ILGA to announce fate of Crown casino licence

The ILGA will deliver the commissioner’s recommendation on Crown Resorts’ casino licence on Monday (February 1).

Australia.- Crown Resorts confirmed in a filing to ASX on Friday that it will learn the fate of its new Sydney casino on Monday, February 1.

The New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) is due to issue commissioner’s recommendation on whether the operator should be allowed to keep its licence following the inquiry under section 143 of the Casino Control Act 1992 (NSW).

ILGA launched the inquiry to decide if Crown is fit to keep the licence for its US$2.2bn Barangaroo hotel and casino. The hotel has already been inaugurated but the operator was forced to delay opening the casino pending the result of the enquiry.

ILGA expects to publish its full report in two weeks’ time.

Inquiry into Crown

The ILGA launched its enquiry into Crown’s fitness to keep its casino licence due to an incident in 2016 that saw Crown executives arrested in China for promoting gambling.

The inquiry heard that Crown had sponsored visas for Chinese high rollers without investigating their backgrounds and allowed them to use unsupervised bank accounts.

The operator has since decided to end all junket operations unless the companies are approved by state regulators.