Crown will lose the lucrative licence for its Melbourne casino if it fails to improve the way it cooperates with state regulators who have imposed $120 million in fines on the casino.
The fines were handed down for breaches of responsible gambling requirements, including allowing some patrons to gamble for more than 24 hours.
While Crown has new owners and is pledging reform, the regulator says its investigators hit a wall of resistance.
"Crown Melbourne's response to this matter has left the Commission with the distinct impression that Crown Melbourne is determined to continue interacting with the Commission in the same way as it did with the former [regulator]," the report says.
It responded in a manner "redolent of the old Crown, which Crown Melbourne keeps saying it wishes to leave behind".
That included:
- Making submissions "not supported (or contradicted) by the evidence"
- Failing to give investigators "everything it could reasonably need to be aware of" about wrong-doing
- Making assertions about law but not giving the commission anything to back it up
Crown Melbourne has a "special monitor" overseeing the casino's operations for the next 15 months.
At the end of that time, the monitor and the regulator must decide whether the company is "suitable" to hold the licence.
The report contained a stern warning, telling Crown Melbourne to "do better" in its dealings with the regulator, particularly in coughing up documents requested under compulsory powers and "its approach to disciplinary proceedings".
If the way it responded to this investigation was "the total of the work being done, then the Commission would have reason to be concerned", the regulator's report said.
"[Crown] must demonstrate to the Commission by its actions that it is moving, or has moved, towards suitability".
Record fine for responsible gambling breaches
Crown was fined a record $120 million by the gambling regulator over breaches of its responsible service obligations.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) imposed the fines after it found the casino failed to prevent gambling harm by allowing customers to gamble for long periods without a break.
The regulator said customers were sometimes allowed to gamble for more than 24 hours at a time.
It also found the casino failed to comply with a statutory declaration to stop patrons using plastic picks and other devices to simulate "automatic play" on pokie machines.
VGCCC chairperson Fran Thorn said Crown failed in its "legal and moral obligation" to minimise gambling-related harm to its patrons.
"The record fines totalling $120 million that we have imposed on Crown today will send a powerful message to Crown that the Commission will not tolerate misconduct that exposes our community to increased risks of gambling related harm," she said.
Ms Thorn said the breaches were "not isolated".
"They were a pattern of extensive, sustained and systemic failures by Crown that spanned roughly 12 years," she said.
"The stories of financial loss, of suicide attempts, of forced sex work. The people who gambled for two to three days straight. These are real stories of real harm. We cannot forget and we cannot tolerate it."
The VGCCC said the casino even supplied patrons with Crown-branded picks which were the used to jam down play buttons on pokie machines.
Is Crown trustworthy?
Asked directly if Crown was trustworthy, Ms Thorn said: "Is Crown trustworthy? Crown is, I am aware, working very hard to be trustworthy and to meet the concept of what is a suitable associate."
A huge regulatory gap persists, in that state-based regulators can only investigate and prosecute people who are currently working at the casino.
"That's it," Ms Thorn confirmed. "We can only deal with those who are there at the time."
Asked if the regulator would like more powers, such as being able to prosecute past breaches of the law, Ms Thorn said: "I'm not really going to get into that discussion today, but we are responsible for over-sighting the casino and the people who are in place at the time."
Crown 'genuinely remorseful'
"We are genuinely remorseful for the failings of the past, and we are committed to becoming a world leader in the delivery of safe and responsible gaming and entertainment," a Crown Resorts spokesperson said.
In a statement, Crown said it had invested heavily in its remediation program, including Responsible Gaming resources, and that its recently appointed leadership team was "driving a whole-of-company transformation program designed to uplift the culture and build a better Crown."
"While considerable work has been undertaken as part of the reform and remediation program, Crown is the first to acknowledge there is a lot more to be done," the spokesperson said.
"We will continue to work cooperatively and constructively with the VGCCC and the government to address this and other issues raised in the Victorian Royal Commission Report."
Tim Costello from the Alliance for Gambling Reform said the VGCCC had sent a strong message with the fine.
"This is a record fine by a regulator with backbone. Crown has been found for its utterly predatory practices and it should send a message," he said.
The VGCCC said Crown had accepted the disciplinary action and the need for it to continue working on reforms.
It is the second time the VGCCC has used its stronger enforcement powers to take action against the casino operator.
Earlier this year, the regulator issued a $80 million fine to Crown for having a scheme that allowed the illegal transfer of funds from China.
