The Independent Casino Commission of New South Wales (NICC) will have wide authority to supervise the casinos, investigate any suspicion of wrongdoing on the part of casino operators, and take legal action against any casino that facilitates illegal practices such as money laundering. The NICC is planning to change some of the already placed functions of the ILGA to make it more stable and functional.
Ex Executive Commission Peter Cohen’s Say
Peter Cohen, who was previously the Executive Commissioner as well as the CEO of the Victorian Commission for Australian Gambling Regulation, had some key points he wanted to get off his chest.
He stated that he can not bear the idea that there would be a regulator of a casino which is separate from all of the other regulators in gambling, and he feels that this would be a massive problem.
Additionally, given his 8-year experience, he feels that there may be times when regulators form a bond with casinos and may decrease the chances of the casinos getting caught. His idea is that regulators who are in a specific sector need to be shuffled around to prevent casinos from getting away with any illegal activity. Although we should state that there are rarely any cases of online casinos having illegal activities.
His second problem with the new procedure is that there may be times when regulators get bored of doing the same thing. Cohen feels that there may be an increase in mistakes when the regulator’s work gets too repetitive. Shuffling the regulators will further increase the chances of great work and identifying any fraud being done.
With the new stated laws, casinos are now able to receive a maximum penalty of $100 million. Both the board members and senior executives would be directly liable for the offences which they are aware of, but do nothing to prevent under the new rules.
The Chief Commissioners of ILGA Say
Philip Crawford, who is the Chief Commissioner, and once the chairperson of the independent liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA), has now spoken and said that the situation of NSW casinos has now finally changed.
He said that they are staying in touch with casinos over this and also recognise that they know the process that they are doing.
He also stated that they are going to be more attentive with the means that they use during their procedure.
Moreover, he added that casinos will no longer be able to hide anything from them, although they have done that for many years before. He believes that time has now run out for these sorts of casinos.
The very first large-scale assignment of the commission would be to see the allegations within the review of The Star casino and also its ability to have withheld a licence for so long.
Adam Bell SC has given the report to Crawford and also awaits the release of the first response in the weeks to come.