Reason Party leader and Upper House MP Fiona Patten said the state parliament should move to amend the legislation to void the compensation clause.
“If Crown has behaved in manner that is in direct contravention of their casino licence... then they shouldn’t be eligible for a single cent in compensation under this agreement,” she said.
“It would take a lot of chutzpah,I would think,for Crown management to even contemplate attempting to even bring it up given the current situation they find themselves in.”
Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said the compensation clause was “outrageous” and that evidence from the commission already showed that Crown was unfit to hold its casino licence.
“The government should already be preparing to rip the contract up,to make sure Victorians aren’t liable for Crown’s corrupt behaviour,” Ms Ratnam said.
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An Andrews government spokeswoman said it was inappropriate to comment on how it might deal with the compensation clause while the inquiry was still under way.
Meanwhile,a Crown spokeswoman said that “out of respect for the Victorian royal commission and its processes”,it would not comment on whether it would seek to claim compensation if new rules are imposed on its casino.
NSW suspended Crown’s licence for its new Sydney casino late last year after an independent inquiry in that state examined evidence -first raised by this masthead - of criminal infiltration and money laundering at its Melbourne and Perth casinos.
Commissioner Finkelstein will hand over his recommendations to the government by October 15 outlining whether Crown is fit to run its flagship Melbourne casino,and if not,what changes could be needed to make it a suitable licence holder.
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The opposition’s shadow gaming minister Steph Ryan said on Sunday there was “nothing in Crown’s contract which entitles them to break the law” and that Victorians expected the Labor government to “put aside itscosy relationship with Crown” when the commission hands down its recommendations.
As well as a change to Crown’s poker machine bet limits,the casino can also claim compensation if the government stops it from operating up to 1000 machines in “unrestricted mode”,which means they can spin constantly without any maximum bet limit.
Gamblers lost around $450 million from Crown’s pokies every year before the COVID-19 pandemic,according to its financial reports.
Crown could also claim compensation if the government limits access to ATMs within the casino,and if it introduces a program that made patrons set a limit on how much they were willing to loose before gambling,other than the state’s existing and widely criticised YourPlay scheme.
YourPlay could be exposing gamblers to greater harm at Crown,the commission has heard,because it disables all harm reduction measures on Crown’s unrestricted poker machines. The most commonly chosen loss limit on the scheme is$1 million per day,the commission has heard.
Crown having to make change to its loyalty scheme - which the casino has been accused of using to encourage people to gamble more than they can afford - could also trigger compensation.
The royal commission will resume public hearings on Monday and is set to conclude on Friday,with senior Crown leaders including executive chairman Helen Coonan and Crown Melbourne CEO Xavier Walsh due to give evidence.
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