Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUN 2022年6月 亞博匯 44 Despite this, the game has already changed for casino operators across the two countries, with Crown Resorts, Star Entertainment Group and SkyCity Entertainment Group having all ended junket relationships and scaled back their international VIP business segments in response to recent inquiries into both Crown and Star. They also face renewed scrutiny on international money transfers in the future under new laws being introduced in some states and following recent revelations by Australia’s financial crimes watchdog AUSTRAC that it is investigating the three operators. AUSTRAC has already launched civil proceedings against Crown for alleged contraventions of obligations under the Anti- Money Laundering and Counter- Terrorism Financing Act. Weighing in the operators’ favor, now that almost all social distancing measures have been dropped, is Australia’s strong domestic market. Domestic gaming comprised 75% of Crown’s GGR in 2019 and 77% of Star’s, with the segment set to become increasingly important now that life is returning to normal. “We can see from an APAC perspective that there has COVER STORY