Billionaire James Packer was once casino giant Crown Resorts' executive chairman, then later a major shareholder so involved in the company he received daily reports on its finances. Now the company may need him to sell his shareholding so it can run a new $2.2 billion casino in Sydney. As the inquiry by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority into Crown nears its end, commissioner Patricia Bergin is being told that both Mr Packer and Crown are unfit to be associated with the casino at Barangaroo. Counsel assisting the inquiry, Adam Bell SC, on Thursday said Mr Packer's 'shameful' and 'disgraceful' conduct means the regulator should rethink its approval of Mr Packer as a 'close associate' of the Crown subsidiary licensed to run the casino. Mr Bell argued on Wednesday that the company is 'not suitable' to hold the licence for the premises. The evidence painted a picture of Mr Packer's 'profound influence' over the company, which ultimately compromised its culture and governance, Mr Bell said on Thursday. A controlling shareholder protocol agreed between Crown and Mr Packer's private company, Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH), led Crown directors and executives to share confidential information with him even after he resigned from the board in 2018. He received financial information from chief financial officer Ken Barton on practically a daily basis. In return, Mr Packer issued executives with instructions, reprimands, and requests he expected to be fulfilled, Mr Bell said. Mr Packer had more extensive access to information than elected board directors, perhaps even including executive chairman John Alexander, Mr Bell said. Mr Packer acted so much like a director that he was a de facto board member, he argued. Other shareholders were never informed of the information-sharing agreement, an omission Mr Bell described as 'remarkable'. Mr Packer previously admitted to the inquiry that aggressive emails he sent to an unidentified potential investor in Crown Resorts were 'shameful' and 'disgraceful', but blamed his bipolar disorder. Mr Bell said Mr Packer provided no evidence to show his medical condition caused that behaviour. Emails sent on the same day were expressed in 'perceptive and businesslike terms'. 'The difference was that Mr X had conveyed information to Mr Packer which was bad news, which Mr Packer did not want to hear,' Mr Bell said. The conduct meant Mr Packer was unfit to be a close associate of a casino licensee, he argued. The inquiry examined whether Crown's NSW licence was violated when CPH attempted to sell 19.99 per cent of its stock to Melco Resorts last year. Crown board directors nominated by CPH failed to perceive clear conflicts between their duties to Crown and to CPH when negotiating the Melco sale, Mr Bell said. The inquiry has also examined money laundering at Crown casinos and its business ties with people linked to organised crime. Mr Bell suggested one solution may be for Crown to make enforceable undertakings, including that CPH can only nominate one director. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is seeking urgent advice on the matter and has not ruled out pushing back the December opening date for the Barangaroo development. Closing submissions will continue on Friday, with the commission at this stage expected to deliver a final report on February 1. Australian Associated Press

A rare glimpse into the construction of James Packer’s $2.4billion new casino and apartment has emerged. The video uploaded to TikTok shows the 75-level Crown Casino being built at Barangaroo on Sydney harbour. Packer is the major shareholder and a director of Crown Resorts Limited, one of Australia's largest casino groups. In October 2017, Crown's market capitalisation was over A$8 billion. Every year Crown's Australian resorts attract over 31 million visits.

Counsel assisting the NSW inquiry into the suitability of Crown Resorts to operate Sydney’s new Barangaroo casino summed up this week by telling the commissioner that Crown was 'not a suitable person to continue to give effect to the licence, and that Crown Resorts is not a suitable person to be a close associate of the licensee'.

Adam Bell SC reached the conclusion after considering the deleterious impact on the good governance of Crown Resorts caused by its dominant shareholder [James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings] and, ultimately, Packer.

He reminded the inquiry that protection of the public interest was a key objective of the NSW Casino Control Act.

The Barangaroo casino is yet to open, but Crown already operates two other Australian casinos – one in Melbourne and one in Perth – and one in London.

The Melbourne casino has been the centre of multiple whistle-blower and other allegations connected with tampering with gambling machines, associations with criminal identities, and the arrest of 19 Crown staff in China in 2016.

The Sydney inquiry was initiated after the Nine network and The Age and Sydney Morning Herald published allegations about money laundering and links with criminals.

A tale of two cities

The Melbourne regulator, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, acted more quietly, initiating a still-uncompleted inquiry into the arrest of Crown staff in China in 2017, and putting its inquiry into the money laundering allegations on hold until it had seen the outcome of the NSW inquiry.

Belatedly, last month, a full eight months after the NSW hearings began, it issued Crown with a “show cause” notice relating to money laundering controls.

James Packer Crown Casino Sydney Ireland

The state government had asked it to act as “a matter of priority” in mid-2019.

In 2017, Victoria’s auditor-general identified serious issues relating to the VCGLR’s oversight of Crown.

It highlighted a “lack of leadership”, the second-lowest staff satisfaction levels in the Victorian public sector, a lack of a “coherent organisation-wide approach to casino supervision”, and insufficient attention to key areas of risk in the casino’s operations, including money laundering.

In its five-yearly review of Crown’s licence in 2018, the VCGLR identified some concerns.

The concerns involved compliance with money laundering rules, the lack of engagement of independent directors with an oversight of the Melbourne casino, an uninspiring adoption of the responsible gambling rules, and a less-than-complete honouring of requests for self-exclusion.

It nevertheless concluded that it was in the public interest for Crown to maintain its licence.

Fines rather than sanctions

Fines have been the VCGLR's preferred means of dealing with breaches of licence conditions.

In 2018, it fined Crown A$300,000 for gambling machine tampering, and $25,000 in 2018 for a breach of junket rules.

James Packer Crown Casino Sydney London

It said it believed fines were enough in the light of Crown’s 'past compliance history and general and specific deterrence, balanced against the level of cooperation, remorse, contrition and corrective action taken by Crown'.

Yet the NSW inquiry has heard evidence from James Packer and the company’s directors and management pointing to multiple continued failures in all these categories, in Melbourne.

The NSW premier has signalled concern about the casino’s planned opening in December, given that inquiry is not due to report until February.

West Australia’s regulator found no issues with Crown Burswood in its most recent (2018-19) annual report, but says it is monitoring the NSW inquiry.

Too big to touch?

It might be that Crown has become too big to regulate, at least in Victoria.

For some reason, the company has had enormous success with deflecting criticism. Along with other gambling operators, it has recruited powerful political figures from both major parties to assist it, and is a major political donor.

There was ample evidence of the problems in Victoria well before the NSW inquiry identified them.

Read more: The Crown allegations show the repeated failures of our gambling regulators

The Victorian regulator’s slow and overly respectful approach might be because it felt Crown was too important to be held to account, or had too many political connections, or was too important as an employer or contributor to government revenue.

James Packer Crown Casino Sydney Ny

Or it might be because, as the auditor suggested, it has problems with staff.

But if we are to have any faith in Victoria’s ability to regulate gambling and crime, it’ll need to do more. NSW is showing how.

James Packer Crown Casino Sydney Opera House

Read more: Gaming the board: Crown Resorts shows you just can't bet on 'independent' directors

This article originally appeared on The Conversation.