The regulator\u2019s investigation was prompted by the allegations of three \u201canonymous whistleblowers\u201d \u2013 all ex-Crown employees \u2013 who testified to Wilkie they had been ordered to \u201cshave down\u201d betting buttons on slots so customers could jam them in and gamble non-stop. \u00a0The whistleblowers also claimed they were instructed to remove, or \u201cblank out,\u201d certain low betting options on the machines.<\/p>\n
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Crown countered that between March and April 2017 it had conducted a three-week trial on 17 of the casino\u2019s 2,628\u00a0slot machines. The operator said it did not seek regulatory approval for the trial because it didn\u2019t violate any gambling laws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Nevertheless, these are unwelcome allegations for Crown Resorts at a time when its license is up for review. Wilkie said he believes there is “no way the license should be renewed until all the allegations have been fully investigated”.<\/p>\n
“If Crown is found to be guilty of any offences in regard to any of the individual allegations, then I think a cloud hangs over the renewal of their license,” he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Australia\u2019s Crown Resorts is facing new accusations of slot machine tampering at its flagship Crown Melbourne Casino. Longstanding anti-gambling lawmaker and perennial Crown Resorts adversary Andrew Wilkie announced this week he had been approached by a former VIP customer at the casino who claimed staff had provided her with \u201csmall plastic picks\u201d to stick into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":76282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,21,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Crown Resorts Hit with More Accusations of Slots Tampering<\/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