Crown Casino at Barangaroo given green light to operate by NSW independent commission

It was supposed to be the shiniest jewel in the Crown Empire. But plans for a high rollers casino at Barangaroo were derailed in 2021 after its Melbourne operations were found to be a haven for money launderers. A NSW inquiry found the company was unfit to hold the license here, but the Independent Casinos Commission says Crowns turned a corner. That’s done. There’s no money laundering happening there now. We have a very close eye on what they’re doing. Since 2022, the casinos operated on a restricted licence under close supervision. There have been broad scale changes to Crown’s management team. And new procedures on the gaming floor, Well, it could be about compliance or about responsible gambling. So they’ve got an obligation to intervene if somebody’s gambling for past three hours, physically intervene. The turn around in Crown’s fortunes puts even more pressure on the Star, which is also trying to prove it’s fit to hold a license. And inquiry’s already been told it falsified welfare checks on pokey players and failed to stop gamblers scooping up $3,000,000 in cash. From a faulty machine. Now text messages have emerged in which Star chairman David Foster told then CEO Robbie Cook he wanted to abolish the casino Commission. My words were poorly chosen and provided in the heat of the moment. They did not properly reflect the point I was trying to make. The report into the stars future is due mid year.