Victoria's gambling regulator and the State Government are under increasing pressure over its handling of Crown Casino after the gaming giant admitted money laundering was likely to have occurred at its Melbourne and Perth casinos.
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The admission to a NSW inquiry has prompted that state's regulator to delay the opening of Crown's new multi-billion-dollar casino in Sydney.
The NSW inquiry is assessing Crown Resorts' suitability to hold a casino licence.
The revelations in Sydney about Crown's Melbourne operations have raised fresh questions over the effectiveness of the Victoria Commission for Gaming and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) which has been approached with multiple complaints about Crown in recent years.
and The Age have exposed allegations of money laundering, links to criminal groups and overseas junket operators.
The VCGLR has issued a show cause notice to Crown over its junket operations — in which cashed-up overseas gamblers are lured to Crown. The nation's anti-money laundering body AUSTRAC is also investigating issues at the casino.
As previously reported by the ABC, there are concerns from within the VCGLR that issues at Crown are not being taken seriously by the watchdog.
Gambling reform advocate says political donations helped Crown avoid scrutiny
Tim Costello, the chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said Crown's 'bombshell' admission that money laundering was likely occurring in Melbourne and Perth was 'simply extraordinary' and should be of concern to all Australians.
'It says it [Crown] has been a criminal enterprise,' he said.
'There has been wholesale money laundering going on and Crown admitted it [on Wednesday] after effectively hiding it for most of the inquiry.
'This is quite an astonishing finding that every Australian should be shaking in their boots that this has gone on for so long.'
Mr Costello said the revelations should put the spotlight back on the VCGLR and the national corporate regulator ASIC.
He has also criticised Crown's influence over Victorian politicians on both sides of the aisle.
He said the gaming giant's ties to Spring Street accounted for why allegations of criminal activity in Melbourne's casinos had gone without consequence for so long.
'Crown has captured politics [and] the politicians are silent because it gives great donations to both sides of politics,' Mr Costello said.
'That is why it has taken a New South Wales inquiry to really expose massive laundering and criminal activity here in Melbourne.'
In 2017-18, Crown donated $35,000 to Victorian Labor and $30,000 to Victorian Liberals.
Mr Costello said he expected far-reaching organisational change at Crown with an 'embarrassed' board facing fallout from the inquiry.
'They've got to turn over most of their board. They have been utterly exposed and they have effectively just been puppets of James Packer,' he said.
'James Packer is almost certainly going to have to sell out and hand over to someone who can pass the probity test in holding a licence.'
Crown won't have licence suspended in Melbourne
Premier Daniel Andrews said the casino would not have its licence suspended in the wake of the money laundering admission but said the regulator would make further inquiries.
He also said the Government would closely examine the final report from NSW, due early next year.
'There is a sacred trust when it comes to these licences, and they need to be complied with,' Mr Andrews said.
The Opposition and the Greens have been critical of the VCGLR for not acting quick enough on Crown Casino.
Liberal leader Michael O'Brien said the commission was 'asleep at the wheel', while Greens MP Ellen Sandell said the Government must terminate Crown's licence.
Crown Casino Perth Money Exchange Rate
Mr Andrews, who is former Gaming Minister, defended the work of the regulator.
'It is simply wrong in my judgement to say that they are waiting for others to do their job for them, nothing can be further from the truth.'
Crown Perth Casino Details
Located on the Swan River in the suburb of Burswood just outside the city of Perth, Crown Perth (operated by Crown Limited) is a hotel and casino resort complex. Linked to Perth's Central Business District by a public railway system, the complex contains a casino, two hotels, a convention centre, many restaurants and bars, and a 20,000 seat indoor arena called The Dome.
The Crown's casino is open twenty-four hours a day. On the casino games floor, twelve table games are open at any given time. The Crown's table game variety includes a few variants of blackjack, roulette (on single-zero and double-zero wheels), electronic versions of casino standards in the Rapid series (Rapid Roulette, Rapid Baccarat, Rapid Money Wheel), three variants of baccarat, casino-style poker games like Casino War, Texas Hold'Em, and Caribbean Stud Poker, Two-Up, Sic Bo, and Pai Gow.
Poker players who visit the Crown complex can participate in weekly No Limit Hold ‘Em tournaments with buy-ins as low as AUD $50 or play in ring games from noon to 6 AM during the week or twenty-four hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
The casino's collection of electronic machine games totals just under 2,000, though traditional pokies or any reel-spinning games are not legal in Western Australia. (See our page about pokies facts for more information about these kinds of games.) In place of pokies, the casino offers skill games like video poker and machine versions of keno, along with other skill games that are hybrids of table games and video poker machines. Wagers on these games range from AUD $0.10 up to the high-roller level available on machines in the casino's VIP section. Bets on these VIP games go up into the hundreds of dollars per round. A separate keno lounge located next to the casino's sports bar operates around the clock available at a wide variety of bet sizes on both table versions of the game and electronic portals.
'It says it [Crown] has been a criminal enterprise,' he said.
'There has been wholesale money laundering going on and Crown admitted it [on Wednesday] after effectively hiding it for most of the inquiry.
'This is quite an astonishing finding that every Australian should be shaking in their boots that this has gone on for so long.'
Mr Costello said the revelations should put the spotlight back on the VCGLR and the national corporate regulator ASIC.
He has also criticised Crown's influence over Victorian politicians on both sides of the aisle.
He said the gaming giant's ties to Spring Street accounted for why allegations of criminal activity in Melbourne's casinos had gone without consequence for so long.
'Crown has captured politics [and] the politicians are silent because it gives great donations to both sides of politics,' Mr Costello said.
'That is why it has taken a New South Wales inquiry to really expose massive laundering and criminal activity here in Melbourne.'
In 2017-18, Crown donated $35,000 to Victorian Labor and $30,000 to Victorian Liberals.
Mr Costello said he expected far-reaching organisational change at Crown with an 'embarrassed' board facing fallout from the inquiry.
'They've got to turn over most of their board. They have been utterly exposed and they have effectively just been puppets of James Packer,' he said.
'James Packer is almost certainly going to have to sell out and hand over to someone who can pass the probity test in holding a licence.'
Crown won't have licence suspended in Melbourne
Premier Daniel Andrews said the casino would not have its licence suspended in the wake of the money laundering admission but said the regulator would make further inquiries.
He also said the Government would closely examine the final report from NSW, due early next year.
'There is a sacred trust when it comes to these licences, and they need to be complied with,' Mr Andrews said.
The Opposition and the Greens have been critical of the VCGLR for not acting quick enough on Crown Casino.
Liberal leader Michael O'Brien said the commission was 'asleep at the wheel', while Greens MP Ellen Sandell said the Government must terminate Crown's licence.
Crown Casino Perth Money Exchange Rate
Mr Andrews, who is former Gaming Minister, defended the work of the regulator.
'It is simply wrong in my judgement to say that they are waiting for others to do their job for them, nothing can be further from the truth.'
Crown Perth Casino Details
Located on the Swan River in the suburb of Burswood just outside the city of Perth, Crown Perth (operated by Crown Limited) is a hotel and casino resort complex. Linked to Perth's Central Business District by a public railway system, the complex contains a casino, two hotels, a convention centre, many restaurants and bars, and a 20,000 seat indoor arena called The Dome.
The Crown's casino is open twenty-four hours a day. On the casino games floor, twelve table games are open at any given time. The Crown's table game variety includes a few variants of blackjack, roulette (on single-zero and double-zero wheels), electronic versions of casino standards in the Rapid series (Rapid Roulette, Rapid Baccarat, Rapid Money Wheel), three variants of baccarat, casino-style poker games like Casino War, Texas Hold'Em, and Caribbean Stud Poker, Two-Up, Sic Bo, and Pai Gow.
Poker players who visit the Crown complex can participate in weekly No Limit Hold ‘Em tournaments with buy-ins as low as AUD $50 or play in ring games from noon to 6 AM during the week or twenty-four hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
The casino's collection of electronic machine games totals just under 2,000, though traditional pokies or any reel-spinning games are not legal in Western Australia. (See our page about pokies facts for more information about these kinds of games.) In place of pokies, the casino offers skill games like video poker and machine versions of keno, along with other skill games that are hybrids of table games and video poker machines. Wagers on these games range from AUD $0.10 up to the high-roller level available on machines in the casino's VIP section. Bets on these VIP games go up into the hundreds of dollars per round. A separate keno lounge located next to the casino's sports bar operates around the clock available at a wide variety of bet sizes on both table versions of the game and electronic portals.
VIPs and special guests have their own gaming area, the Pearl Room, with a 180 degree view of the Perth skyline and the Swan River. All the games found on the casino floor, except for head-to-head poker, have high-roller versions in the Pearl Room where bet minimums hover around the AUD $50 mark. Complimentary beverages and game hosts serving VIP guests are available in this by-invite only section of the Crown casino.
Crown Casino Perth Money Exchange Rates
Facts about Gambling in Western Australia
According to a government report, the Database on Australia's Gambling Industry, a little more than 80% of adults in Australia participate in some form of wagering. That number makes Australians the most active bettors in the world, with easy access to bookmakers, betting on horse and dog races, pokies in clubs and bars, and the country's many traditional casinos, not to mention legal and regulated online gambling.
The government agency that controls gambling in this territory is the Office of Racing, Gaming and Liquor. That group licenses and regulates all gaming machines and table games at Crown Perth, and is responsible for the auditing of all the games of chance and skill in the Crown casino-resort complex as well as in clubs and bars that make pokies and other machine games available in WA.
It wasn't until 1974 that the government of Western Australia considered regulating and legalizing casino play, citing the fact that organized crime groups were already running illegal casino operations within territorial boundaries. The potential increase in tourism to the area was another major factor, and eventually the territory decided to pass legislation allowing for the construction of a casino in Perth, the framework that would eventually lead to the construction of the Crown Perth.
Crown Casino Perth Money Exchange Currency
Nearby Destinations in Western Australia
Crown Casino Perth Money Exchange Currency Converter
The city of Perth is the major destination for travellers to WA. Perth is a major cosmopolitan city, the fourth-largest in all of Australia, with museums, performance halls, and cultural sites draw in in hundreds of thousands of international tourists every year.
Though the climate is generally dry and much of the territory is uninhabited, the northern tropical regions of the state are home to a diverse collection of wildlife, as is the southwest coastal area (home to Perth) which has a more comfortable Mediterranean climate.
Revenue from tourism (and from poker machines) continue to increase, thanks in part to places like the Crown Perth that take advantage of the size of the territory's capital city and its many landmarks and tourist-friendly destinations to draw in business. Gambling regulations in Western Australia do allow for the construction of other casino resort complexes in the state, though so far Crown Perth has a monopoly on the territory's casino industry.
