Crown Resorts has acknowledged significant shortcomings in its responsible gaming procedures. This confession emerged during a royal commission investigation in Victoria, Australia, where presented testimony revealed the casino conglomerate’s failure to safeguard susceptible players from detriment.
The investigation disclosed how Crown, despite possessing the means and capacity to do more, lacked the resolve to curtail the damage inflicted by compulsive gambling. This encompassed neglecting to sufficiently staff their Melbourne casino floor and failing to impose time restrictions on players. Crown has reacted by promising a comprehensive revamp of its responsible gaming program, encompassing staff increases and the implementation of player time limits.
Nevertheless, the inquiry’s counsel, Adrian Finanzio SC, emphasized that many of these proposed reforms should have been standard protocol from the outset. He asserted that Crown’s admission and proposed alterations were essentially a confirmation that certain practices, some relatively recent, were incongruent with responsible gaming.
The board sought records of a Crown Resorts gathering, but the corporation has yet to provide them.
An investigator, Finanzio, informed Commissioner Ray Finkelstein that individuals who wager at Crown Melbourne are thrice as prone to encounter gambling detriment compared to those who gamble in other parts of Victoria.