Sydney Casino Resort Given Green Light To Open

Crown Resorts will be hoping the authorisation to commence trade at their multi-billion-dollar Sydney venue marks the beginning of their market recovery. The much-maligned casino operator has suffered tremendously in recent months, subjected to countless probes amidst allegations of a range of financial failures. Now, after over a year in waiting, the firms majestic Sydney facility, located in the lucrative business district of Barangaroo, is licensed to open.

After a series of checks and audits, the state regulator is now comfortable that Crown’s financial processes are satisfactorily lawful. Nevertheless, the licence has been dispensed on a conditional basis, and can be removed should any illicit activity be discovered. This is a very real concern, given that the original launch of the building was delayed due to a Supreme Court ruling, which deemed Crown to be a business unable to function compliantly. Furthermore, the Aussie gaming giant, has also recently had its Western Australia licence revoked. An independent investigation found that Crown wereboth permitting acts of money laundering, and offering a safe haven for junkets with criminal connections, at its Perth-based casino.

However, the general consensus now, at least in New South Wales, is that Crown Resorts’ financial governance model has improved greatly, and have shown willing to make radical changes in order to get its house in order.

‘’With a complete clean-out of the board and senior executive, Crown has made significant progress and has agreed to ongoing work to regain its casino licence’’ said Philip Crawford, chair of the New South Wales regulator, the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority. Crawford’s sentiments were reflected in comments made by new Crown chief executive, Steve McCann, who pledged the company’s ongoing commitment to working with the regulatory body, ‘’we will continue to work with them on our reform program to showcase our suitability as a casino operator’’.

Blackstone, who recently launched a successful $8.9bn acquisition attempt of Crown Resorts, have contributed to the material changes made. They officially take ownership on Friday.