Under-pressure casino operator Crown Resorts
(ASX:CWN) has committed to cashless transactions in its Sydney casino operations, in a bid to improve the gaming giant’s legal standing with authorities.
The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority has confirmed that the $8.7 billion entertainment company has agreed to number of terms set out by the casino regulator to combat money laundering and criminal infiltration into Crown’s Sydney operations. One of these terms is the abolishment of cash use on the gaming floor of the company’s $2.2 million tower in Barangaroo.
Crown was deemed unsuitable to hold a casino license in NSW, following the Bergin inquiry’s discoveries of criminal involvement in the firm’s Victorian and Western Australia gambling facilities.
Since then, the James Packer-backed company has been undergoing reforms to regain credibility and reclaim its casino license rights to put Crown’s Sydney casino back on track to opening.
Cashless payments are tipped to reduce the risk of criminal organisations exploiting Crown’s gaming floor as a medium to legitimise their illegal earnings. The implementation of digital technology in casinos will also enable the Crown and authorities to trace identities and record cashflows more efficiently.
The ban on cash in casinos is considered another step towards authorities’ good graces, following Crown’s successful renewal of three liquor licences for the Barangaroo complex in late April.
The company is also the subject of a takeover bidding war between US giant investor Blackstone and rival Star Entertainment
(ASX:SGR).
Shares in Crown Resorts
(ASX:CWN) are trading 0.5 per cent lower at 12.74
