08-07-2025
WA government says Crown Perth a 'suitable entity' to operate casino, three years on from royal commission
Crown Perth has been handed a lifeline by the state government and will keep its gaming licence without penalty or conditions, three years after a Royal Commission found it unfit to hold a licence in WA.
The future of the state's only casino has been in the hands of the government since the final report of the Perth Casino Royal Commission was tabled in state parliament in 2022.
"I have found on advice from the Gaming and Wagering Commission, that Crown Perth is a suitable entity for operating a casino without any conditions or penalties," Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia said.
The royal commission identified a series of failures by Crown Resorts in Perth, including facilitating money laundering, permitting criminal junkets to operate at the casino and failing to minimise casino gambling-related harm.
But the commission stopped short of calling for Crown to be stripped of its licence.
Instead, an independent monitor oversaw remediation activity at Crown for more than two years and handed its final report to the government in January.
It was one of 59 recommendations for the government to consider in the 1,000-page report.
So far, 32 have been completed, with 18 remaining to be implemented and a further nine waiting on legislative change to be enacted.
Mr Papalia had the power to remove Crown's license, apply a penalty of up to $100 million or enact strict conditions, but decided against any action.
When questioned whether Crown got off "scot-free", Mr Papalia said the remediation work has been enough.
"To say that there's not been any impost on them is not correct," he said.
"They have comprehensively changed their practices, they've had to implement new procedures, buy new equipment, apply new methods to ensure that they are complying with the recommendations.
"There are practices and procedures in place to address anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist funding measures that are required and also further measures to reduce the harm from gambling."
The royal commission also identified "numerous deficiencies" in WA's gaming regulator, the Gaming and Wagering Commission (GWC).
The list of recommendations made to the GWC included increasing penalties for regulatory offences and improving staffing and resourcing.
GWC Chair Gary Dreibergs said they now have more senior investigators and compliance officers.
"We now have a greater structure than we had previously," he said.
The GWC also issued directions to Crown to establish an electronic gaming machine scheme aimed at minimising gambling harm.
"True and embedded cultural change for any organisation like Crown Perth takes longer than two-and-a-half years," Mr Dreibergs said.
"We believe Crown can sustainably operate and embed those changes in the long term."
Crown Resorts agreed to an $8.9 billion takeover by private equity firm Blackstone in 2022.
Chair of Crown Resorts Perth John Van Der Wielen said the new ownership has been pivotal to improving oversight on criminal activity occurring under Crown's roof.
"They took on Crown knowing the issue and we knew how much it would take to fix and I think we're there," he said.
"I'm very confident now with the new independent board, completely new management team and being owned by the world's largest investor … we have the right moral compass in place."
