Australia's Crown hit by accusations of poker machine-fixing, shares tumble
Reuters
Published Oct 17, 2017 11:50PM ET
Australia's Crown hit by accusations of poker machine-fixing, shares tumble
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Crown Resorts Ltd (AX:CWN) was hit by allegations of tampering with poker machines on Wednesday when a lawmaker tabled a video of whistleblowers in parliament, sending shares in the casino firm sliding.
Independent lawmaker and anti-gambling campaigner Andrew Wilkie used parliamentary privilege, which allows lawmakers to make sensitive allegations without legal repercussions, to make the video public and call for an investigation by authorities.
On the recording, unidentified people accuse Crown's flagship casino in Melbourne of fixing poker machines to remove built-in controls designed to regulate gambling rates.
They also allege that customers were encouraged to disguise their identity to avoid detection by anti-money-laundering agency AUSTRAC, and that the casino failed to stop drug use and domestic violence on its premises.
Wilkie told a news conference he had verified the identity of the people on the video as former employees of Crown but declined to comment further on the accuracy of the allegations.
Crown said in a statement that it rejected the allegations and that Wilkie should "immediately provide to the relevant authorities all information relating to the matters alleged".
Crown shares fell 7 percent by midsession, their biggest single-day loss in a year.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.