The Victorian gaming regulator has fined Crown Resorts $120 million for “extensive wrongdoing”.
Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission chair Fran Thorn revealed the fines on Monday – including $100 million, the maximum penalty available, for failing to prevent harm by allowing customers to gamble for long periods.
“For 12, 18, 24 and even longer hours,” Ms Thorn said.
“This conduct breached Crown’s own policy on play periods. They were not isolated breaches – there was a pattern of extensive, sustained and systemic failure by Crown that spanned at least 12 years.”
Crown has also been fined a further $20 million for failing to prevent customers from using devices such as picks and credit cards to hold down buttons on pokie machines.
“The use of these button picks allows patrons to play continuously and on multiple machines at the same time,” Ms Thorn said.
“Crown even supplied patrons with Crown-branded picks.”
The fines arose out of the Victorian royal commission into Crown’s Melbourne operations.
It found Crown Resort’s behaviour was “disgraceful”, with practices that were “variously illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative”.
But royal commissioner Ray Finkelstein also decided the economic effects of Crown losing its licence, the impact on innocent parties, and the company’s belated attempts at rehabilitation meant it should keep its casino licence – at least for now.
The Victorian government has accepted this recommendation.
It instead appointed a special manager to oversee the casino’s operations for two years. He will prepare a report for the state’s beefed-up regulator, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission led by Ms Thorn, which will decide if Crown keeps its licence.
“Crown are on probation at the moment and about 15 months’ time, the commission be making a decision to determine whether or not Crown is suitable to continue to hold its licence,” Ms Thorn said on Monday.
“If it loses its license, if it’s found not be suitable, it’s a much bigger hit
than $100 million.”
-more to come
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