In August 2018, The Star lodged ambitious plans for a luxury 220-room Ritz-Carlton hotel and 204 residential apartments, as part of a half-a-billion dollar gamble to lure wealthy Chinese tourists. May 24, 2016 The ABC can reveal that 19 out of 20 specialist government inspectors and auditors who were permanently based at The Star casino have taken voluntary redundancy from their positions.
Updated May 24, 2016 17:43:57
Dramatic changes to casino regulation in NSW has prompted a mass exodus of specialist government inspectors and raised concerns it has opened the door to organised crime.
Key points:
- 19 out of 20 government inspectors and auditors at Star Casino have left their positions
- The inspectors' positions were shifted into a larger pool of staff that do random spot-checks
- There are fears the reduction will increase the threat of organised crime
The ABC can reveal that 19 out of 20 specialist government inspectors and auditors who were permanently based at The Star casino have taken voluntary redundancy from their positions.
The resignations follow wide-reaching legislative changes that have been condemned by the former chair of the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, Chris Sidoti, who has spoken for the first time since quitting his post in February.
Mr Sidoti warned of the 'inevitable' risk of influence of organised crime at casinos after the specialist casino inspectors were shifted into a larger pool of inspectors that carry out random spot-checks.
'I'm particularly concerned about the lack of expertise in casino inspectors now,' Mr Sidoti said.
'These positions have been generalised, we now have the same inspectors carrying out all inspections for poker machines, all licensed venues and the casino as well.
'We're talking in the casino about a major risk of organised crime.
'It's unreasonable to expect that an inspector watching minors drinking in the local pub is also going to have the expertise to identify organised criminal activity in the casino.'
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Casinos can be unwitting targets of money laundering schemes and inspectors play a role in spotting schemes.
Industry experts said the changes set a dangerous precedent for James Packer's proposed high roller casino at Barangaroo and leave the state open to money laundering from Asia.
Late last year, the state's Deputy Premier and Justice Minister Troy Grant pushed through legislation which brought administrative control of gambling regulation under the direction of the minister.
The legislation saw the creation of a new government department, Liquor and Gaming NSW, which now acts as the industry regulator.
As part of the shake-up, government inspectors and auditors that were formerly based at The Star around the clock were absorbed into a larger team of inspectors to perform spot-checks and random, targeted compliance.
Changes will 'blow up', Sidoti warns
Mr Sidoti said the changes had compromised the independence of the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority which was created in 2008 following legislation passed the previous year with bipartisan support.
'The 2007 law provided explicitly that the authority was not subject to direction from the minister,' Mr Sidoti said.
'That was an important part of securing its independence... from political processes.
'I have no doubt that at some point in the future it will blow up.'
Mr Sidoti said the changes would lead to a reduction in regulation.
'We will see issues arising about the regulation of the casinos such that there are increased risks of organised crime,' he said.
'There will be greater influence of industry; community interests will suffer.'
Sydney casinos 'could be seen as soft target'
The Public Sector Association's general secretary Anne Gardiner is also concerned at the loss of specialised casino inspectors.
'[It] is potentially something that will lead to people seeing Sydney and our casinos as a soft target,' Ms Gardiner said.
'What you can do in spot checks is different to what you can do when you're based there 24-hours a day and you're seeing the intricacies of these very technical games being played by people who may potentially look to laundering money, may look to avoiding taxation.
'These are all the things that are currently being dealt with by specialist casino inspectors.'
The loss of the inspectors comes after the authority lost as much as half of its experienced senior staff in recent months.
Those staff members include its former chief executive Micheil Brodie, one of the most experienced gambling regulators in the country, who was transferred to the Office of Racing last month with 48 hours' notice.
Many of the executives held significant concerns that gambling regulation had been weakened under the new structure.
In-house inspectors 'no longer best practice'
Mr Grant declined to comment.
A spokesman for Liquor and Gaming NSW said NSW was the second-last Australian state to abandon permanent in-house casino gaming inspectors.
He said it was no longer considered best practice because inspectors were vulnerable to 'regulatory capture', which means they could be influenced by the casino operators.
'The new model recognises that remote electronic surveillance currently features heavily in casino compliance in NSW and will into the future, when it is planned for Sydney to have a restricted gaming facility at Barangaroo in addition to the Star,' he said.
'Matters relating to organised crime, tax evasion and money laundering are investigated by other bodies, including the NSW Police Force which has a dedicated Casino and Racing Investigation Unit.'
A spokeswoman for The Star said it continued to work closely with New South Wales Liquor and Gaming Inspectors and 'supports reforms that ensure the regulatory regime in New South Wales continues to be appropriate'.
The Star Casino
Topics:gambling, community-and-society, state-parliament, parliament, government-and-politics, sydney-2000, nsw
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First posted May 24, 2016 16:25:28