body, with powers of a standing Royal Commission, to regulate the gaming sector. The ICC would ultimately be responsible for licensing decisions and disciplinary actions taken against licensees.

Other key suggestions to put forward in the report included forbidding NSW casino operators from dealing with junket operators, persons who bring high-rollers or VIPs from abroad.

NSW Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the State Government welcomed the report, but would be considering the recommendations "very carefully" before providing a formal response.

Independent NSW MP Justin Field said the Bergin report demonstrated that Crown's Barangaroo licence "should be torn up". "What's absolutely clear is there is no way this casino can be allowed to be opened in February," Field said.

Crown entered into a trading halt on the Australian stock market earlier on Tuesday ahead of Bergin’s report being made public.