Australian Casinos Archives - Page 8 of 11

Crown Casino’s woes pile up

October 25, 2019 by Admin

Melbourne’s Crown Casino’s year has been a challenging one and it’s about to get worse.

A series of events have led to numerous revelations about the shady activates happening at this iconic gambling destination.

Barangaroo Casino Tower

July brought the first wave of adversity to the casino’s doorstep when city officials in Sydney started raising objections about the $2.2 billion development in the suburb of Barangaroo.

Construction had already been in progress for 14 months with the completion date set for 2021. The Crown Sydney Tower was meant to be a 71-story structure, boasting both a casino and luxury apartments.

Then Crow’s plans for the venue raised the ire of the mayor and city council members. Their requests to reduce parking and add more apartments sparked a series of debates and public posturing.

Crown cast in a criminal light

Within a few weeks, numerous media outlets had gained access to leaked emails from Crown Resorts. The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and 60 Minutes were among the media outlets releasing a series of damaging reports.

The reports laid bare Crown’s links with Chinese criminals, communist officials, and sex traffickers. A former Border Force head also claims to have been pressured by politicians who wanted a streamlined entry for Chinese high rollers coming to Australia.

Crown resorts refuted the allegations, but the casino was unable to contain the fallout as numerous politicians called for a thorough investigation.

Deals on ice

Melco’s planned purchase of a 20% stake in Crown in June, for $1.76 billion was of particular interest to Aussie officials, mainly because Melco is run by CEO Lawrence Ho.

Lawrence Ho is the son of billionaire and gambling legend Stanley Ho. His father is alleged to be involved in all manner of illegal activities and Australian officials have fought to keep his influence from entering their country.

Regulators from New South Wales launched an investigation, resulting in Melco suspending the proposed purchase for 60 days.

A whistleblower emerges

A chauffeur who works for Crown Casino recently emerged to add to the casino’s growing despair. He revealed to officials that employees were expected to follow “Crown law,” a set of rules that appeared to displace traditional Aussie law.

Employees were regularly asked to procure drugs and prostitutes for foreign high rollers. He further claimed that usual customs checks did not seem to apply to these individuals.

“Crown is a law unto itself. The laws that the rest of us have to follow mean nothing to Crown.” The driver testified.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie and Victorian state MP Fiona Patten have motivated for a full inquiry into Crown’s activities. Other whistleblowers are likely to step forward as Crown feels the pressure.

A looming employee strike

As if their existing set of challenges wasn’t enough Crown Casino’s employees are poised to go on strike. United Voice, the worker’s union, is preparing a ballot that may allow for strikes as soon as November 1st. This would be the first-ever strike by Crown employees in 16 years.

Employees are demanding better pay and job security. They have also stipulated a new three-year agreement that includes a 5% wage increase for each year. Crown has tabled an offer of 2.5%, leaving negotiations in limbo.

An additional demand is the reduction of the time it takes to move from a casual to a permanent role. Currently, the process takes 24 months and 70% of the casino’s staff is made up of casual employees, according to a union report.

Tabcorp scores new multi-year agreement with NFL; named Official Wagering Partner in Australia

September 29, 2019 by Admin

Australia’s leading diversified gambling entertainment group, Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH), has entered into a new wagering partnership with the National Football League (NFL).

The Melbourne-headquartered gambling company announced the multi-year agreement that will see it become the NFL’s Official Wagering Partner in what is the largest country in Oceania.

“Our goal is to support the growing appetite for the NFL in Australia.“

According to the company’s official news release…

…the ground-breaking partnership will enable Tabcorp (TAB) to “create unique NFL content and experiences for Australian fans across its digital platforms and venues” and combines its status as the country’s biggest multi-channel wagering brand with the professional American football league’s position as the “premier global sporting brand.”

Partnership details:

TAB and the NFL will additionally meld to promote the league’s official Pick’em free-to-play football game, via the Nflpickem.com.au domain, which will give fans in Australia the opportunity to win weekly prizes.

A grand prize trip to the Pro Bowl, which for the fourth consecutive year will see the AFC battle the NFC at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida on Jan. 26, 2020, will also be up for grabs.

Additional terms of the partnership deal include Tabcorp and satellite television channel, Sky Channel, streaming NFL Network and (six hours) NFL RedZone programming along with one NFL game per week to its commercial network of over 4,400 clubs, pubs and TAB agencies.

Support NFL popularity:

Commenting on the recent tie-up, Managing Director Wagering & Media for Tabcorp, Adam Rytenskild, said…

“We are proud to bring Australians NFL action to enhance our existing sports offering to customers and venues and complement Sky’s unrivalled coverage of Australian and international racing. Our goal is to support the growing appetite for the NFL in Australia. This gives fans more value in line with our strategy of using our assets to create unique experiences for customers.”

For its part, NFL Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, Christopher Halpin, said that they [NFL] look forward to working with Australia’s leading operator.

“We are excited about our growing popularity in Australia and this partnership will help further serve our fans there,” said Halpin.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed in the Wednesday news release.

AGA sports betting survey:

According to a new survey recently released by the American Gaming Association(AGA), 38,000,000 American adults, 15% of the adult population in the U.S., plan to wager on NFL games this season. And that American sports bettors have legally wagered more than $10 billion since last year’s invalidation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which had largely limited sports wagering to land-based casinos in Nevada.

Legal sports betting has grown exponentially since PASPA and after decades of the NFL’s longstanding antiquated public stance on sports betting and that legalization would compromise the integrity of the game, the league has embraced gambling.

Marketing spend:

Just days before the NFL concluded its 99th season, American sponsorship consulting and valuation firm, IEG, announced that marketing spend on last season’s edition of the NFL increased by some 5.1 percent year-on-year to reach $1.39 billion thanks in part to an increase in the value of deals the sport inked with firms involved in real money casinos and sportsbetting.

NFL sponsorship deals:

In January, the NFL inked a historic agreement with Caesars Entertainment, naming it its first ‘official casino sponsor.’ The gaming and hospitality corporation founded in 1937 has relationships with seven NFL Clubs, including the Oakland Raiders (soon to be the Las Vegas Raiders), Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Ravens. How’s that for embracing?

Meanwhile, last month, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd. announced a new multi-year sponsorship agreement making it the Official Casino Partner of the NFL in Canada. The Burnaby-headquartered gaming and entertainment company operates 27 gaming properties in British Columbia, Ontario, and Edmonton, Alberta.

Crown Casino under Investigation by New South Wales Regulator

September 25, 2019 by Admin

Crown Casino Limited faces an unsure future after the launch of an inquiry by the Eastern New South Wales gaming regulatory agencies. The inquiry will seek to determine whether the local casino operator has acted in contravention of its license conditions. Crown Casino has sold approximately 20 percent of its stake to its Asian partner, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited.

The New South Wales Liquor and Gaming Authority announced that the investigation would determine whether the deal breaches the license terms of Crown Casino. Former judge, Patricia Bergin is serving as the investigation head and will determine if Crown Casino or its subsidiary are still entitled to their Barangaroo license.

The Barangaroo casino, which is still under construction near the Sydney Harbour Bridge, is an important project for Crown as its intention was to attract international casino buffs to Australia. There is now a chance that this venue may never open its door to the public.

Star, Crown casino’s main competitor, will be keeping a close watch on this inquiry as Patricia Bergin will also be examining the suitability of the licensing laws of New South Wales in a changing environment.

James Packer is likely also holding his breath as he has already sold approximately half of his stake to Melco and has to wait for the inquiry to conclude before he can transfer the remaining stake.

A thorough investigation

Patricia Bergin will be using the accusations leveled against Crown, published in the media, to inform her opinion on the matter. According to 60 Minutes, a current affairs TV program, the affiliates, agents and subsidiaries of Crown Casino are in contravention of the terms of the gaming license and are in alliance with operators who are associated with money launderers, organized crime groups as well as drug and human traffickers.

Bergin is also obliged to investigate whether Hong Kong Casino Magnate, Lawrence Ho or other key partners who will become partners of the Crown Resort as a result of the deal, are of good repute or whether they are at all linked to any other individuals, agencies or authorities who have a negative reputation in respect to integrity, honesty, and character. Whether they have objectionable or unacceptable monetary sources will also be scrutinised.

The Barangaroo license contains a provision which has banned the father of Lawrence Ho and a few other members of the Ho family from having any involvement with Barangaroo. Lawrence Ho’s father, Stanley, is suspected of having close relationships with organized crime, an accusation he has consistently denied.

A list of banned individuals and operators was declassified on 8 August, in the NSW parliament after independent upper house MP Justin Field demanded it be made public. Lawrence Ho’s name is mentioned, bringing to light the fact that he purchased 20 percent of the stake from James Packer while being restricted from conducting business in Barangaroo.

Melco’s association with this project is also concerning because of its association with Great Respect, a barred agency. The exposure of this document is ultimately what triggered the NSW Government to launch the investigation.

Crown Resort has committed to offering its full cooperation with the investigation. This is not the first time that the share transaction has faced opposition. James Packer and Lawrence Ho have previously had to wait for three states in Australia to sanction the deal.

The share deal, which constitutes a $1.75 billion payment for a 20 percent stake of Crown, was a two-part arrangement. The initial transaction happened June and the second part was due to be concluded by the end of September. Lawrence Ho, at the time, erroneously stated that it would not need any approval from regulatory bodies to be completed.

The agreement has now been amended to include a requirement of approval from the concerned agencies in New South Wales.

Australia is a prime destination for gambling enthusiasts from around the world and the country wishes to ensure that they maintain a reputation for having a fair and crime-free gambling industry.

Suspended animation for Crown Sydney

Crown Sydney was due to open its doors in 2021. The company’s hope was to establish a successful sister site to t the Crown Perth facility, which is situated in Western Australia and Crown Melbourne in Victoria.

Crown Sydney will be the second legal casino in the stat, joining ‘The Star in an effort to attract customers from the region. In contrast to The Star, Crown Sydney’s focus will be squarely on attracting VIP’s and high rollers. The massive 75 floor, 350 room casino is designed to attract affluence.

Gamblers may never get to sample the exclusive delights of this new venue, depending on the outcome of the inquiry. All Crown’s stakeholders can do at the moment, is hope for the best.

Lightning Box appoints Mike Lally to aid further business growth

September 23, 2019 by Admin

Leading third-party slot content designer, Lightning Box, has appointed industry veteran, Mike Lally, to direct account management for the Australian developer’s online vertical.

In addition to its real-money gaming (RMG) casino clients, the London-based Lally will also oversee the studio’s growing commercial interests in North America.

According to a recent press release…

…prior to the appointment, Lally was responsible for launching 1,500 games with top industry brands over six years at UK-based sportsbook and gaming software company, OpenBet, before making a move to SG Digital subsidiary Betdigital to help advance its online business.

Other SG takeaway:

The current appointment coincides with the Sydney-based company’s promotion of Michael Maokhamphiou, another former employee of Scientific Games Corporation’s (SGMS) SG Digital division, to operations manager.

Chief Executive Officer and co-founder for Lightning Box, Peter Causley, said…

“We’re honoured to have someone of Mike Lally’s industry experience join our team given his excellent reputation for customer service and getting the job done.

“We’re equally blessed to be able to make Michael Maokhamphiou responsible for our product rollout and software implementation. He has been a tremendous addition to our team over the past six months and deserves this promotion. It’s an exciting time for Lightning Box and great news for our operator partners.”

For his part, Mike Lally added…

“I’m delighted to be joining the Lightning Box team, which has a great reputation in the industry for delivering high-quality and engaging games.

“I’m very much looking forward to renewing acquaintances with many of the key people with whom I’ve developed great relationships, as well as introducing myself to new ones as we continue to grow this very successful business.”

Live in New Jersey:

In a move that expanded its U.S. offering, the supplier recently announced that two of its most popular games have gone live in the regulated state of New Jersey for the first time in over three months.

The slot specialist’s popular Stellar Jackpots with Serengeti Lions and everyone’s favourite crimson marsupial, RedRoo, are the most recent titles to be added to the slots developer’s games portfolio available in the United States. Lightning Box has already gone live in the region with some choice titles including Respin Rhino, Astro Cat and the most recent addition, PandaPow.

Stellar Jackpots with Serengeti Lions and RedRoo are the developer’s first titles to release in the region since early April. The launches are in keeping with growing interest in its offering since it first premiered in New jersey‘s burgeoning online market in early this year.

GES’s Poker Jackpot and Management System debut at SkyCity Adelaide

September 18, 2019 by Admin

SkyCity Adelaide in New Zealand has recently received an installation of Gaming Entertainment Systems’ Poker Jackpot and Management Systems. The venue is the first customer to use the High Hand Bonus feature which awards a fixed prize for the highest poker hand achieved during specific time periods, additionally, a Royal Flush Jackpot has been introduced.

Simon Witty, GES’ managing director was enthused about the new development, “GES and SkyCity Adelaide have worked closely together to deliver an integrated poker management solution including jackpots, bonusing, cash game management, waitlist, and tournament functionality,” he said in an interview

When approached for comment, Ash Azad, SkyCity Adelaide’s general manager for table games, was just as energized, saying.“We are delighted to be able to enhance our poker product with unique features including a Royal Flush Jackpot and High Hand Bonus, both of which have proved very popular since launch. The GES system installation was flawless and their customer support has been outstanding,”

Aristocrat and the reinvention of bar top play

September 12, 2019 by Admin

Aristocrat has announced the “reinvention of bar top play” hoping to wow the market with its Winners World Multi-Game bar top cabinet, currently available at an increasing number of locations across the US.

Innovative features are key in this product, which offers a unique bar top play experience. The best of stylish entertainment is on offer with Buffalo keno games, poker games and player-favourite slot games, including Buffalo, Buffalo Gold, and Wild Lepre’coins.

“While innovation abounds in every area of the casino, bar top play has been largely stagnant,” said Hector Fernandez, president of Aristocrat Americas. “Winners World Multi-Game offers a fresh take for our customers and we’re excited to bring player-favourite Aristocrat games to these venues for the first time.”

Winner’s World offers a complete bar top experience for players as well as operations and bar staff. The cabinet boasts the industry’s largest floating LCD tilted monitor at an astonishing 23.5ins. Players will also be pleased with the easy-access USB phone charger.

The monitor’s design includes a flip-top for fast and easy servicing; this compact design eliminates counter space intrusion while greatly reducing potential downtime. Finally, the cabinet is equipped with Aristocrat’s ”smart-drink” tracking light, allowing bartenders to reward players with ease.

“Winner’s World Multi-Game has been an instant fan favourite across Boyd Gaming destinations nationwide” said Mike Laubach, vice president of slot operations. “We look forward to bringing this new and improved bar top play to our players throughout our portfolio.”

Crown casino troubles result in Melco not buying James Packer’s shares

September 8, 2019 by Admin

Lawrence Ho, CEO of Melco resorts has backtracked on plans to purchase Crown casino shares; this decision was taken against the recent backdrop of the casino being subjected to a public investigation and scandal, over alleged illegal activities.

Ho, a prominent Hong Kong businessman was set to purchase James Packer’s shares of the crown casino, planning to expand his portfolio beyond the borders of his home country. The ongoing investigation seems to have soured his interest and Melco have put their plans on hold, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Melco have indicated that a total cancellation of the trade is also possible, should the investigation result in an unfavourable decision for Melco and Crown casino.

These revelations came to light on Wednesday and are just a small part of the fallout as a result of the investigation, led by a number of media companies within Australia. The investigation uncovered that Crown casino was involved with junket companies that are backed by Asian crime gangs and Chinese foreign influence agents. This triggered a secondary investigation by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority.

While the investigation is ongoing, the gambling industry has been carrying on with business as normal. Demand for Australian casino games continues to grow, with the outlook for the industry at large, remaining healthy and positive. The investigation is, however, likely to have far-reaching effects, outside of Australia.

The sale of the shares came under particular scrutiny, due to the father of Melco’s owner, Stanley Ho, having alleged ties to Asian gangs, leading investigators to believe that the sale might be related to the illegal junket operations. Melco had agreed to the purchase of a stake that is worth around $1.7 billion, with the first 10 percent transfer happening before September 30th.

The current effects of the fallout

Melco Resorts has released a statement on the NASDAQ exchange. Here, they agreed with Consolidated Press Holdings’ suggestion to extend the possibility of the deal going through by another 60 days. CHP stated that they did not perceive any breach of an agreement or unlawful activities that Melco had been taking all the steps agreed on between the two entities. The does, however, contain clauses that could result in total cancellation of the deal.

Melco kept mum about the 10 percent that they had already purchased from Crown, in the face of an increasingly complicated matter.

Crown was granted a license to create their $2 billion casinos by 2021 in Sydney provided that they agree to list of individuals and casinos that they would be prohibited from working with. Stanley Ho and Melco were on this original list, which was made public recently. Included is a casino owned by Stanley Ho, that Crown casino has dealt with extensively.

The Great Respect Limited, another company linked to Mr. Ho, is a 20 percent owner of Melco International and has a controlling stake in Melco Resorts, which, the entity with a purchasing stake in Crown. The intertwined, shadowy nature of the situation between Crown and Melco, spells serious trouble for these companies.

The current inquiry seeks to expose exactly to what extent the company has managed to breach the terms of the agreement, beyond simply breaking the law. The investigation is open-ended, with no expected date of completion being set as yet

Melco and Crown had a previous partnership, which was canceled after 19 individuals of the Crown staff were arrested on gambling-related charges.

James packer will have to wait and see if he can offload his shares, as the current situation has the future of Crown and Melco in a state of suspense.

Major deal puts Crown Resorts operations at risk as regulators swoop in

September 4, 2019 by Admin

The gaming regulator for the eastern state of New South Wales is investigating possible license violations by local casino operator, Crown Resorts.

The sale of an almost 20% stake in its business to Asian counterpart Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, has attracted the scrutiny of the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority. The transaction may constitute a ‘breach’ of the operator’s license or other regulatory covenants.

Sydney operation in jeopardy

AS reported by GGRAsia, the investigation, headed by former New South Wales Supreme Court Judge, Patricia Bergin could have devastating implications for the company. The judge will consider whether Crown Resorts Limited should be permitted to retain the state-issued casino license attached to their sprawling Crown Sydney facility. The facility is in the harborside Barangaroo district of central Sydney and is due to begin welcoming gamblers from 2021.

High stakes

Crown Resorts is currently already responsible for the Crown Perth venue in Western Australia as well as Victoria’s monolithic Crown Melbourne. In May, Crown made a bold move by signing off on a $1.2 billion deal whereby its largest shareholder, CPH Crown Holdings Proprietary Limited, offloaded a 19.9% stake in its business to Hong Kong-listed Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited.

Deal on hold

CPH Crown Holdings Proprietary Limited, under the control of controversial Australian billionaire businessman, James Packer, initiated this deal in June by selling just over 67.67 million of the shares it held in Crown Resorts Limited to Melco. This near 10% sell-off was due to be followed by a similarly-sized transaction before the end of next month.

In the face of the current situation, however, the buyer declared yesterday that it had postponed its acquisition as ‘to allow more time for the relevant Australian regulatory processes to be completed.’

Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and CEO of Melco, stated that his company was willing to participate in ‘in any probity review process and cooperate with any inquiry’ regarding its acquisition of the shares in Crown Resorts Limited.

Under the magnifying glass

The New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority have explained that the scope of their investigation goes beyond the legality of the deal itself. They are also seeking to determine whether Ho and his representatives are of ‘good repute’ in regards to their ‘character, honesty and integrity’ and whether they have connections with ‘any person, body or association who is not of good repute’ or ‘otherwise not suitable to be associated’ with the local gaming license held by Crown.

Impairment charges pummel Donaco International Limited amidst annual losses

September 1, 2019 by Admin

Impairment charges pummel Donaco International Limited amidst annual losses

Asian casino operator Donaco International Limited have found themselves in troubled waters.

Their recently released financial results for the twelve months to the end of June show an annual loss that widened by 55.8% year-on-year to hit nearly $130.88 million. The cause was $134.99 million in non-cash impairment charges.

A report obtained from GGRAsia, reveals that the Sydney-listed firm used an official filing to detail the impairment charges. These included a $125.86 million setback linked to the value of the casino license for its Star Vegas Resort and Club property. This followed an attempt by the owner of the Cambodian venue to terminate its 50-year lease. The matter currently remains the subject of litigation.

Profits through the floor

Despite the impairment penalties, Donaco’s underlying net profit after tax, for the twelve-month period had reached approximately $6.19 million. However, this represented a year-on-year decline of 49.7%.

Overall annual revenues had plummeted by 6.8% to hit approximately $58.21 million, while its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization were 30.2% lower at around $19.96 million.

Donaco cited rising competition in the Cambodian casino market as the cause of an overall annual reduction in revenues for its Star Vegas Resort and Club. The revenues fell by a little over 2.8% year-on-year to slightly above $43.64 million. The venue’s net gaming revenues also shrank by 9.9%.

To add to the firm’s woes, unfavourable junket deals, linked to previous management team members, had negatively impacted their facility located in the border town of Poipet. Donaco hopes that a process of renegotiating some of these arrangements will yield favourable results.

Seemingly defiant of the growing adversity at its doorstep, Donaco’s Star Vegas Resort and Club improved on the previous year’s visitor numbers. The venue recorded an impressive VIP turnover swell of 76% ‘due to the full-year impact of junkets brought in to replace those poached by the Thai vendor in the fiscal year 2018’ according to the report.

Bouncing back in Vietnam:

According to Donaco, “a weak start to the year’ at their gaming operation inside northern Vietnam’s Aristo International Hotel set their VIP business back 54%. This, in turn, led to an annual drop in 0/revenues by 16.6% year-on-year to around $14.57 million

Fortune shifted in the firm’s favour, with the enterprise recovering in the second half of the year as they posted a full-year win rate that was 0.18 percentage points higher than the previous twelve-month period at 2.09%.

Changing faces as heads roll:

GGRAsia further reported that Donaco subsequently used a second filing to report significant operational and management changes. The recent appointment of Paul Arbuckle as its new Chief Executive Office stands out as the most prominent. A desire for a ‘fresh start’ inspired the removal from its board in July of two founding members. Joey Lim Keong Yew and Ben Lim Keong Hoe, the grandsons of Genting Malaysia Berhad and founder Lim Goh Tong were obliged to vacate their posts for the sake of the organization’s future.

A humbling renewal:

In poignant fashion, Donaco International Limited used this presentation as a means to lay them bare. Reflecting on their most recent full-year results, they admitted that a ‘lack of effective management and leadership under [the] former executive team’ had lead to this catastrophic freefall in the company’s fortunes.

The firm was happy to share that the newly appointed senior leadership had made ‘an immediate positive impact’, with their July results from both operations showing significant improvement.

Suncity Group closing Australian junket operations

August 26, 2019 by Admin

According to reports, Suncity Group, the Asian junket firm, has elected to abandon the Australian casino market. This follows allegations that Chinese organized crime syndicates have been aided in illegal money laundering by VIP operations in Melbourne and Sydney.

Reports in an earlier story from The Age newspaper reveal this action to be linked to the start of inquiries by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) which concern the possibility of high-roller gambling lounges like Suncity Group (based in Macau) assisting in the facilitation of illegal actions such as money laundering.

As reported by GGRAsia the firm is responsible for VIP gaming lounges inside the giant Crown Melbourne. which is operated by The Star Entertainment Group Limited’s as well as the notable The Star Sydney Crown Resorts Limited. However, beginning with Sydney then followed by Melbourne, the company’s junket services for both of these are now ostensibly set to be closed down.

Market tumble

According to Chief Executive Officer for The Star, Matt Bekier, his firm’s most recent annual turnover from foreign high-rollers had dropped. And, the numbers are significant. The firm saw a 30.7% year-on-year to approximately $28.8 billion. He also explained that the Brisbane-based operator’s comparable international VIP revenues over had, the course of the same period of twelve months, declined by a considerable 16.7% to hit just above $397.1 million.

Bekier is reported to have said, “The fixed room of Suncity [Group] will be discontinued here. It had a small fixed room. That room is being closed.”

Investigation Underway:

It was amidst allegations that the business of Crown Resorts Limited was being used to illegally launder money by organized gangs that The ACIC inquiry was launched last month. Although not specifically mentioned, word about is that Suncity apparently went into overdrive following the emergence of claims that Alvin Chau Cheok Wa – the privately-held firm’s boss – had been refused entry to Australia.

Quick response

The Asian casino firm Suncity Group Holdings, for which Chau also acts as Chairperson, responded to the allegations of impropriety by stating that it was not being officially investigated. Moreover, the firm has been emphatic about the billionaire businessman not having any plans of traveling to Australia in the next twelve months.