Final regulatory leash removed from Crown's neck in Perth
Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia also decided against further punitive action against Crown, saying he was comfortable the business had taken appropriate action to deal with the money laundering, counter-terrorism and problem-gambling issues that plunged it into crisis nationwide following investigations by Nine Newspapers.
'I have found that Crown is a suitable entity for operating a casino without conditions or penalties. And that finding was taken to the cabinet yesterday and endorsed by the cabinet,' he said.
Papalia's decision means Crown Perth is free to operate without the intensive government oversight that had been in place since the royal commission report was finalised in 2022.
Papalia defended not using a financial penalty to punish Crown, which is now owned by private investment firm Blackstone, and downplayed the activities unearthed by the royal commission, saying 'there was never any evidence of direct money laundering activity of the nature that you witnessed in Melbourne.'
'What there was, was potential for money laundering to have been enabled, and potential for counter-terrorism or terrorism finances to have been transacted,' he said.
Following Nine Newspapers' reports the Victorian, New South Wales and WA governments conducted separate inquiries, finding the casino had allowed money laundering to take place.
The WA report found Crown Perth had facilitated money laundering, failed to investigate suspicions of money laundering, permitted junkets with links to criminals to operate at the casino and failed to minimise gambling-related harm caused by electronic gaming machines.
It also lashed the former Crown Perth board for failing in its oversight of the business.
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