Crown Sydney grand opening postponed due to continuing inquiry
In the Australian state of New South Wales and local casino operator Crown Resorts Limited has reportedly been told to delay the grand opening of its Crown Sydney development due to the ongoing investigation into its license suitability.
According to a Tuesday report from G3Newswire, the Melbourne-headquartered firm had intended to begin welcoming gamblers to the $1.5 billion development from next month but has now been forced to delay this debut owing to an order from the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority. The source detailed that this regulatory body filed its request due to concerns over multiple issues uncovered by the official inquiry being conducted by former New South Wales Supreme Court Judge Patricia Bergin.
Outstanding obstacles:
Philip Crawford, Chairman for the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, reportedly proclaimed that his body was also currently unable to consider a range of essential regulatory applications for the coming Sydney facility regarding such matters as gaming area boundaries, VIP membership policies, minimum bet limits and ‘close associates’ of Crown Resorts Limited. As a result, the regulator purportedly declared that it was now requesting that the operator ‘agree to our request to postpone opening of all gaming activities’ until the official inquiry presents its conclusive findings, which is scheduled to take place in February.
Reportedly read a statement from Crawford…
“The New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority has found the ongoing evidence before the Bergin inquiry to be extremely concerning and that any gaming activity at the casino before the inquiry’s findings are released in February and considered by us would pose unacceptable risks on the community against the public interest. In light of this, we did not consider it appropriate to determine the applications before us until the findings of the Bergin inquiry.”
Future forecast:
Moving forward and financial services giant JP Morgan Securities reportedly disclosed that it is ‘unlikely’ Crown Resorts Limited will conclusively lose the casino operating license for its coming development for the harborside Barangaroo district of Sydney. However, it did purportedly predict that the operator will be required to pay a fine and address several issues relating to regulatory compliance before being permitted to premiere the iconic development for Australia’s most populous city.