Australian gaming giant Crown Resorts has been ordered to pay a fine of AU$20 million ($13.8 million) for allegedly breaching tax rules in Victoria.
The local gaming regulator, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) issued a press release on Friday, pointing out that the fine decision aims at Crown “failing to pay the proper amounts of casino tax over an extended period of time”.
Concretely, Crown “improperly claimed tax deductions by including the costs of certain promotional activities as amounts paid out as winnings.”
In the same investigation against Crown, the Royal Commission found that the gaming operator deliberately concealed the nature of these deductions from the VGCCC’s predecessor, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation.
“The true nature of these deductions was only revealed when the Royal Commission noticed a document setting out the quantum of unpaid casino tax among voluminous documents that Crown disclosed to the Royal Commission for other purposes.”
“Crown and other gaming licensees have important obligations to pay gaming taxes to the State. Not only did Crown breach its obligations by claiming tax deductions to which it was not entitled, but Crown also made significant efforts at concealment.” said the VGCCC’s Chairperson.
Fran Thorn also noted that “the VGCCC will not tolerate this behavior. We expect licensees to comply with their tax obligations and to be transparent in their dealings with us. We have today imposed a significant fine of $20 million on Crown to send a clear message that this type of conduct will be met with strong disciplinary action. This fine also sends an important message to other gambling operators about the importance of complying with their obligations to pay gambling taxes and the need for frank and open dealings with the regulator.”
This is the fourth time the VGCCC has used its stronger enforcement powers to take disciplinary action against Crown for conduct uncovered by the Royal Commission. Since receiving these powers, the VGCCC has imposed fines on Crown totaling AU$250 million ($172 million).
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre fined Crown $450 million last month for failing to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
It has previously been fined AU$30 million ($20.6 million) for illegal bank check practices, AU$120 million ($85.5 million) for responsible gambling failures, and AU$80 million ($55.0 million) for the illegal use of China UnionPay cards.
