Royal commissioner Ray Finkelstein, QC, has cast doubt on Crown Resorts’ ability to overhaul its ruthless “profit motive”-driven culture by changing “a few people at the top” after a “grim picture” of the casino giant’s corporate culture was revealed to the inquiry on Wednesday.

Commissioner Finkelstein posed a series of hypothetical questions drawing on recent evidence heard during the Victorian royal commission into Crown Melbourne and conclusions from the NSW Bergin inquiry, which found the James Packer-backed group unfit to hold its Sydney licence.