Crown Perth Avoids Punishment After Years of Reform

Crown Perth is officially keeping its casino licence, wrapping up a three-year clean-up effort that followed serious misconduct findings. The Western Australian government confirmed that no penalties or new conditions would be applied, closing the chapter on a lengthy regulatory recovery period for the operator.

Good to know

• Crown Perth keeps its licence without fine or restrictions.
• The Royal Commission in 2022 had stopped short of recommending cancellation.
• Independent oversight has now concluded, but monitoring will continue internally.

Back in 2022, a Royal Commission uncovered serious issues at Crown Perth, including money laundering, shady junket partnerships, and a lack of safeguards for vulnerable gamblers. But instead of pulling the licence, the state opted for oversight and reform. That process has now run its course — and according to the Gaming and Wagering Commission (GWC), Crown Perth is again deemed suitable to operate.

On Tuesday, WA Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia said, “Today, I can confirm we won’t be taking punitive action against Crown Perth.” He added that the casino had made substantial changes since the inquiry.

Reforms helped dodge $100M fine

Authorities could have imposed a fine of up to AU$100 million or revoked the licence entirely. Instead, they pointed to extensive internal reforms as reason enough to let Crown continue operations freely.

Papalia stressed that Crown had not gotten off lightly. He noted:

“To say that there hasn’t been any impact on them is not correct. They’ve had to implement new procedures, buy new equipment, and adopt new methods to meet the recommendations.”

Crown Resorts claims it has invested around AU$200 million ($131 million) in improving governance, compliance, and harm minimisation across all its properties.

Perth joins Melbourne and Sydney as cleared

Earlier this year, both Crown Melbourne and Crown Sydney were also found to be suitable operators after similar investigations. That means all three major Crown properties are now licensed without restriction, after each went through Royal Commission inquiries in different states.

Crown Resorts CEO David Tsai said the company’s overhaul had created new industry standards:

“With all three Crown properties now deemed suitable and retaining their casino licences, we are focused on remaining the safest place to gamble in Australia.”

John Van Der Wielen, Chair of Crown Perth, said that private equity firm Blackstone — which acquired Crown in 2022 for AU$8.9 billion — played a key role in the transformation. He said:

“They took on Crown knowing the issue, and we knew how much it would take to fix, and I think we’re there. I’m very confident now with the new independent board, completely new management team, and being owned by the world’s largest investor … we have the right moral compass in place.”

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