This Tuesday saw the shotting down of the initiative for establishing a parliamentary inquiry into the casino industry which was proposed by the independent member Andrew Wilkie. Both the Government and the opposition voted it down this week and the only supporters of the idea which Mr. Wilkie was able to find were Greens member Adam Bandt, Rebekha Sharkie from the Nick Xenophon Team, and the independent member Cathy McGowan.
What was required in order to establish the parliamentary inquiry into the casino industry was the support of the Coalition and other Labor MPs, but in reality there were a total of three federal MPs in support of the idea. Mr. Wilkie reported to the MPs the news that there have been even more evidence from witnesses that there are illegally meddled poker machines operating in the Crown Casino. According to the whistleblower, the poker machine was working on the casino floor last Sunday. As it was confirmed the said devices were removed several days later.
Mr. Wilkie also made it clear that the Parliament giving the nod to the casino inquiry will clearly show that there has never been any type of bribing going on. It is a well-known fact that throughout the last five years of operation Crown Casino has donated more than A$750,000 to several major political parties in order to support their activities. The independent member openly stated that this sort of actions are often used for keeping the authorities’ eyes closed to the illicit practices and tampering with poker machines in casino venues.
Crown Casino’s Generous Donations
Мr. Wilkie further stated that the large amount of money which had been donated over the span of five years had been and still was keeping all parties content and perceiving their own set goals. The influence Crown Casino has over some of the members of the Parliament is what had guaranteed that they will deny the invitation to have a parliamentary inquiry. In support of the statement made by Mr. Wilkie, MP Adam Bandt from the Greens said that his party has no intention to give up on the idea of establishing a full inquiry and they will continue to push towards it.
Mr. Bandt even went so far as to state that, at the end of the day, the local state government is not to be trusted, simply because they are the biggest gambling addicts in the area, due to the regular donations they receive from the casino operator. As it could be recalled, last week Mr. Wilkie provided video evidence shot by three witnesses, which showed Crown Casino tampering with the poker machines, causing them to leave players on the losing end.
In response to these claims, Crown Resorts denied all accusations, while the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation is looking into the allegations.
