Crown Resorts officially unsuitable to hold casino licence

The New South Wales regulator, the ILGA, has notified the casino operator of its official verdict.

Australia.- The New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) has officially declared Crown Resorts unsuitable to hold a state licence for its Crown Sydney casino following.

The official notification, which has been sent in a letter to Crown, follows the recommendation of Commissioner Patricia Bergin’s report, which was published last week.

The letter states that the ILGA considers that under section 143 of the Casino Control Act 1992 (NSW), the local subsidiary Crown Sydney Gaming is no longer a suitable holder for the Restricted Gaming Licence for its US$2.4bn casino development in Sydney’s US$2.4bn Barangaroo district

However, the ILGA has stated that the operator has “every prospect” of reaching suitability if it cooperates with the regulator.

It’s made a step in that direction, with Helen Coonan stepping in as executive chairman on an interim basis after CEO Ken Barton resigned, following in the steps of Guy Jalland, Michael Johnston, and Andrew Demetriou 

The ILGA has said the company must perform “full and wide-ranging forensic audit” of all accounts to ensure no connections with “criminal elements”.

Its report also recommended a compliance audit to ensure that any changes promised by Crown are carried through.