A review into Crown Resorts’ suitability to operate a casino in Victoria is being undermined by demands that a whistleblower be publicly identified. So says independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie. In a written complaint to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, Wilkie accused the regulator of “raising barriers to prevent proper investigation.”
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Wilkie says the VCGLR refused to accept testimony from a former Crown employee because that person wished to remain anonymous. “This, to my mind, is unfathomable,” wrote Wilkie in the letter to VCGLR Chairman Ross Kennedy.
The whistleblower alleges that Crown frequently employed plastic picks to jam down pokies buttons, a practice that purportedly allowed for non-stop spins. He said the company also had a policy of issuing of multiple loyalty cards so gamblers could play on several machines simultaneously.
“Police and regulators often take information from anonymous sources for investigation,” Wilkie protested. “It is firmly my view that we agreed your office would take information my office provided—confidentially and anonymously if that is what the informant wanted—and then investigate it.”
The VCGLR has procedures in place to allow anonymous complaints, the government said; a spokeswoman for the regulator said it is “considering the concerns raised in the correspondence from Mr. Wilkie and will respond in due course.”
In April, Crown was fined $300,000 for “blanking” out certain betting options on poker machines after Wilkie presented the whistleblower testimony.
