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The Victorian Opposition says the Crown casino inquiry shows the Andrews government failed to properly regulate the casino.
Commissioner Ray Finkelstein found the gambling giant had been “illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative” in its conduct, but did not strip Crown of its license, instead allowing it to continue operating for two years under the watch of a new special operator.
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Steph Ryan, the shadow spokeswoman for gaming and liquor regulation, pointed out Premier Daniel Andrews had previously defended the watchdog. In 2019, he said the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation had the powers it needed.
“We know that Daniel Andrews didn’t want to have this royal commission,” Ms Ryan said.
“Every single Victorian should be asking why Daniel Andrews has been seeking to avoid those issues, and more importantly how on earth was this behaviour allowed to occur on the watch of the regulator?”
Ms Ryan said the inquiry’s terms of reference were too narrow, and the relationship between Crown and the government should be investigated.
“You have to ask how [the government] could be so incredibly blind to the conduct that the commission has uncovered in this report, and we’ve been hearing this for years.”
Asked whether Crown should have lost its licence to operate today, Ms Ryan said the advice of the commissioner should be respected but: “Crown is on its ninth life”.
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The report, handed down on Tuesday, was commissioned in February after a NSW inquiry found the company had facilitated money-laundering.
United Workers Union casinos director Dario Mujkic said many members “will breathe a sigh of relief” at having job security for at least the next two years.
Mr Mujkic said Crown’s conduct was clearly unacceptable and said the commissioner had balanced integrity with the impact an immediate licence cancellation would have had on staff.
“Workers have a valuable contribution to make to any reform of this casino and the sector and their voice must be heard,” he said.
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