Crown Melbourne casino to face royal commission as but an additional director walks plank
Australian casino operator Crown Resorts is dealing with a new regulatory probe into its Crown Melbourne operations, although dropping yet yet another member of its board of directors. 
On Monday, Crown announced that the state government in Victoria had established a royal commission to establish Crown’s suitability to hold a gaming license for its Crown Melbourne casino. Queen’s Counsel Raymond Finkelstein has been appointed to lead the commission, the findings of which are scheduled to be submitted by August one. 
The Melbourne venue was the internet site of most of the regulatory shenanigans comprehensive in the Bergin report, the summary of the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) New South Wales’ investigation into rampant regulatory shortcomings at Crown’s casinos in Melbourne and Perth.
That report concluded that Crown was unsuitable to operate gaming at its new Crown Sydney venue, which opened to the public in December without an active casino part. The fallout from this report has led to the resignations of several members of Crown’s board as nicely as CEO Ken Barton. Crown announced Monday that but another director, Harold Mitchell, had walked the plank. 
Victoria’s gaming minister Melissa Horne mentioned Monday that the Bergin report’s findings “were so severe” that a royal commission was “the most appropriate action to safeguard Victorian interests.” Horne explained the state “will not tolerate illegal habits in our gaming industry” and would “take any essential action” based on the commission’s findings. 
Crown chair Helen Coonan very improbably claimed that the organization “welcomes” Victoria’s announcement and would “fully cooperate” with the commission. Coonan claimed the probe would give “an possibility to detail the reforms and modifications to our enterprise to provide the highest requirements of governance and compliance.” 
Crown is fairly practically under siege on all fronts. Victoria previously announced that it would accelerate its overview of Crown Melbourne’s casino license, but the Bergin report also convinced the Western Australia state government to open its very own royal commission into Crown Perth’s suitability to continue operations. 
Crown investors apparently anticipated Victoria’s intentions, as the company’s share cost closed Monday’s trading down much less than one% to AU$10.20. That price represents a important improvement from the $9.35 the stock hit the week prior to the Bergin report was made public and the $6.12 floor when Crown’s casinos have been shut due to the pandemic in March 2020.