Australian Associated Press<\/em>. On some occasions, gamblers reportedly made checks out to themselves and turned them over to the casino.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBy allowing patrons to hand over blank checks, investigators believe there’s no guarantee that Crown didn\u2019t become too creative with its accounting practices. At the least, the practice of accepting blank checks clouds responsible gambling safeguards, as those gamblers don\u2019t know how much they\u2019re spending, the VGCCC believes.<\/p>\n
When the VGCCC contacted Crown about the discrepancies, the company pulled out its book of boilerplate responses. It said that it’s already implemented \u201ccomprehensive reforms\u201d throughout its operations to ensure that \u201ccompliance failures do not happen in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
That likely won\u2019t be enough to appease the regulator. Crown now has to hand over any documentation about the practice and offer any type of justification. If the VGCCC isn\u2019t satisfied, it could issue another six-figure fine, change the scope of the Crown\u2019s license, or issue a letter of censure. The latter is essentially a formal slap on the wrist that becomes part of the receiving entity\u2019s permanent record.<\/p>\n
Money Down the Drain<\/h2>\n Crown has been paying regulators across Australia to settle allegations that it had almost a complete failure at the executive level. Its AU$80 million fine in Victoria earlier this year was a record and followed a change in the regulatory structure that raised the cap on fines from AU$1 million to AU$100 million (US$6.8 million to $68 million).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s apart from what could be another AU$100 million it may have to pay now. This is on top of its losses over the past few years.<\/strong><\/p>\nLast year, Crown reported a loss of AU$196.3 million (US$134.15 million at the time). In 2020, it lost AU$120.9 million (US$82.62 million).<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean Crown is in jeopardy of folding. On the contrary, the AU$8.8 billion (US$6.6 billion) Blackstone paid to buy its assets will help keep it going. However, the market is changing, and Blackstone has to be ready to respond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Australia\u2019s Crown Resorts can\u2019t escape the clutches of the country’s regulators. Crown is now facing a third case of alleged wrongdoing in Victoria, with more investigations still underway. In May, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) fined Crown AU$80 million (US$57.5 million). This was in response to the initial inquiry about the casino […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":229675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,33810],"tags":[81985,13363,13651],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Crown Resorts Faces New Regulatory Fines in Victoria Over Blank Checks - Casino.org<\/title>\n \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