Crown Casino chairman Ian Silk haunted by anti-gambling stance while applying for job at Hawthorn

Crown Melbourne’s new chair is under pressure to explain how he can steer the company after taking an anti-pokies stance during a failed bid for the Hawthorn FC presidency.

The new chairman of Crown Melbourne is being haunted by the anti-pokies stance he took during a failed campaign to become president of the Hawthorn Football Club.

Ian Silk, who ran AustralianSuper before taking on the job at the embattled Crown casino, slammed pokies during his tilt to run the Hawks.

Now anti-gambling campaigners are demanding to know how he can steer a company that runs 2500 money-spinning poker machines at its Southbank venue.

Hawthorn, where Mr Silk remains a board member, announced it would sell out of its pokies venues in May, in a move that was lauded by the Victorian Responsible Gaming Foundation.

Crown then announced that Mr Silk would be the company’s new chairman at its Melbourne venue, with a starting date to be determined.

Ian Silk is being asked to explain how he can run a casino despite slamming the pokies during his tilt to run the Hawks. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

“He’s gone from being anti pokies at Hawthorn to running the biggest pokies place in Melbourne, as someone famous once said: please explain,” Tim Costello, of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said.

“I would like Mr Silk to explain what happened to cause that change of heart.

“As the Royal Commission showed, the main business model of Crown works on exploiting vulnerable people and money laundering for crime figures.”

Australian finance watchdog Austrac launched a lawsuit in March alleging that $69 billion was laundered through Crown over a five-year period.

Mr Silk this week defended his comments during the Hawks board campaign.

“Hawthorn Football Club and Crown Melbourne are very different organisations and have very different target audiences,” Mr Silk said.

“Hawthorn is a family-oriented football club for fans to watch their team compete, while Crown Melbourne is an integrated resort including a casino and a place where you would expect poker machines.

“My number one priority is for Crown Melbourne to deliver a safe and responsible gaming environment.”

Crown Melbourne’s new chair, Ian Silk, is being haunted by his anti-pokies stance at Hawthorn Football Club. Picture: David Crosling

Crown was the subject of three separate public inquiries in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

The company was finally allowed to open its Sydney casino at Barangaroo in August, while it remains under strict licence conditions in Victoria.

When Mr Silk was the CEO of AustralianSuper, the $261 billion fund had investments in gaming companies including Aristocrat Leisure, Tabcorp Holdings and the Endeavour Group, one of the largest owners of poker and gaming machines in Australia.

Mr Silk then made a bold bid to run the Hawthorn Football Club, amid a push to kick out current president Jeff Kennett.

The former Victorian premier will hand over the job to compromise candidate Peter Nankervill later this year.

Hawthorn Football Club, where Mr Silk remains a board member, announced it would sell out of its pokies venues in May. Picture: Getty Images)

Mr Silk urged Hawthorn to dump their pokie machines during a members’ forum for the Hawks job, before he was elected to the board last year.

“I’m very much of the school that, particularly as a family club, we should be ceasing our connection with poker machines and poker machine revenue,” Mr Silk said.

Former executive chairman Helen Coonan, 74, was paid $2.5 million to run Crown’s overall operations while she was chief executive.

The company refused to reveal what it was paying Mr Silk.

Hawthorn declined to comment.

Originally published as Crown Casino chairman Ian Silk haunted by anti-gambling stance while applying for job at Hawthorn