CASINOS – NEW SOUTH WALES – REGULATION

Star facing second Bell probe into Sydney licence

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Original article by Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 20-Feb-24

The NSW Independent Casino Commission has appointed Adam Bell SC to conduct a second inquiry into the Star Entertainment Group’s suitability to operate its Sydney casino. Nicholas Weeks has been running the casino as an independent manager since October 2022, after Bell’s first inquiry into Star found it had set up an "inherently deceptive and unethical process". Weeks’s appointment was extended for a second time in December 2023, and NICC chief commissioner Philip Crawford says that was because it was not satisfied Star was "progressing its remediation in a timely fashion". Bell’s second inquiry is due to run for 15 weeks, with his final report to be handed to the NICC by 31 May.

CORPORATES
THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT CASINO COMMISSION

Casinos need separate watchdog: O’Neill

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 15 : 26-May-22

The Star Entertainment Group’s outgoing executive chairman John O’Neill has expressed support for a new regulatory body specifically to monitor casinos. He has told an inquiry into Star’s suitability to hold its NSW casino licence that the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority cannot be expected to oversee and monitor two casinos and every pub and club in the state. O’Neill added that investors have indicated that they are in favour of better regulation of large listed companies. O’Neill recently announced that he will step down from The Star’s board.

CORPORATES
THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT LIQUOR AND GAMING AUTHORITY

Blow to Packer as NSW commits to casino shake-up

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Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Aug-21

The New South Wales government has advised that it will implement all 19 recommendations made by the Bergin inquiry into Crown Resorts. Amongst other things, former judge Patricia Bergin recommended the creation of an independent casino regulator and a ban on individuals or businesses owning more than 10 per cent of a casino operator without regulatory approval. This is likely to require James Packer to reduce his 37 per cent stake in Crown, while it may also make it harder for him to sell his stake to potential buyers of the group.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

Crown under pressure to delay casino opening

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Original article by Damon Kitney, Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 5-Nov-20

Crown Resorts is scheduled to open its Barangaroo casino in Sydney on 14 December, although New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has raised the possibility that the opening could be delayed. The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority’s inquiry has been told that Crown is not suitable to hold the licence for the gaming venue. Adam Bell, the counsel assisting the inquiry, also said that the shareholding of businessman James Packer has had a "deleterious impact" on Crown’s corporate governance. Crown shares fell 1.75 per cent to $8.42 on 4 November.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT LIQUOR AND GAMING AUTHORITY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Crown casino inquiry put on ice

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 6-Apr-20

The New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority has advised that its inquiry into casino operator Crown Resorts has been put on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It says the inquiry will resume when it is considered "safe and practicable" to do so. The focus of the inquiry is the proposed sale of shares in Crown to Lawrence Ho’s Hong Kong-based casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment by James Packer’s CPH Crown Holdings.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED, CPH CROWN HOLDINGS, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT LIQUOR AND GAMING AUTHORITY, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR

Court unplugs Crown casino probe powers

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Original article by Deborah Cornwall
The Australian – Page: 6 : 12-Feb-20

The New South Wales NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority is slated to commence its inquiry into Crown Resorts’ casino operations on 24 February. However, the Supreme Court has ruled that the inquiry does not have the powers of a royal commission. Lawrence Ho’s Melco Resorts had argued that the ILGA lacked the power to order it to surrender nine documents, and that doing would constitute a breach of legal professional privilege.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT LIQUOR AND GAMING AUTHORITY, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Approval ‘one of the fastest in history’

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Original article by Sean Nicholls
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 3 : 12-Aug-14

Micheil Brodie, CEO of the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) in New South Wales, has commented on the probity check recently carried out on Crown Resorts. The listed gaming group has gained permission to operate a new luxury casino at Barangaroo in Sydney, and Brodie noted that the three months the process took was the fastest assessment yet by the ILGA. He dismissed speculation that the granting of a licence under the Casino Control Act may have been jeopardised by Crown chair James Packer’s public brawl with Nine Entertainment CEO David Gyngell

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, ECHO ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX EGP, THE STAR, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT LIQUOR AND GAMING AUTHORITY