The glitz and glamour of casinos across the world is legendary, and Australia’s Crown Casino complexes are no exception. An extensive gaming floor that is surrounded by retail outlets, food courts, accommodation and entertainment venues is the place where people come out to play. Behind the blinding lights, clinking glasses, pursuit of a winning hand or the elusive jackpot is a darker reality that lurks in the shadows about the conduct of the casino businesses like Crown across multiple jurisdictions. From sacrificing staff on the altar of profit to money laundering and breaching of gaming laws, media and government inquiries have exposed links to organised crime and the company dodged payments of gaming taxes that added further to the company’s internal and public woes. Investigative journalist Tom Ravlic takes a forensic look at Crown’s ills though a detailed examination of evidence presented in government reports and to commissions and inquiries. He explains how things went so wrong and explores whether there are ways of getting a fair share of the spoils from casino operations into the hands of players and the broader community.
Tom Ravlic FIPA has looked at complex issues in business, finance and politics for a range of publications for almost three decades. He has written extensively on corporate governance, financial crime, scams and rorts as well as national security matters. Previous books authored by Tom include Vulture City, a look at the banking royal commission presided over by Kenneth Hayne, and Rorts and Rip-Offs, a consumer-friendly guide for people wishing to dodge the perils of investment, online and other scams.
* Exposes the tricks used by Crown, one of Australia’s largest companies, to avoid regulatory scrutiny, dodge tax, and tinker with their games while on the quest to fill its coffers.
* The dark reality of what really happened behind the bright lights and sounds of the casino floor: the seduction of high worth gamblers that saw Chinese staff imprisoned; money laundering; dodging taxes; gambling junkets run by organised crime figures; failing to protect vulnerable gamblers; a royal commission, and more.
* A case study in a decaying corporate culture with celebrities, former politicians, corporate governance failures, tax dodges, and casino junkets tailor-made for colourful gambling identities.
* Crown’s operations in the shadows led it down the path of engaging with organised crime and using various methods to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Crown draws on the reports from a series of inquiries, evidence and interviews, parliamentary hearings and similar sources to provide readers with an understanding of what really went on with Crown Casino.
* The book explains concepts critical to the narrative, such as money laundering, so that knowledge is not assumed.
* A fascinating read for those who enjoy true crime, have an interest in business and finance, or criminology and human behaviour; and those interested in learning about the gaming and gambling sector, the importance of checks and balances within corporates and regulators, and organised crime.
Publicity:
* National newspapers, Australian Financial Review, Crikey, Banking Day, The Mandarin, ABC National radio, 3AW, 2GB, Australia’s True Crime podcast (Australia’s #1 True Crime podcast) and more.
