Crown Resorts Ltd, Australia’s largest casino operator, announced on Monday that it had been fined A$80 million ($57.4 million) by the Victoria state gambling regulator for allowing illegal money transfers from China between 2012 and 2016.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) said last month that it would take action against the Crown after the “China UnionPay process” was found by the state’s Royal Commission inquiry.
The VGCCC said in its first decision, which was released on Friday (https://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/vgccc decision and reasons for the decision – disciplinary action – union pay signed 0. pdf), that the problem was illegal behavior because customers could use credit or debit cards to get money to gamble at Crown’s Melbourne casino.
The regulator said that this gave customers access to nearly A $164 million, from which Crown is thought to have made more than A $32 million.
“Crown acknowledges its past mistakes,” the company said Monday. It also said that the China UnionPay process had stopped in 2016 and that, when the issue came to light, an independent investigation was conducted and the results were shared with the Victorian Royal Commission.
An investigation in October found that Crown wasn’t a good fit for a gambling license in Melbourne, but the company was still allowed to run its most profitable casino under supervision.
The Crown also said that the VGCCC had said it would keep thinking about more disciplinary actions against the company based on other Royal Commission findings. Each of these actions could lead to a fine of up to A$100 million.
(1 dollar equals 1.3939 Australian dollars).
