In 2005, China’s Supreme Court and the People\u2019s Procuratorate (Prosecutor General), issued a decree clarifying the illegality of online gambling. It also said it’s illegal for companies to attempt to organize groups of 10 or more Chinese citizens to gamble overseas and charge fees or commissions for that endeavor.<\/p>\n
\n
Crown thought it was on the right side of the law because it was marketing directly to potential patrons, not working with middlemen. Counsel for the gaming operator claims the mistake was \u201chonest\u201d and the company shouldn’t be subject to harsh punishment. Still, the firm could face steep penalties in its home country. But the loss of license doesn’t appear probable at this juncture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cSpecifically, Moody’s considers that adverse outcomes from these investigations could potentially result in large fines and\/or changes to Crown’s licensing conditions in Sydney, with license loss being the most severe, although still unlikely, outcome,\u201d said the research firm. \u201cFurthermore, the review will assess the potential for adverse regulatory actions in respect of Crown’s operations in Victoria and Western Australia from December 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strong Cash Position<\/h2>\n
Despite the coronavirus pandemic weighing on earnings and the money-laundering imbroglio pressuring investor sentiment, Crown is remaining steady from a cash perspective.<\/p>\n
As of June 30, the operator has nearly $210 million in cash on hand, access to $293.05 million in undrawn credit revolvers, and its debt ratios are tolerable.<\/p>\n
\u201cNevertheless, despite these challenges, the company’s leverage has remained low, registering at 1.6x as of 30 June 2020, well below the rating tolerance threshold of 3.0x, while its EBIT\/interest was 4.9x, above the rating tolerance threshold of 4.0x,\u201d <\/strong>according to Moody’s.<\/p>\nThe ratings agency is at least the second in less than a month<\/a> to lower grades or outlooks on Crown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Crown Resorts Ltd.’s credit rating was pared one notch to Baa3 from Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service. That’s after Australian regulators postponed the opening of the operator’s Crown Sydney integrated resorts pending the outcome of a licensing suitability inquiry. Originally, the Aussie gaming giant planned to open its $1.6 billion casino-resort in the country’s capital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":156316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,21],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Crown Resorts Credit Rating Dinged After Sydney Opening Delay<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n