After months of hearings, characterised by spectacular admissions including threats of violence, the report of the Bergin Inquiry into the probity of Crown Sydney Gaming, a subsidiary of Crown Resorts Limited, has been tabled in the NSW parliament.
Crown Resorts runs the Crown casinos in Melbourne and Perth.
The Inquiry found that Crown Sydney Gaming was 'not a suitable person' to operate the Sydney casino.
- ANCHORAGE, Alaska. Multiple crew members on a seafood factory trawler in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska have tested positive for COVID-19, joining a growing list of outbreaks in seafood processors.
- Perhaps 'Casinos' isn't quite the appropriate word to describe the gambling activity of bingo or pull tabs, nevertheless, the following is a list of 'Casinos' in Alaska: Agate Pull Tabs 100 Main St, Sandy Point Dr.
It also found the parent, Crown Resorts Limited, was 'not suitable to be a close associate of the licensee'.
Investor disclosures show that Baker earned more than $10.6 million in 2019 as CEO and president of the Great Canadian Gaming Corp., which owns more than 20 casinos across Canada and is the.
The serious corporate failures relate to
Crown's operations in China and the arrests of the employees in October 2016 with 'numerous failures to escalate indicators of real risks to the staff'
the infiltration and exploitation of Crown's Melbourne and Perth operations by 'criminal elements, probably including international criminal organisations'
the probability of money laundering in the accounts of two Crown subsidiaries 'and in the casino premises with hundreds of thousands of dollars brought into the casino in cooler bags and shopping bags and exchanged for chips and plaques'
Crown's failures to ensure it only had commercial associations with Junket operators of good repute
Other matters relate to 'the structures in place that have contributed to the corporate failures' including:
the existence and operation of a Controlling Shareholder Protocol
Crown's relationship with James Packer and his company Consolidated Press Holdings
Crown's risk management structures and their resourcing.
The report says it is clear each director understood as at 2019 that Crown had given an undertaking to the NSW Government and the Authority that it would not allow the late organised crime figure Stanley Ho to acquire a direct, indirect or beneficial interest in Crown.
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Undertakings not honoured
Yet it found the late Mr Ho's associated entity had an interest in Melco Resorts & Entertainment to whom Packer agreed to sell his company's Crown shareholding and 'thereby obtained an indirect interest in Crown'.
Speaking ahead of the tabling of the report, NSW Treasurer Victor Dominello said that at the heart of the inquiry was concern over organised crime, money laundering, and gambling.
Commissioner Bergin also recommended that a new Independent Casino Commission with the powers of a standing Royal Commission be given sole authority over licensing and disciplinary issues.
Tabling the report in parliament, and invoking parliamentary privilege, is reportedly intended to circumvent the possibility of defamation action by directors and executives of Crown arising from the report.
No confidence in directors
Commissioner Bergin concluded the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority
Ken Barton is the chief executive of Crown Resorts Limited.
Another director, Michael Johnston,
He should 'conclude his tour of duty as soon as possible'.
In regards to another director, former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, the report found
It concluded that
Another director, Harold Mitchell, should
Remote management by Packer
The report describes a confused culture within Crown, with some directors and executives more loyal to Mr Packer, who is no longer a director, than the company itself.
The stewardship of long-time Packer associate John Alexander, chairman and chief executive between February 2017 and January 2020, led 'to disastrous consequences'.
Bergin suggests the NSW Casino Control Act be amended to prevent any person from holding more than 10% of any licensee or holding company.
The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority will consider the report and determine its own path forward.
It's hard to see how Crown, as currently structured, can open the Sydney casino in the near future.
Read more: If Crown is unfit to hold a Sydney casino licence, what about Melbourne, and Perth?
Although the Sydney Barangaroo building is complete, gambling facilities have not been permitted to open.
The report raises obvious questions for the Victorian and Western Australian regulators.
To date there has been little to suggest that Victoria's Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has the wherewithal to take on Crown.
That has to change. As Greens spokesperson on gambling Senator Rachel Siewert said on reading the report, 'we need to know what's going on in Perth and Melbourne'.
Author: Charles Livingstone - Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
- Year Alaska Regulated Gambling: Charity Gaming (1960, expanded in 1988)
- Estimated Tax Revenue from Gambling: Less than $1 million
- Estimated Gambling Revenue (from casinos): Unknown
- Alaska Gambling Age: 19
- Smoking ban: Alaska does not have a statewide smoking ban. Anchorage and Juneau are among the 10 cities that have local bans.
- Alaska Online gambling: No forms of online gambling are legal
Alaska is a state rich in mineral deposits. The mining industry pays most of the taxes in the state. Lawmakers have found no reason to legalize gambling and building Alaska casinos to raise funds because there has been no need to do so.
Casinos In Anchorage Alaska
The state pays residents to live there through a rebate program related to a mining tax. There has been some discussion about expanding gambling in Alaska due to the collapse in oil and precious metals prices. Nothing has come of those proposals.
There are Indian Alaska casinos that offer bingo and video pull tabs to players. You can find several locations in the Alaska casinos map below.
Alaska Casinos Map & Guide
- Klawock Bingo
- Metlakatla Bingo Hall
- Number of B&M Casinos: 0
- Number of Poker Rooms: 0
- Number of Indian Casinos: 2
Types of Alaska Online Gambling Allowed
There are no forms of online casino gambling permitted in Alaska. Daily fantasy sites like DraftKings and FanDuel operate in the state, as there is currently no legislation on this topic. There have been no challenges from the state lawmakers or attorney general on the topic.
Types of Live Alaska Gambling
Legalized gambling in Alaska is restricted to charities. Allowable games are pull-tabs, bingo, and raffles. Skill games specifically excluded from the Alaska gambling statute include race classics, rain classics, goose classics, mercury classics, deep freeze classics, dog mushers' contests, snow machine classics, canned salmon classics, salmon classics, animal classics, crane classics, Calcutta pools, and king salmon classics. Those placing money on these events must do so through the specified organization that has registered with the Alaska Department of Revenue.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act permits tribes to operate the same forms of gambling that are legal in the state without creating a compact. Most tribes offer bingo, pull-tabs, or similar games and are not required to set aside any winnings for charitable purposes. Many of these Tribal-operated establishments like to call themselves Alaska casinos, but only offer the very basic games.
Alaska Gambling Laws
Alaska gambling permits a unique spread of options. It goes beyond the charitable and tribal bingo, raffle and pull-tab games.
Alaska's rural and arctic environment creates an unusual setting that cannot be compared to any other state. Bettors may place wagers on unusual events. This includes the annual Cabbage Classic where bettors can place a guess on the heaviest crop entered into the contest. Gamblers may also try to guess the total number of cases of salmon packed in Petersburg throughout the season.
Bets are also allowed on the temperature, time and date of the coldest day in the Delta Junction during the winter months. Wagers on dog sled races and fishing competitions are permitted, among other odd items, which include when the first goose flies into Fairbanks for the season or when the first piece of ice moves in a body of water during the spring.
A state lottery is the most noticeable item missing from Alaska gambling laws. There are also no legal video poker parlors allowed. All slot machines are illegal under state law.
Where to Gamble in Alaska
Bars, taverns, and restaurants throughout Alaska offer pull-tabs and bingo nights. There are more than 100 Tribal Alaska casinos that offer these same games to varying degrees. The popularity depends on the location. Many of these reservations are located far away from the state's population base.
Gamblers looking for casino gambling will need to catch a flight to Washington state or Las Vegas. There are no casinos in Canada within driving distance of Alaska.
History of Alaska Gambling
Alaska has never experienced a revenue crunch that made it seriously consider gambling as a way to raise tax revenues. This is why there are few legal ways to bet in the state.
Alaska law carves out many rural rituals. This includes betting on fishing and agriculture contests. It even goes so far as to protect friendly sports pools and skill games. It also allows charities and native tribes to spreads games of chance to raise money. Raffles, bingo, and pull-tabs, which are essentially scratch-off lottery tickets, are all permitted when organized through an approved organization.
There have been many attempts to legalize casinos in Alaska. The first organized movement started in 1990 when a statewide referendum asked voters their opinion. It lost by a nearly two-to-one margin.
The Klawock tribe asked the National Indian Gaming Commission for permission to build a Alaska casino in 1993. This proposal was approved. Other Native Alaska tribes followed suit. Alaska casinos were thought to be permitted because the state allowed charities to hold casino nights through a 'Monte Carlo' law. The state legislature repealed that casino night exemption from the state gambling laws in 1996 to prevent these casinos from ever opening. This included a ban on casino cruise ships. Boats must suspend gambling once entering Alaskan waters.
Another attempt to expand gambling in 2003 died without any serious consideration. Separate bills that would have created a state lottery and video poker parlors failed to gain any traction. Voters and the state legislature rejected attempts in future years to expand Alaska gambling beyond the existing forms.
There was one state lottery drawing held under the raffle law in 2009. The charitable organization Stand Together Against Rape held the historical drawing that had the first prize of $500,000. The lottery was won by Alec Ahsoak, a three-time convicted sex offender.
Ahsoak accepted the prize of $350,000 after taxes and pledged a $100,000 donation to the same charity that he won the prize from. He was beaten with a metal pipe three days after collecting his prize. It did not appear that robbery was the motive. This was the only major lottery-type drawing in the history of Alaska.
Alaska Gambling FAQ
Is gambling legal in Alaska?
Gambling is legal in Alaska, as long as it adheres to the specific laws in place. There is bingo, the lottery, and charity casino nights.
The minimum Alaska gambling age is 19.
There are no legal Alaska casinos.
Despite repeated attempts to legalize video poker, it is not available in Alaska.
Alaskans must catch a flight to Washington state or Las Vegas to find the closest casino.
Alaska is one of just six states without a lottery.
A pull-tab closely resembles a scratch-off lottery ticket.
Many bars, restaurants, and Native Alaskan tribes offer bingo.
Tribes and charities may offer bingo to Alaskans.
Daily fantasy sports appear to be legal in Alaska, according to the sites that offer the games.
Which daily fantasy sports sites accept Alaska players?
DraftKings, FanDuel, CBS Sports, Yahoo and most other major sites accept Alaskan players.
