What will it take for Crown to actually lose its licence? If the Royal Commission into Crown Perth deemed them unfit to operate the business, then their licence needs to be cancelled immediately. Letting Crown continue to operate a casino in Western Australia is akin to letting a serial drunk driver hold onto their licence.
Just like similar probes in Victoria and New South Wales, the West Australian Royal Commission laid bare damning evidence that Crown facilitated money laundering, bullied regulators, underpaid gambling taxes and broke responsible gambling rules. Frankly the company’s behaviour, across the breadth of Australia, has been unethical, dishonest and downright illegal.
And yet all the gambling giant gets is a warning and slap on the wrist. I find it impossible to believe this cowboy casino outfit is suddenly going to embark on a path of righteousness, no matter how much oversight is provided.
Yes, the Royal Commission did recommend tougher regulations, oversight and penalties for Crown’s criminal activity, but it’s not enough to change its corrupt culture, let alone hold the people responsible to account. Surely this time the Australian Securities and Investments Commission must act decisively against the Board, unlike Crown Melbourne where the Commission failed to hold anyone genuinely to account.