Crown Casino: another whistleblower comes forward
Another whistleblower has detailed how Crown Casino technicians deliberately manipulated and tampered with poker machines to boost profits.
The allegations add to the evidence provided by three former employees against the casino that was tabled in Federal parliament by independent MP Andrew Wilkie.
Those allegations that machines were manipulated, federal anti-money laundering rules were avoided and a blind eye was turned to domestic violence and illicit drug use have resulted in an investigation by Victoria’s Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR)
Crown Casino has rejected the allegations and has taken out newspaper ads supporting its position.
The new whistleblower has told the ABC that he and other technicians were instructed to physically remove betting options on the Players Choice Super machine as punters were winning too much.
“There was an instance where this particular game was paying out too much on the gamble function so technicians were instructed to remove the gamble button completely,” he told the ABC.
He also said technicians were instructed to remove multiple "spin" options on the IGT Blue Chip machines so that only the maximum bet and minimum bet options were left.
"The reason behind that was to limit the play options for the players, to encourage them to play maximum lines and of course win maximum amounts of money," he told the ABC.
This allegation is consistent with the claims made by the other three whistleblowers.
He also said poker machines were moved into the highest traffic areas of the Casino on weekends and the "return to player" ratio was reset to maximise profits.
"Not only moving machines into highly populated areas but there were instances where machines were wiped of their memory and the percentages returned to player percentages modified over a weekend period and lowered," he told the ABC.
The fourth whistleblower has not been identified or spoken to police as he fears for his safety.
Mr Wilkie said a federal parliamentary inquiry was required.
"The next layer that's required is a [federal] parliamentary inquiry because that will provide a framework for these and other whistleblowers perhaps to come forward and, with the protection of Parliament, to tell us what they know," he told ABC News Breakfast.
by Leon Gettler, Novemember 28th 2017
