Crown slapped with $30m penalty over cheque ‘breach’ at casino

Crown casino has been slapped with a $30m penalty for allowing people to use “undocumented” bank cheques for gambling.

Crown casino has been hit with a $30m fine for allowing customers to deposit bank cheques made out to themselves.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) on Thursday revealed the penalty for the casino, which is not legally allowed to accept cheques except in limited circumstances.

A royal commission into the Victorian casino licence found the company had permitted people to gamble by depositing cheques made out in their name and not to Crown.

After considering the evidence further, the VGCCC ruled this was a serious breach because it was “undocumented, long-running and subverted the important controls on the use of cheques at the casino”.

It decided to issue a fine of $30m for this practice.

Last year Crown was fined a total of $200m in penalties for breaching responsible service of gambling standards. Picture: AFP

But the commission said it could not find enough evidence to support another serious allegation that Crown likely accepted blank cheques in exchange for gambling chips.

Instead, the VGCCC will instruct Crown to ban these practices with cheques, review current policies and to further investigate any other similar issues that are not being reported.

“This is the second time we’ve taken action on undocumented practices at the casino, and we will investigate further to ensure there are no more,” Chairman Fran Thorn said.

“To be clear, we will not allow the casino to conceal its practices to avoid scrutiny.”

“Practices like accepting bank cheques expose Crown to the risk of money laundering, put patrons at risk of gambling harm, and compromise our ability to ensure the casino runs with integrity, safety and fairness.”

The $30m fine is the third time the casino has been fined in the wake of the royal commission.

Last year it was fined a total of $200m in penalties for breaching responsible service of gambling standards and another scheme which allowed customers to illegally use their credit cards to access money.

A Crown Resorts spokesman said it accepted the decision.

“These practices have ceased, and we have implemented significant improvements to reduce and prevent risk across our business,” he said.

“Under new ownership and leadership, our Future Crown program is driving whole-of-company reform as we continue to uplift our culture and build a Crown that exceeds the expectations of our stakeholders and the community.

“We will comply with the directions issued and work constructively with the VGCCC and the government to address this and other issues raised as part of the Victorian Royal Commission.”