Crown weans itself off junkets as new management takes charge

Crown Resorts’ newly minted chief executive Ciaran Carruthers says the casino giant isn’t banking on Chinese high rollers returning to Australia to boost its bottom line, adding that Australian gaming operators have relied too much on Chinese tourism.

“I think there’s probably been an over reliance on the Chinese tourists in Australia, they’ve been such an easy target for some of the casinos of the past,” he told this masthead on Tuesday.

“Though I have great confidence tourism will return as the international borders continue to open up, Crown will not be going down the path of the old junket model,” he said, adding that Crown would continue to cater to international tourists seeking accommodation, hospitality or entertainment.

Officially in his second day on the job, Carruthers said he’d like to cement Crown as the gold “standard” for gaming, acknowledging that the business still had a lot of “heavy lifting” to do before he’s able to fully focus on transforming the culture as a whole.

“I’m here for the long term. My goal is to ensure Crown is the gold standard of a responsible gaming, entertainment integrated resort for our domestic, interstate and international customers,” he said.

Carruthers addressed employees from Melbourne on Monday, thanking incumbent chief executive Steve McCann-who only lasted in the role for about a year-for stabilising the group over the past 15 months as it weathered a reputational crisis and multiple regulatory inquiries.

In 2019, an investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes revealed Crown had been infiltrated by international criminal syndicates and money launderers. Since then, government inquiries in the three states its casinos operate have ruled it unfit to hold a casino license, preventing it from opening the high-rise casino at its newest $2.2 billion tower at Barangaroo in late 2020.

Crown was forced to overhaul its board, management and procedures to satisfy the regulators, who approved a conditional licence for Crown to operate its Barangaroo casino in June. The conditional licence is valid until December 31, 2023.

Carruthers’ appointment was announced just two weeks after New York-based private equity firm Blackstone took the reins at Crown in July. Crown shareholders voted to accept an $8.9 billion takeover offer from Blackstone in May, ending three years of chaos under former major shareholder James Packer.