Crown to assess transparency on gambling harms

Crown Resorts chairman James Packer recognised the potential need of more transparency regarding gambling revenue and harms.

Australia.- James Packer might be taking a look into Crown Resorts transparency on gambling revenue and harms after being questioned by anti-pokies activists during the company’s annual general meeting in Melbourne. Crown’s chairman didn’t commit to do more transparency but assured that the board would “take a serious look and talk about it.”

Tim Costello and Stephen Mayne, representing the Alliance for Gambling Reform confronted Packer on political donations and the lack of transparency around poker machine losses and revenue. Despite giving them a nod, the company’s executive explained the board may actually not give them “everything they require.”

“Companies need to be more transparent than they were 10 years ago”, he said. From my perspective it is a conversation that the board should have because we are living in a world of more and more transparency.”

During the meeting, executive chairman John Alexander denied independent Tasmania MP Andrew Wilkie’s accusations about Crown tampering with machines to change the odds, allowing other people’s identity cards to be used to process cash transactions and turning a blind eye to drug use and family violence.

“I am angered and disappointed by the outrageous and unfounded allegations levelled at us by Mr Wilkie, which unfairly smeared Crown by asserting that we have acted improperly in relation to our gaming machines and operations,” he argued.

Packer was also re-elected to the company’s board during the meeting by a vast majority and explained Crown’s decision to retreat from Asia: “Sixteen staff members were put in jail last year [for alleged ‘gambling crimes’] and Crown takes the welfare of its employees very seriously, very, very seriously and that forced the Crown directors’ hands in relation to Macau,” he said.