Timeline extended for probe into Perth Casino
The casino operator Crown Resort ltd stated on Monday that the timeline for the probe in Perth casino had been extended till March 2021 by the Western Australia state.
The decision was made after the announcements made by the state of Victoria stating that extra funding and time will be provided to a different Royal Commission currently engaged in probing the operation of Crown in the state to gather more information on a detailed level.
Such mandate increases the extent of scrutiny on Crown at a time when the company is trying its best to divert attention from a case of suspicion on the license of its Casinos in Sydney and is trying to balance out talks with Star Entertainment Group.
Aim of the ongoing inquiry
The current inquiries on Perth casino are aimed at determining the eligibility of the casino to hold a gambling license in a number of Australian states after the owner of one-third of the company James Packer was accused of being allegedly involved in money laundering by the Australian media.
Although the allegations were initially fully denied by the company, some of them were accepted by the company during the inquiry session in Sydney in 2020.
The expected deadline for the delivery of the final report by Western Australia was by November of 2021, which is now extended till March 4, 2022.
How does the report serve the public?
As stated by the Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan, the extension in the timeline for the submission of report on the operations of Perth Casino will be in the best interest of the people, as a much more detailed and timed out report will analyze all the relevant details in a better way.
The probe into the Crown was started in February after the Royal Commission was appointed by the state of Victoria to assess the eligibility of Crown to hold gambling licenses in Australia.
Victoria also aimed at probing into the corporate culture of Crown Melbourne after it suspected that casino taxes were not properly paid by the company.
According to the state of Victoria, such allegations were brought forward by evidence that needs to be probed properly.
In a statement issued, the Crown pledges to cooperate with the Royal Commission for ease of inquiry.
