Crown rigged its pokies: Wilkie
CROWN casino denies allegations it tampered with poker machines to increase gaming profits as an investigation starts into damning whistleblower evidence tabled in Federal Parliament by Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie.
Video evidence from three former employees was presented to the Denison MP, who accused the casino of misconduct.
Mr Wilkie used parliamentary privilege to allege Crown tampered with machines as part of a “broader pattern of misbehaviour” in the industry. The James Packer-controlled casino rejects the accusations.
“Crown calls on Mr Wilkie to immediately provide to the relevant authorities all information relating to the matters alleged,” a company statement said.
A former whistleblower, Mr Wilkie said he was reluctant to encourage the whistleblowers to go beyond their video testimony and speak to police.
He refused to reveal the former employees’ level of seniority in the company, but said they were nervous men.
The anonymous whistleblowers in Mr Wilkie’s videos allege lower betting options were disabled on machines and buttons modified to allow autoplay — which is banned.
“Moreover, there’s software manipulation to increase gambler losses even further — in particular on weekends when the number of naive first-time and casual users is obviously much greater,” Mr Wilkie said.
The three whistleblowers also allege Crown allowed the use of illicit drugs at the casino, covered up domestic violence and was disinterested in staff who gambled at the venue.
They claim the casino avoids scrutiny by money-movement watchdog Austrac by tolerating and “even encouraging” the misuse of identity documents of people in transactions over $10,000.
The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation says it will thoroughly investigate Mr Wilkie’s allegations but did not address whistleblower claims that it had been involved in a cover-up.
Victoria’s Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz is confident the commission can thoroughly investigate despite being implicated in Mr Wilkie’s allegations.
“These are just allegations, no one’s come forward and said exactly what the regulator has done,” Ms Kairouz said.
The Victorian and federal Greens say Crown’s pokies should be immediately shut down while an independent audit is done.
Crown shares dropped sharply following the allegations and finished 51 cents, or 4.3 per cent, lower at $11.24 after slumping to $10.80 during the day.