Crown Australia continues to enjoy political favoritismThe property has been accused of flaunting gam 7BALL bling regulation Crown has been reportedly participating in organized crime
CrownAustralia has been enjoying governmental favoritism and skirting passhefty fines over compliance slippages for years now.
Lax Regulation and Crown’s MurkyReputation
Regulating the iGaming and casino sectors in Australia has been the subject of a lot of criticism, new royal commissions have revealed. Casinos have systematically failed to protect the interest of players and customers, with Australia’s largest casino property, Crown, having been linked to organized crime, money laundering, and fast-tracking visas to “import” VIP gamers into the country.
In one case, the name of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cousin came up pointing to a regulatory oversight possibly facilitated by politicians. Despite the powers vested into it, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has been reluctant to enforce stricter rules, prompting some to belief that the watchdog was complicit.
The Federal Attorney general Christian Porter has ordered an inquiry into Crown Casino, on the back of revelations from a joint investigation by @theage, @smh and @60Mins. @NickToscano1 joins @Brett_Mcleod at the desk. #9News pic.twitter.com/KUJ5vIDZsr
— Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) July 30, 2019
Mr Jinping’s relative is not the only on and in hot water is also James Packer, Australia’s richest man. He emerges as a suspect in the alleged illegal activities Crown has had its hands in for a while now.
Moreinterestingly, the Commission has been keeping taxes on gambling to aminimum. Based on one observation, Crown Perth relieved patrons ofAS$622.8 million in2016/2017, but the government only claimed AS61.9million back in tax.The issue is that the Victorian government has veryfew sources of fundingand with several sectors that demand proper funding, the stateappears week and unable to provide for itself.
Why Going Easy on Crown?
Crown Australia enjoys multiple perks that other companies do not. While pubs and clubs are obliged to pay 37% on their GGR, Crown skirts this by using tax breaks. Not only that, but the brand has established monopoly in both Victoria and WA.
Plus, the tax breaks that Crown gets continue to pile on. Crown-owned properties are allowed to run 24/7 and they have unlimited betting amounts on the slot machines, known as pokies. Plus, any expansion is usually weaved through without any of the usual red tape necessary.
Case in point is the new development project at Barangaroo on Sydney Harbor where Crown will construct a new skyscraper with casino along with a number of luxury apartments and a hotel. Now, the question is – what if Australia decides to impose a stricter tax on Crown?
Responsible Gambling at Crown:VCGLR’s Report
At the same time, Crown has been reportedly handing out plastic picks to gamers, so they may jam the slots and simulate an auto-play function. Yet, the VCGLR’s only response was to ban the picks but imposed no fines for this glaring violation of responsible gambling practices. During a 2018 review of Crown’s operations, VCGLR established a number of irregularities, including:
Failuresof governance and risk management, contributing to complianceslippagesAlack of innovation and progress regarding Crown’s approach toresponsible gamblingAfailure to meet regulatory expectations
One waythat Crown and other properties have been avoiding stern actionsagainst themselves is through the recruitment of influentialpolitical ps to enable lobbyists that protects the propertiesand brands from too harsh regulatory involvement.
Politicians and Organized Crime
Meanwhile, string of former politicians now take cushy jobs as part of Crown’s management, including former head of health and finance Jane Halton, former Liberal Minister Helen Coonan, former Australian Chief Medical Officer John Horvath and former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou.
Worse, Crown was implicated into an organized crime ring, facilitating high roller players entry into the country, a move that excited less interest and regulatory scrutiny than it should have.
