Crown Sydney will be the city\u2019s tallest building. But will it have a gambling license? (Image: Wilkinson Eyre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe company hopes to open the new casino at the end of the year, an impossible feat without a gambling permit. But all is not lost for Crown.<\/p>\n
The inquiry\u2019s chairwoman, the former Supreme Court Judge Patricia Bergin, will now deliberate on the recommendations until February 1. After that, she will offer her own recommendations to the state gambling regulator, the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA).<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Crown Sydney\u2019s fate lies with ILGA.<\/p>\n
\u2018Disastrous Failures\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe inquiry has been ongoing since January, with interruptions from the coronavirus pandemic. Its focus has been whether Crown allowed itself to become a money laundering conduit by letting high rollers gamble with sports bags full of cash. It also asked whether the company turned a blind eye to criminal elements within the junket groups that were its business partners.<\/p>\n
Summing up on Tuesday, Adam Bell said that \u201cthe China incident alone\u201d was enough to cast serious doubts on the company\u2019s suitability for licensing.<\/p>\n
Bell was referring to the arrest in 2015 and subsequent imprisonment of 19 Crown employees in China for marketing the company\u2019s services in violation of Chinese law.<\/p>\n
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The inquiry discovered that the workers were encouraged to remain in China to generate profits for the company. That’s despite clear warnings of an imminent crackdown on cross-border gambling by Chinese authorities.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe incident demonstrated \u201cdisastrous failures\u201d of corporate governance and risk assessment, Bell said.<\/p>\n