The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission has penalized Crown Melbourne with a record $120 million penalty for multiple and serious regulatory failings in the area of responsible gambling. The penalty, which has been announced today, is the largest in the Australian history of Gambling operators and signals continued commitment to ensuring high standards of compliance by gambling operators in Australia.
The fine follows a long-running probe into Crown Melbourne’s RGP, which identified a range of systematic risks and failures. The law enforcers established that the casino violated Pennsylvania’s gambling regulations and laws for enabling patrons to gamble for long without providing necessary relief, for failing to interfere when it was apparent that certain gamblers had developed a gambling disorder, and for not keeping comprehensive records of gambling as provided by the laws of the state of Pennsylvania.
VGCCC Chairman Fran Thorn pointed out that the huge amount of the fine highlights the gravity and duration of the Crown’s noncompliance. ‘This penalty nurtures the message that we will not allow operators who do not prevent patrons and safeguard the credibility of their gambling business,’ Thorn said at this week’s press conference.
The probe stemmed from whistleblowers’ complaints and patrons who claimed that Crown employees were told to put revenue generation before patron safety. Extra-coups from ex-employees provided a graphic and detailed description of the lack of sensitivity to gambling problems and organizational practice that discouraged English’s participation in high-roller affairs.
Crown Melbourne which is part of an even larger Crown Resorts group has come under much criticism in recent years due to a series of scandals to do with money laundering and alleged association with the underworld. This latest fine has given more troubles to the company that had prior leadership changes, and regulatory bodies are increasing calls for licencing and more stringent rules for industry participants.
Crown Melbourne’s newly appointed CEO, Sarah Davidson, said that the company was terribly sorry for its shortcomings and would make substantial changes after Soul said this. The commission has accepted the VGCCC’s findings and the penalty imposed by it. Crown Melbourne needs to regain the confidence of the community and all the regulatory agencies. Sweeping changes to the company’s responsible gambling policies and corporate governance standards are being put into effect immediately, according to Davidson in the press release.
The fine has been welcomed by anti-gambling campaigners who have accused the casino industry of not doing enough to help those with a gambling addiction. This change has been welcomed by Tim Costello, the chief advocate in the Australia-based Alliance for Gambling Reform, describing the moment as a watershed in matters dealing with gambling harm. ‘The brakes will only come off when some of the offshore operators such as Crown, Paddy Power, and Betfair scoop major profits from the misery of addicted punters.’ This fine shows that the era of impunity is over,” Costello said.
The Victorian government has also responded to the news, following Gaming Minister Melissa Horne, who announced more reforms that aim to tighten measures on gambling. Further steps for the prevention of the growth of gambling have been discussed with the focus on harm minimization rather than the profits of the gambling operators across Victoria,” Horne said.
The record penalty is forecasted to spread across Australia’s gambling sector. Consultants’ specialised in gaming industry have forecasted that other casino operators will now come under the same scrutiny as William Hill in regards to the responsible gambling laws and may also end up facing fines for violation of the same.
The amount will be frozen in the Victorian Responsible Gambling Fund which fosters programmes against or for managing gambling related problems in the society. They expect this to practically double the funds dedicated to gambling addiction treatment and prevention projects within the state.
Crown Melbourne has been delisted for noncompliance with three warnings and has been offered 30 days in which to pay the fine; it must also provide strategic measures on how it will manage to rectify all the aforementioned violations and how it will ensure that such violations do not happen again in the future. The VGC has said that if these requirements are not met, more actions can be taken and that even Crown’s casino license can be suspended or revoked.
While the fine is just approaching $7 billion, ordinary shareholders of Crown Resorts, worried about its future profits and reputation, have seen the company’s shares drop on the Australian Securities Exchange. Experts in the field of finance have been keen to find out how this may influence Crown’s current bid by the US private equity firm, Blackstone Group.
A record fine issued to Crown Melbourne will probably re-open discussions on the place of casinos in the Aussie market and the efficacy of existing regulations. Given that federal and state elections are in the course of the year, it is anticipated that gambling reform will form part of the political agenda in the coming months.
While Melbourne and the surrounding areas reel from the effects of this historic Judgement gambling facilities all across Australia are preparing for what many observers expect to be a Far more rigorous era of scrutiny and crackdown. The message from regulators is clear: the days of reckless management of the gambling sector are over; operators have to be serious about the responsible gambling policy or go out of business.