Crown Resorts faces US$778m fine for junket operations

[SYDNEY] Beleaguered casino operator Crown Resorts said on Tuesday it has been fined up to US$778,600 by the Victorian gambling regulator for failing to comply with regulatory requirements for its junket operations.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) determined that Crown's engagement process with operators who bring high-rollers to casinos was not robust, as required by internal control statements that had previously been approved.

Junket operators are travel agents who bring big-spending gamblers, often from China, to Australian casinos.

The Commission has prohibited Crown from resuming junket operations at its Melbourne casino until the company improves its procedures to ensure the Melbourne asset "remains free from criminal influence and exploitation".

Last year, an Australian regulatory inquiry brought to light Crown's "culture of denial and arrogant indifference to compliance" in its engagement with junket operators, following accusations of dealing with operators with links to organised crime to bring Chinese high-rollers to its current flagship asset in Melbourne.

"It is the first time that Crown has been fined the maximum fine available to the Commission under the Casino Control Act 1991," VCGLR Chairman Ross Kennedy said in a statement.

The fine comes at a time when Crown faces Royal Commission inquiries in two Australian states simultaneously, as it seeks to rebuild its management following a separate inquiry that found it was unfit to hold a gambling licence in Sydney.

REUTERS