A PLAN TO LIMIT THE HARM OF A MELBOURNE CASINO
Crown Melbourne is the biggest casino in the Southern Hemisphere. The sheer size of the casino, together with Crown’s expanding political influence through donations and corporate connections, means the casino has benefited from special treatment for decades.
Crown’s special deal includes:
- Paying less tax on its gaming machines than other operators - 31.57% compared to the 46.70 - 62.53% paid by clubs and hotels;
- Successfully pressuring the government into removing a super tax on its high-roller program;
- 1000 ‘unrestricted’ gaming machines, which spin faster and accept larger bets than allowed elsewhere;
- No harm minimisation measures unless Crown approves, putting Crown’s profit ahead of the public good.
The scale of Crown’s gambling operations means patrons at Crown are three times more likely to experience gambling harm than those who gamble elsewhere.
And Crown has also used political donations and connections - including ex-government staffers in senior roles at Crown - to bully the gambling regulator and capture the government while Crown has facilitated money laundering, fixed poker machines and underpaid tax by more than $200m.
Crown has tried to argue that its sheer size and influence means it is ‘too big to fail’.
But given the evidence heard by the Royal Commission into whether Crown is fit to hold a casino licence, there is no option but for the government to rip up its contract with Crown and rethink how we operate a casino in Victoria.
It’s time to go back to the drawing board, and put in place strict rules for the Melbourne casino, with a focus on reducing gambling harm, preventing corruption and stopping the next casino operator from growing its political influence at the expense of the Victorian community.
The Greens’ plan to limit the harm and the corruption of a Melbourne Casino includes:
- Halving the number of gaming machines and tables to reduce gambling harm
- Strong harm minimisation protections including dollar bet limits, spin restrictions, withdrawal limits, mandatory pre commitment, and a ban on loyalty programs.
- Increasing tax rates to make the Casino pay its fair share by doubling the tax paid on gaming machines and gaming tables and implementing a high-roller tax on any VIP program.
- Banning political donations from the gambling industry
- Closing the revolving door between politics and the gambling industry by banning politicians and senior ministerial advisors from working in the gambling industry for 5 years.
We will also ensure the new gambling and casino regulator is fully funded and given the necessary powers to properly monitor and enforce compliance.
Analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office shows that a new casino with fewer poker machines and gambling tables and with fair tax rates would still provide more tax revenue than the government currently gets from its special deals with Crown.
A planned transition to a new casino regime with proper government support will retain the lively entertainment district at Southbank and help ensure quality jobs continue into the future.
Crown Casino has been allowed to get away with dodgy behaviour for too long. It’s time for the Labor Government to break up with Crown, and create a new casino license that prioritises people over profit.