Crown gave ‘no thought’ to gambling addictions when buying new machines
The man responsible for Crown Perth’s electronic gaming machines gave no consideration to gambling addiction issues when buying new machines for the casino.
The man responsible for Crown Perth’s electronic gambling machines told the Western Australian royal commission he gave no consideration to gambling addiction issues when buying new machines for the casino.
James Sullivan, Crown Perth’s gaming product manager for the past 17 years, also said the casino ignored the potential social implications of tweaking the its rewards program to entice patrons into gambling for longer.
The commission also heard how Crown pushed the state’s casino regulator, the Gaming and Wagering Commission, for legislative changes that would all but “collapse” the distinction between Crown Perth’s electronic gaming machines and the pokies that have long been banned in WA.
The royal commission is investigating whether Crown is suitable to continue holding WA’s only casino licence.
Under questioning from counsel assisting the commission David Leigh, Mr Sullivan said while he was aware EGMs could be particularly addictive, the Perth casino did not engage in any analysis of the addiction potential of games both before or after the purchase of new machines.
“When you buy an EGM game, do you consult with the RSG team and ask ‘is this game okay?’,” Mr Leigh asked.
“No I don’t,” Mr Sullivan replied.
“So there is, in short, zero input into your purchasing decisions from an RSG perspective?,” Mr Leigh asked.
“That’s correct,” Mr Sullivan said.
Mr Leigh produced internal documents from a Crown steering committee describing how loyalty point bonuses were used “to increase time on the device” by electronic gaming machine players.
“Do you have any recollection of anyone at any time that steering committee was operating, raising a concern as to this feature having the impact on the responsible service of gaming?” Mr Leigh asked.
Mr Sullivan replied: “Not that I can recall”.
Mr Sullivan also told how data tracking the financial performance of the casino’s machines was constantly analysed to maximise game play and increase the casino’s revenues.
As part of that, the casino would buy more of the machines that proved to be the most popular with customers.
“Would you agree that the games that are the most compelling and attractive to people are also the games that are most likely to lead to people playing another levels which may cause them gamble related harm?” Mr Leigh asked.
“I accept there could be a connection there,” Mr Sullivan said.
That data included detailed reports listing the individuals who spent the most money on the casino’s electronic gambling machines each month were sent only to management and his department – and not to Crown’s responsible service of gaming division, which was responsible for identifying and preventing problem gambling.
Under questioning, Mr Sullivan said he couldn’t see any issue with that information being passed on to the responsible service of gaming team.
“I would accept they would see value in looking at data, just the same as any other business,” Mr Sullivan said.
The commission heard Crown’s electronic gaming machines used “losses disguised as wins”, where the prize won by gamblers was less than the amount they had bet.
The practice has been banned in Tasmania, and Mr Sullivan said he understood it was likely to be an “addictive” feature.
In 2019, Crown asked the Gaming and Wagering Commission to approve a series of changes to the rules governing its electronic gaming machines, including a reduction in the amount of time between games.
Those changes, which would have made them almost indistinguishable from the banned pokies, were ultimately rejected by the regulator.
Mr Sullivan also said he was not aware of any data analysis program by Crown to attempt to determine whether electronic gaming machines were being used for money laundering.
The commission will hear later this week from Crown executive chairman Helen Coonan.
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