Progress Made In Perth Crown Casino As Independent Monitor Appointed

Operators of the Crown Casino in Perth, Australia have taken a big step to establishing their suitability to hold a license after an independent monitor was appointed this week to oversee the operation.

Crown is currently operating under the auspices of a royal commission that looked into the suitability of the establishment to hold a gambling license.

The final report found that Crown had facilitated money laundering, failed to investigate suspicions of money laundering, permitted junkets with links to criminals, and failed to minimize gambling-related harm caused by gaming machines.

Crown has been working to rectify these issues since March and has been given two years to clean up its act.

And the next stage in that process is to bring an independent monitor on board.

The Crown Perth casino is operating under special measures

Crown Perth Latest

According to Western Australia’s (WA) Racing and Gaming Minister Tony Buti, current police Assistant Commissioner Paul Steel will begin the role in November 2022.

WA Today report that Steel has decades of experience investigating organized crime. He is also understood to be capable of delivering cross-government strategic outcomes and oversee the organisational transformation requited at Crown.

“This is the latest step in the WA government’s response to the royal commission and represents a new era of integrity, accountability and transparency at Perth’s casino,” Buti said.

“The purpose of the recent legislation and independent monitor is to restore integrity to the casino operator in Perth to ensure that it is operating in a first-class manner.

“That is what we require as a government and that is what the community expects.”

Australian Scrutiny On Casinos

Crown Perth will pay for Steel to oversee operations at the venue, which is located across the river from East Perth in the Burswood region of the city.

The casino is currently owned by Blackstone (NYSE: BX), which also bought the brand’s casino reports in Melbourne and Sydney this year.

Crown Perth has until March 2024 to prove that it can hold a casino license. Meanwhile, the Victorian government has passed new restrictions on Crown’s Melbourne casino, which includes establishing customer limits on their losses and time spent in the resort.

And the NSW Independent Casino Commission is currently undertaking a review of its state industry, warning casinos won’t be able to “hide” from the authorities.