Gambling authorities in Victoria say they will thoroughly investigate explosive allegations aired in Federal Parliament that Crown Casino tampered with poker machines, undermined government efforts to track money laundering and ignored domestic violence.
The bombshell claims have been made by three anonymous men, said to be former employees at Crown in Melbourne, in a 30-minute video interview released by anti-pokies independent MP Andrew Wilkie.
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Wilkie's Crown Casino allegations
Independent MP tables allegations from whistleblowers who allege Crown Casino tampered with poker machines.
The recording contains accusations that Crown removed low-betting options from pokies and made it easier for punters to gamble.
The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation – accused by the whistleblowers of being complicit in the alleged wrongdoing – told Fairfax on Wednesday afternoon that it was going to look into the allegations.
![Whistleblowers have alleged that Crown Casino staff tampered with poker machines.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171021123208im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/n/w/3/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gz32fm.png/1508334507098.jpg)
"We take any claims of this type extremely seriously and they will be thoroughly investigated," a commission spokesperson said.
In a statement to the ASX, Crown said it rejected the claims made under parliamentary privilege by Mr Wilkie.
"Crown calls on Mr Wilkie to immediately provide to the relevant authorities all information relating to the matters alleged," the statement said.
Crown shares tumbled about 6.5 per cent following the airing of the allegations, falling below $11 to their lowest point in a year. The shares recovered later to close the day at $11.24.
![Andrew Wilkie at Parliament House on Wednesday.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171021123208im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/z/3/5/f/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gz32fm.png/1508334507098.jpg)
Presenting the evidence to Parliament, Mr Wilkie said the allegations of "serious misconduct" were brought to him by former Crown Casino employees and concerned illegal machine tampering that exploited gamblers and cover-ups by the Victorian government's gambling oversight body.
"The whistleblowers allege illegal machine tampering, including the disabling of lower bet options and the modifying of buttons to allow prohibited auto-play, both of which increase gambler losses," Mr Wilkie said.
![Crown employees were allegedly told to tamper with the casino's pokie machines.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171021123208im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/9/u/a/y/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gz32fm.png/1508471928173.jpg)
"Moreover, there's software manipulation to increase gambler losses even further, in particular on weekends when the numbers of naive, first-time and casual users is obviously much greater."
Staff were instructed by management to shave down the buttons on some machines with a knife or file to allow players to play continuously, the men allege.
![Illustration: Matt Golding.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171021123208im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/z/3/q/8/v/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gz32fm.png/1508369112238.jpg)
In the video, one of the men also spoke about an alleged incident where a gambler's wife was found bleeding from the face but police were not alerted.
![$nbsp;](http://web.archive.org./web/20171021123208im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/z/3/i/m/d/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x0.png)
Staff were allegedly told to ignore domestic violence by high rolling international patrons because "if it's acceptable in their country ... they can do that here".
"So what they'd do is just get a room for the wife next door or upstairs, or downstairs, so in the vicinity but separate them for the night," the man said.
"If you alert the police the patron will either ask to leave, or they will not be allowed to gamble."
No further evidence to support the men's claims has been provided beyond the video.
One of the alleged Crown whistleblowers also recalled a gambler who was given a fresh pair of pants because they'd urinated on themselves after gambling for so long.
"The manager took it upon themselves, they replaced the chair ... we went to lost property and they have a whole bunch of unclaimed items that have been there for six months or more," the man said.
Drug use in VIP rooms was also common, the men claimed. They said marijuana was seen and smelt on a daily basis.
Mr Wilkie also detailed accusations the casino was avoiding scrutiny by AUSTRAC, the federal government's financial intelligence agency, of high-value transactions by "tolerating and even encouraging the misuse of identity documents".
This, Mr Wilkie said, meant "Crown would be facilitating money-laundering" for crimes like tax fraud, drug-running and terrorism.
Mr Wilkie said he was "horrified" at allegations the Victorian gaming regulator had failed to crack down on the conduct and had, in some cases, been "complicit in covering it up".
Crown Casino's licence in Victoria is currently being reviewed by the VCGLR, with its findings expected by the middle of next year.
Industry sources said they believed the video was part of a union-led industrial campaign targeting Crown.
The casino and the Electrical Trades Union have been locked in a battle after Crown sacked 16 casino technicians and outsourced their jobs.
In a press conference following his tabling of the information, Mr Wilkie said the "very nervous" group of whistleblowers had divulged the information based on a promise he would not reveal their identities.
The Tasmanian MP said he was very confident the men were in a position to make the claims.
"Things would be easier for the authorities if these three men decided to talk to the authorities but I can't bring myself to encourage them to do that," he said, suggesting it was up to the whistleblowers to decide what to do with their information.
He expressed concern the allegations could mean "systemic" and "widespread" misconduct at Crown's facilities across Australia and urged a full parliamentary inquiry into the entire gambling industry, saying the new accusations cut across both Victorian and Commonwealth laws.
Victorian Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz said the state government took the allegations extremely seriously but would wait for the findings of the VCGLR probe before commenting further.
"I ask any member of the public who has any information to come forward and assist the commission in any way that they can," she said.
Victorian Greens gambling spokesperson Colleen Hartland said Crown's poker machines needed to be immediately suspended from trade while an independent audit was undertaken.
"These are serious offences and the state government needs to act," she said.
Federal Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said the allegations were "solely in the remit" of the Victorian government.
Mr Fifield told Sky News "those physical poker machines are really matters for the state government ministers in Victoria".
With Nick Toscano