In Australia and the government for Western Australia has reportedly followed Victoria and New South Wales in announcing that it is to launch an official investigation into the license suitability of casino operator Crown Resorts Limited.

According to a Thursday report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the coming examination is due to be conducted by a royal commission consisting of former Western Australia Supreme Court Judges Neville Owen and Lindy Jenkins with assistance from Colin Murphy, who served as the state’s Auditor General for twelve years from 2006. This trio will purportedly be tasked with looking into whether Crown Resorts Limited is fit to hold the western state’s sole casino license for its Crown Perth facility following recent revelations that it could have been complicit in a slew of money laundering offenses.

Definitive timeline:

The broadcaster reported that this latest inquiry is expected to cost approximately $4 million to carry out and will be obliged to release its interim findings before the end of June in advance of publishing its definitive conclusions on November 14. The assessment will also purportedly go further than the analogues New South Wales and Victoria actions by simultaneously looking into the regulatory effectiveness of the Gaming and Wagering Commission of Western Australia.

Sydney shock:

The move by the government of Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan comes after a New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority examination led by former New South Wales Supreme Court Judge Patricia Bergin determined that Crown Resorts Limited was not fit to hold a casino license for its new Crown Sydney development. This determination was subsequently followed by the launch of an analogous probe in Victoria where the Sydney-listed firm is responsible for the giant Crown Melbourne property.

Forfeiture deficiency:

Paul Papalia, Racing and Gaming Minister for Western Australia, reportedly told the broadcaster that Crown Resorts Limited will not be required to surrender its Perth casino license while the investigation is underway as there is ‘no immediate threat’ of it engaging in money laundering. He purportedly explained that this is because of an earlier order from the Gaming and Wagering Commission of Western Australia’s that prevents the firm from utilizing junket operators in order to lure high-value foreign players to its Crown Perth facility.

Papalia reportedly declared…

“There’s no immediate threat of money laundering through cash deposit accounts or inappropriate behavior via junket operations. There are, however, many thousands of Western Australians who derive their income and their livelihoods from being employed by Crown Perth.”

Analogous action:

In Victoria and the broadcaster reported that Premier Daniel Andrews earlier pronounced that he is looking forward to seeing the results of an ongoing investigation into Crown Resorts Limited being conducted by the southern state’s Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation. The Labour legislator purportedly furthermore detailed that he would be prepared to immediately terminate the Melbourne-headquartered operator’s license if the probe being led by former Federal Court Judge Ray Finkelstein determines that it had facilitated money laundering.