Crown Resorts retains coveted Sydney casino license after company transformation
Australian casino giant Crown Resorts, which has struggled in recent years, is deemed suitable to continue to hold a gaming license in New South Wales following corporate reforms.
On Tuesday, the New South Wales gambling regulator said governance reforms at Crown Group had brought the organization into compliance with regulatory requirements. The findings allowed the company to retain the gaming license for Crown Sydney, a A$2.2 billion ($1.4 billion) integrated resort that opened in Barangaroo in late 2020.
The casino portion of the ultra-luxury resort will begin operating table gaming operations in August 2022. The casino does not have pokies (commonly known as pokies in Australia) as rival Star Entertainment retains a government monopoly on pokies until 2041.
Crown officials say the company has invested more than $200 million to revamp the casino company's internal controls. In August 2019, a NSW government investigation raised questions about its compliance.NSW investigation ahead of the opening of Crowne Plaza Hotel Sydney has triggered investigations by the state governments of Victoria and Western Australia, where Crowne Plaza Hotels operate respectively Crowne Plaza Melbourne and Perth Crowne Plaza Hotel.
The board and key leadership positions were all but cleared after state investigators in New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria concluded Crown did little to protect its casinos from being exploited by illegal gangs and criminal syndicates to launder money. Unilateral reforms.
Blackstone Rescue
Amid regulatory probes and serious findings, US private equity giant Blackstone Group saw a buying opportunity, while Crown Group turned a blind eye to gangland and other questionable figures visiting its resorts. Blackstone has been bullish on the global gaming industry since the COVID-19 pandemic and has made a number of acquisitions on the Las Vegas Strip, settling down in Australia with an $8.87 billion acquisition in 2022. Australian casino operator.
Blackstone has vowed to improve Crown's corporate governance and agreed to pay about $680 million in federal and state fines over the company's money laundering failures. However, Crown has so far managed to retain its three casino licences.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission last month deemed Crown Melbourne a suitable hotel. Sydney's Crown Casino this week received similar recognition from the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC).
NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford said: “NICC believes Crown has a strong model that we believe is suitable for today and can be continued into the future.”
However, Mr Crawford said the state committee would continue to keep a close eye on the Sydney Crowne Plaza.
Hard work and transformation aside, the extent of the misconduct that was revealed when Crown was found unfit to hold office was not lost on the NICC. The work is ongoing at Crowne Plaza Sydney... and must continue to raise standards and sustain its culture change," Crawford added.
Sydney's Crown Casino chief executive Mark McWhinnie, who takes up the role in October 2022, says the casino is now the "safest place to gamble" in New South Wales. McWhinnie said the hotel has taken "432 remedial actions" to enhance employee and customer safety and improve financial compliance.
Still unsure in Perth
Two of three government investigations have found Crown Resorts' corporate changes sufficient to retain the company's Crown Melbourne and Crown Sydney licenses, with only Crown Perth's fate remaining uncertain. Casinos in Western Australia are continuing with their redevelopment plans, which will be submitted to the Perth Casino Royal Commission in February 2025.
Crown Resorts chief executive Ciarán Carruthers said: “I am extremely proud of what our team has achieved with two of our three hotels deemed suitable to retain their casino licenses and we continue to focus on Perth’s ongoing The CEO was appointed to the position in July 2022.
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Source: www.casino.org
