Crown Resorts CEO David Tsai wants level playing field on casino pokies restrictions

Crown Resorts boss David Tsai has warned new regulatory restrictions targeted solely at casinos will stymie investment.

Crown Resorts CEO David Tsai said the group is planning a raft of new entertainment and retail offerings at its properties. Picture: NewsWire / David Geraghty

Crown Resorts chief executive David Tsai has called for a level regulatory playing field across the gaming sector, warning that new restrictions targeted solely at casinos will stymie investment.

Mr Tsai said the introduction of mandatory carded play for electronic gaming machines at Crown Melbourne designed to promote player safety and reduce the risk of money laundering was not effective if customers could go across the road and play at a pub and club where the same restrictions did not apply.

It is understood some pub venues near Crown Melbourne have enjoyed double-digit growth in pokie turnover since the introduction of mandatory carded play in 2023. In response, Victoria says it will roll out mandatory carded play across the state’s 26,000 poker machines by the end of 2027.

A cashless gaming trial has recommended the NSW government implement a mandatory statewide account-based gaming system by 2028.

Mr Tsai said integrated resort operators such as Crown needed to have confidence in a level playing field in order to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in new entertainment facilities, restaurants and retail offerings.

“What’s challenging is that we have these requirements that we imposed on our guests, and they’re there in order to promote player safety,” said Mr Tsai, who was appointed in 2024 after a long casino career in the US.

“But those same restrictions aren’t imposed elsewhere.

“So essentially the people that we’re most trying to protect, the people that we’re most trying to keep safe, it’s very easy for them just to not come here or to go across the street.”

Crown and rival Star Entertainment are being forced to introduce stricter regulations such as mandatory carded play in response to a series of damning public inquiries into money laundering and other nefarious activities at casinos.

Crown’s Melbourne casino.

Crown has invested millions of dollars in its PlaySafe gaming program to target problem gambling at its casinos with a team of more than 40 officers on the floor of its Melbourne property to identify at-risk customers.

“We have a small percentage of people who do have gaming issues or play beyond their means,” he said. “We’ve invested a lot of time, money and resources and done all the hard work.

“But we believe an uneven playing field is not good.

“It’s not good for the customer and the player and the community, and ultimately it’s also not good for encouraging innovation and investment.”

Mr Tsai said Australia was unique in the world in having 90 per cent of pokies machines located in pubs and clubs as opposed to an integrated resort or casino.

“Over three-quarters of pubs and club machines around the world exist in Australia so it’s challenging,” he said.

“We view casinos very much as a core part of what we offer, but it’s part of a package of what integrated resorts can do, and really that allows us to then invest more. It allows us to open great amenities, to bring in world-class partners, to create jobs but it’s tough when we’re at a disadvantage.”

Mr Tsai said while casinos would always be a core part of its business, Crown was planning a raft of new entertainment and retail offerings at its properties.

It is understood some pub venues near Crown Melbourne have enjoyed double-digit growth in pokie turnover since the introduction of mandatory carded play in 2023.

He conceded the sprawling Crown Melbourne, which opened in the mid-1990s, needed a refresh to boost its appeal.

“We believe we have the ability to do that,” he said.

“So just like we brought Nobu (restaurant) for the first time to Australia, there’s other brands where maybe it doesn’t make sense to put it into the CBD, but if it’s at a resort like ours, surrounded by three hotels, you can actually invest in these things. You can actually put Melbourne more on the map … drive more tourism to Melbourne both domestically and internationally.

“That’s what Marina Bay Sands did for Singapore, that’s what obviously Las Vegas did for the US.”

Mr Tsai declined to specify what other new attractions Crown was planning to introduce at its properties but added “there’s other things that we have our eyes on that … has been proven around the world. We’re seeing some of it start to pop up in Melbourne and we want to actually do it in a bigger way because that’s one of the great things about integrated resorts, because we have the business model and the scale to actually maybe in some cases invest more than other people.”

Meanwhile, Star Entertainment chief executive Steve McCann faces a deadline on Tuesday to finalise a $900m refinancing package as the troubled casino operator’s major shareholder warns the company’s future is still in a state of in flux.

Despite a rival offer from US casino operator Bally’s Corporation for Star, Mr McCann has pinned the future of the company on the refinancing lifeline being offered by Melbourne-based investors Salter Brothers Capital.

Star said last week that discussions over the refinancing had been extended to April 1 and could be further extended as Mr McCann seeks the best terms.

Star’s single largest shareholder, pub billionaire Bruce Mathieson, who holds just under 10 per cent of the company, had initially backed the Bally’s deal but last week said there were still a lot of uncertainties about which deal would get over the line.

“We will just have to wait and see,” Mr Mathieson said.

Originally published as Crown Resorts CEO David Tsai wants level playing field on casino pokies restrictions