Blackstone-owned Crown Resorts can keep Sydney casino licence, regulator says

BLACKSTONE-OWNED Crown Resorts was found suitable to retain its Sydney casino’s licence after nearly three years of intensive remediation, a gambling regulator said on Tuesday.

The New South Wales state Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (NICC), the state regulator which replaced the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) and which currently oversees Crown’s Sydney licence, said Crown Sydney has fundamentally reformed its business and has been building a culture of transparency and accountability.

“The NICC is confident the Crown we deemed suitable today has a strong model to keep operating into the future,” Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford said in a statement.

Last month, it was announced that the casino operator could keep its licence to operate its flagship Melbourne casino by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, on grounds that it was in the public interest.

Crown Resorts did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for a comment.

Last year, the casino operator agreed to pay a A$450 million (S$395.7 million) fine for breaking anti-money laundering laws, in a bid to rescue the company from a string of regulatory issues it got engulfed in. REUTERS