The inquiry process for Crown’s new Sydney-based casino will be held behind closed doors. Local residents and community residents have expressed concerns, arguing that the inquiry should be held in public in order to ensure transparency.

The inquiry, which will be carried out by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Control Authority, will determine whether or not Crown Limited and its close associates are suitable candidates for a casino license. The authority will investigate whether or not the casino operator will be susceptible to corruption and if the company will maintain its commitment to responsible gambling.

In 1994, the inquiry into Sydney’s first-ever casino license was held in public. Since Crown will be opening up the city’s biggest gambling venue in 2019, local residents believe that the company should be given the same treatment. Politicians are concerned about the transparency of the process. If the inquiry is held in private, there is also the potential that some negative information and evidence could be suppressed.

''This should be an open and transparent investigation and a public hearing should be part of that,'' says Independent MP, Alex Greenwich. ''The public has been left out of this until now. It is incumbent on [the authority] to ensure there is community confidence in the project''. The casino operator has already received some special treatment during this process, as the timeframe for the inquiry has been significantly reduced.

Normally, inquiries of this nature take up to one year to be completed. However, since Crown has already been examined by the ILGA when the company wanted to increase its share in Echo Entertainment, the Sydney Casino license inquiry has been fast-tracked. Submissions can be emailed to ilga.nsw.go.au or mailed to GPO Box 3970, Sydney, NSW, 2000. The deadline for submissions is February 7, 2014.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.