Crown Melbourne fined $120m over responsible gambling breaches
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has fined Crown Melbourne $120 million for breaching its responsible service obligations.
The VGCCC imposed the penalties on the Melbourne casino after discovering that the gaming venue failed in its duty to minimise potential gambling harm to its customers. The commission announced Monday that the maximum $100 million penalty was applied because Crown Casino allowed its patrons to gamble for extended periods without requiring them to take a break.
According to the VGCCC, the casino customers were, at certain times, allowed to gamble in the establishment for over 24 hours at a stretch. Crown Casino was also accused of being negligent in discouraging customers from using plastic picks and other gambling tools to simulate “automatic play” on slot machines.
Fran Thorn, the chairperson of VGCCC, commented on the commission’s decision in a press conference. She revealed that Crown did not carry out its “legal and moral obligation” to reduce gambling-related harm to the establishment’s customers.
“The record fines totaling $120 million that we have imposed on Crown today will send a powerful message to Crown that the Commission will not tolerate misconduct that exposes our community to increased risks of gambling-related harm,” Thorn said.
“This conduct breached Crown’s own policy on play periods. They were not isolated breaches – there was a pattern of extensive, sustained, and systemic failure by Crown that spanned at least 12 years.”
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The VGCCC chairperson further revealed that in 2018, Crown Casino was informed about changing its approach and that the establishment’s play periods policy was “way too conservative”. The casino, however, neglected to act at the time.
Thorn added that Crown’s misconduct was evidenced by the numerous devastating stories from 2021’s royal commission. According to the patrons, they had considered suicide and undergone forced sex work due to the heavy financial loss their gambling had placed on them.
“The stories of financial loss, of suicide attempts, of forced sex work. The people who gambled for two to three days straight with no one stopping them. The people who stole and wanted to keep gambling, and the people who lost their families because of their addiction,” she said.
“Little, if anything, was done to stop people from gambling for long periods of time. These are real stories of real harm. We cannot forget, and we cannot tolerate it.”
Crown Casino was issued two separate fines, one of which was the maximum $100 million amount. This was for the gaming company’s failure to stop its patrons from gambling for more than 24 consecutive hours.
The second fine is $20 million, and according to the VGCCC, it was issued because Crown Casino failed to stop its customers from using things like picks and credit cards to jam play buttons on pokie machines. The casino even supplied the patrons with Crown-branded plastic picks to simulate “automatic play” on specific machines.
According to the VGCCC, the company lets people play continuously on several pokie machines simultaneously. Thorn revealed that Crown Casino was currently “on probation,” and at a later date, a decision will be reached concerning the organization’s suitability to hold a gambling license.
“In about 15 months’ time, the commission will be making a decision to determine whether or not Crown is suitable to continue to hold its license —and if it loses its license, if it is found not to be suitable, then it is a much bigger hit than $100 million,” she said.
Thorn further advised companies with gambling licences to take heed of the commission’s decision with Crown as it had no intention of tolerating harm to patrons in the future.
“We will be resolutely pursuing a new requirement to regulate for harm minimization, and the industry can’t expect further action from the commission on this matter,” she said.
“The commission is here to ensure that Victoria’s gambling industry operates with integrity and is safe and fair.”
Crown Casino revealed it was “genuinely remorseful” and has accepted the VGCCC imposed fines. The gaming company also disclosed that it needed to do more work to implement the changes.
“We are genuinely remorseful for the failings of the past, and we are committed to becoming a world leader in the delivery of safe and responsible gaming and entertainment,” a spokesperson for Crown Casino said.
The statement further revealed that the gambling company had invested significantly in a remediation program that would include responsible-gaming resources. Crown Casino also announced that a new leadership team was appointed to push a “whole-of-company transformation program designed to uplift the culture and build a better Crown”.
“While considerable work has been undertaken as part of the reform and remediation program, Crown is the first to acknowledge there is a lot more to be done,” the Crown spokesperson continued.
“We will continue to work cooperatively and constructively with the VGCCC and the government to address this and other issues raised in the Victorian Royal Commission Report.”
This is the second time this year the VGCCC has made use of its heavy enforcement powers to penalize the Southbank gaming venue. The commission previously issued a fine of $80 million to Crown due to the casino’s involvement in a scheme that allowed unauthorized funds transfers from China.
