Australia’s largest casino has denied allegations it deliberately tampered with slot machines and ignored evidence of drug use and domestic violence.<\/p>\n
The claims, by three people who said they were ex-employees of Crown casino, were tabled in Australia’s parliament.<\/p>\n
Authorities will investigate the allegations, described by one MP as “chilling”.<\/p>\n
Crown Resorts Limited said it rejected claims of “illegal and improper conduct” at the Melbourne venue.<\/p>\n
The whistleblowers allege that staff were told to alter poker machines, known in Australia as “pokies”, to remove some betting options.<\/p>\n
The casino also overlooked drug use and domestic violence incidents, and tried to avoid reporting some transactions to authorities, the former employees say.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said an anti-money laundering regulator, Austrac, would investigate a claim that staff were told to use different player ID cards when processing transactions over A$10,000 (\u00a36,000; $8,000).<\/p>\n
The other claims will be “thoroughly investigated” by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, it confirmed.<\/p>\n
Australia has the world’s highest gambling loss per head, according to recent research by UK consultancy H2 Gambling Capital, with Australians losing an average of A$1,260 last year.<\/p>\n
The claims were outlined in a 30-minute video tabled to parliament on Wednesday by an independent MP, Andrew Wilkie.<\/p>\n
The faces and voices of the three former employees were masked in the footage to protect their identity.<\/p>\n
“If the allegations are true, it does suggest there is a systemic problem rather than a rogue individual,” said Mr Wilkie, an anti-gambling campaigner.<\/p>\n
In denying the allegations, Crown called on Mr Wilkie to “immediately provide to the relevant authorities all information relating to the matters alleged”.<\/p>\n
Crown is one of Australia’s largest gambling and entertainment companies and is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.<\/p>\n
The company is currently\u00a0embroiled in a landmark court battle<\/a>\u00a0involving a former gambling addict who alleges the casino and a manufacturer of a slot-machine game misled gamblers over their chances of winning.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"