{"id":17269,"date":"2021-04-27T15:56:16","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T15:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=17269"},"modified":"2026-04-23T20:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:02:15","slug":"crown-melbourne-hit-with-au1m-fine-over-junket-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/crown-melbourne-hit-with-au1m-fine-over-junket-operations","title":{"rendered":"Crown Melbourne hit with AU$1m fine over junket operations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has fined Crown Melbourne AU$1m (US$777,305) for not complying with regulatory requirements concerning junket operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Australia.- Crown Melbourne has received a fine of AU$1m (US$777,305) from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR)<\/strong> for not properly analysing foreign high rollers and their junket operators<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to local media, Ross Kennedy<\/strong>, chairman of the VCGLR, said the fine reflected the seriousness of the issue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: “Robust processes must be implemented to ensure Crown\u2019s Melbourne casino remains free from criminal influence<\/strong> and exploitation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crown Melbourne has been prohibited from dealing with junket operations<\/strong>. The VCGLR also urged the casino operator to report regularly on the progress of its reform agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen Coonan<\/strong>, Crown\u2019s executive chairman, said: \u201cCrown continues to engage with the VCGLR and the Victorian Government <\/strong>about its reform agenda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These reforms and changes to our business are aimed at delivering the highest standards of governance and compliance, as we restore public and regulatory confidence in our operations<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ray Finkelstein<\/strong>, the former judge leading the Royal Commission in Victoria, hopes to release his report on Crown Melbourne <\/a>by August 1 to decide on Crown Resorts\u2019 suitability to maintain its casino licence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oaktree and Blackstone seek to acquire Crown Resorts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Crown received an unsolicited non-binding AU$3bn (US$2.32bn) offer from Oaktree Capital Management<\/a> <\/strong>to acquire the 37 per cent stake in the company owned by James Packer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blackstone Group Inc<\/a>, <\/strong>which already has a 10 per cent holding in Crown, had previously sent an offer to buy all outstanding shares in Crown Resorts for AU$8bn (US$6.2bn). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company added a condition<\/a> clarifying that it won\u2019t move ahead if either of Crown\u2019s existing licences are suspended<\/strong> or if its New South Wales licence is not granted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has fined Crown Melbourne AU$1m (US$777,305) for not complying with regulatory requirements concerning junket operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":17277,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Crown Melbourne has been fined AU$1m by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) for non-compliance regarding junket operations, leading to a prohibition on such activities and a mandate for regular reform reporting. This regulatory action occurs amidst a Royal Commission investigation into Crown Resorts' licence suitability and active M&A interest from Oaktree Capital Management and Blackstone Group, both contingent on regulatory outcomes.","focusai_entities":"Crown Melbourne, Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, VCGLR, Crown Resorts, Ross Kennedy, Helen Coonan, Ray Finkelstein, Oaktree Capital Management, Blackstone Group Inc, James Packer","focusai_location":"Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, New South Wales","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on Crown's Valuation?","query":"How will the ongoing regulatory scrutiny, particularly the Royal Commission's findings and the junket prohibition, influence the valuation and attractiveness of Crown Resorts to potential acquirers like Oaktree and Blackstone?"},{"label":"Regulatory Precedent for Junkets?","query":"What specific deficiencies in Crown Melbourne's analysis of foreign high rollers and junket operators led to this AU$1m fine, and what precedent does this set for other licensed operators engaging in similar high-roller programs?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,439],"tags":[23825,14657,23911,23907],"class_list":["post-17269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-legal-news","tag-crown-melbourne","tag-crown-resorts","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-land-based-casino"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17269"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17305,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17269\/revisions\/17305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}