Crown Casino at Barangaroo will keep its doors open, despite concerns the company turned a blind eye to criminal behaviour. The state's independent Casino Commission says the operator has earned the right to stay.

Barangaroo

Sydney's Crown Casino at Barangaroo has been permitted to continue its operations, following a period of scrutiny over its conduct. Concerns had been raised about the company allegedly ignoring criminal activities within its premises. However, the Independent Casino Commission has affirmed Crown's eligibility to operate, indicating a significant turnaround in its management and operational practices.

In 2021, an inquiry found Crown's Melbourne operations involved in money laundering activities, casting doubt on its fitness to hold a license for its new Barangaroo venture. Nonetheless, the Independent Casinos Commission has observed substantial progress since then. It stated that Crown has eradicated money laundering activities and is now under close monitoring, operating with a restricted license since 2022.

Improvements at Crown Casino include a comprehensive overhaul of its management team and the implementation of new protocols on the gaming floor. These changes are aimed at ensuring compliance with regulations and promoting responsible gambling practices. For instance, procedures now mandate staff to intervene if an individual has been gambling continuously for over three hours.

The focus on Crown's rehabilitation comes at a time when another Sydney casino, The Star, faces its own set of challenges. The Star is currently under investigation for numerous breaches, including falsifying welfare checks on players and neglecting to address issues with a machine that allowed gamblers to claim $3 million in cash erroneously. Additionally, controversial text messages have surfaced from The Star's chairman David Foster, expressing a desire to dismantle the casino commission, later clarified as a miscommunication spoken in frustration.

The ongoing scrutiny of Sydney's casino operations underscores the rigorous standards and regulatory oversight aimed at ensuring fair play and adherence to the law. A forthcoming report is expected to decide The Star's licensing fate, highlighting the continuous efforts to maintain integrity within the industry.



Sydney's Crown Casino allowed to keep operating

It was supposed to be the shiniest jewel in the Crown Empire, but plans for a high rollers casino at Barangaroo were derailed in 2021. After its Melbourne operations were found to be a haven for money launderers, a New South Wales inquiry found the company was unfit to hold a licence here. But the Independent Casinos Commission says Crown's turned a corner. That's done. There's no money laundering happening there now. We have a very close eye on what they're doing. Since 2022, the casinos operated on a restricted licence under close supervision. There have been broad scale changes to Crown's management team and new procedures on the gaming floor. Well, it could be about compliance or about responsible gambling, so they've got an obligation to intervene if somebody's gambling for the past three hours, physically intervene. The turnaround in Crown's fortunes puts even more pressure on the star, which is also trying to prove it's fit to hold a licence. An inquiry's already been told it falsified welfare checks on pokey players and failed to stop gamblers scooping up $3 million in cash from a faulty machine. Now text messages have emerged in which star chairman David Foster told then CEO Robbie Cook he wanted to abolish the casino commission. My words were poorly chosen and provided in the heat of the moment, they did not properly reflect the point I was trying to make. The report into the star's future is due mid-year.

The death toll from rains in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul rose to 57, local authorities said on Saturday (May 4) afternoon, while dozens still have not been accounted for.

State of Rio Grande do Sul

Dozens missing amid record-breaking Brazil flooding

There are renewed hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza after a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo to continue talks amid reports of a proposal agreed to by Israel to halt fighting for an initial 40 days in exchange for the release of hostages.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel-Gaza War

Hopes rise for Gaza ceasefire amid Hamas talks

Students showing support for Palestinians have set up camp outside the University College London. They say they'll continue their protest until the university divests from Israeli institutions that 'profit from the war in Gaza'.

London

Pro-Palestine university protests spread to London

Dozens of Palestinians have held a demonstration in the West Bank, to condemn the killing of five Palestinian fighters. Crowds rallied hours after Israeli troops attacked the fighters in the village of Deir al Ghoson.

Jerusalem

Five Palestinian fighters killed during West Bank raid

Dozens of people in two rubber dinghies have reached the southern coast of England, the latest among thousands of asylum-seeking migrants to make the risky sea crossing from France this year.

Dover

Asylum seekers arrive in England despite Rwanda threat

A former immigration detainee has been bailed after allegedly threatening police with a knife in Melbourne. It follows the recent violent home invasion allegedly committed by another released detainee in Western Australia Pressure is mounting on Federal Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to be held to account.

Canberra

Pressure mounts on Immigration Minister after latest detainee incident

Mexican authorities have reportedly discovered a fourth body near the cliff site where Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson disappeared, along with their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad. The Australian family of the brothers are en route to Mexico. The bodies are yet to be formally identified.

Ensenada

Fourth body discovered in Mexico search for Australian brothers

Ukraine is eagerly waiting for Western aid as Russia racks up more victories on the battlefield. Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on a visit to Kyiv gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use British weapons to strike directly at Russia.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

U.K. allows its weapons to be used on Russian soil

Canadian police have charged three Indian men with the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year and said they were probing whether the men had ties to the Indian government.

Surrey

Canada police charge three with murder of Sikh leader

China has launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.

Wenchang

China launches mission to far side of the moon

Britain's opposition Labour Party won a parliamentary seat in northern England on Friday (May 3) and control of several councils, inflicting heavy losses on the governing Conservatives to pile more pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

U.K.'s Labour claims big early win over Conservatives

Turkey has announced that it is halting trade with Israel, worth $7 billion a year, until a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid are secured in Gaza. Israel denounced the decision as breaking trade agreements.

Ankara

Turkey to stop trade with Israel until Gaza ceasefire

Media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders warned of declining government support for press freedom as it unveiled its annual world rankings on Friday, highlighting Argentina among the countries where the situation has deteriorated.

Paris

States doing less to support press freedom, says watchdog

Arizona's Democratic governor signed a bill overturning an 1864 law banning abortion, a month after the state's supreme court said the Civil War-era rule was valid.

Arizona

Arizona governor signs bill repealing 1864 abortion ban

U.S. President Joe Biden said that both freedom of speech and the rule of law must be respected in protests at college campuses over Israel's war in Gaza. In response to a reporter's question, Biden said that the campus protests had not forced him to reconsider his policies in the Middle East.

Washington

Biden breaks silence on protests at University Campuses

From suspensions to expulsions to criminal charges, college students across the U.S. involved in these pro-Palestinian protests could face life-changing consequences. Some are demanding amnesty for these protesters.

New York

More than 1,000 student protesters arrested across U.S.

English voters are heading to polling stations to pick mayors, councilors and a new lawmaker in the last electoral test for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before a national vote later this year.

Voters head to polls in last test for U.K.'s Sunak

The US State Department accused Russia of having used a chemical weapon against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, while also announcing fresh sanctions against Moscow. In addition to the chemical agent chloropicrin, Russia also used "riot control agents (tear gas) as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also in violation of the CWC," the department said in a factsheet.

Zaporizhzhia

U.S. accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine

There are grave concerns for Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson who are missing on a surf trip in Mexico's Baja region. The pair have failed to arrive at their accommodation and are not responding to contact from their families.

Council of the City of Sydney

Grave fears for brothers missing on Mexico surf trip

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has kept open the prospect of tax incentives in the budget as business warned that changes to foreign investment laws. It comes amid criticism that budget spending could prompt further inflation and prompt rate rises.

Government hints at further tax incentives in Budget

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says his country will break diplomatic relations with Israel. He's criticised Israel's conduct since the start of the war on Gaza. Petro requested to join South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.

Bogotá

Colombia ends diplomatic relations with Israel

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, pushing to get more aid into Gaza, while urging Hamas to accept a deal that would halt fighting and bring some hostages home from the enclave.

Blinken pushes for sustained aid into Gaza during Israel trip

Police in Georgia fired teargas and rubber bullets at protesters demonstrating against a bill that would require organizations – including media and NGOs – that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as agents "pursuing the interests of a foreign power." The bill has been dubbed the "Russian law" by its detractors.

Tbilisi

Thousands protest against Georgia's 'foreign influence' bill

A diplomatic push is underway to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, with the U.S. exerting pressure on Hamas to agree to Israel's terms. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to attack Rafah in southern Gaza, whether there's a ceasefire or not.

Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah 'with or without' ceasefire deal

Qantas has apologised to customers after its app exposed personal passenger data. The airline blames a technical disruption and says the data breach was not a cyber security incident.

Qantas app data breach exposes customer data

The International Court of Justice has ruled against issuing emergency measures over German arms sales to Israel as requested by Nicaragua, which had argued that there was a serious risk of genocide in Gaza amid Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory.