A new agreement with the Government of Victoria in Australia will allow the Crown Casino in Melbourne to become the gaming flagship of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL), controlled by the Packer family. The original operating licence for the Crown, issued in 1993, had a restriction preventing it from operating any other business. PBL has growing global gaming interests including joint ventures for casino complex developments in Macau and Singapore with Melco and with British gambling companies Aspinalls and Betfair. The licence restriction has now been dropped in return for Crown undertaking increased capital investment of US$127.5 million over 5 years, to make the Melbourne casino truly international, plus a yearly sum of US$3.75 million to market the casino and Melbourne as a tourist destination.

In addition the Crown will have to comply with greater information disclosure requirements by the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation (VCGR) but will only have reviews once every five years instead of the present three-year period. The Crown Casino has a monopoly in Victoria until 2032 and was acquired by PBL in 1999. Last year the company bought the Burswood Casino Resort in Perth, but that casino will retain its separate identity. The Crown first approached the VCGR in 2003 about removal of the licence restriction.

It is expected that the Crown brand will be used rather than PBL as the company increases its presence in global gaming markets. Victoria should also benefit from the wider exposure the flagship operation will bring. The Crown Casino complex includes a theatre, 14 cinemas, 3 nightclubs, bars, 26 restaurants, retail outlets and the Crown Towers and Crown Promenade hotels. It also has Australia’ s largest ballroom and the largest casino in the Southern Hemisphere.

In 2004 Crown achieved its highest ever revenue and earnings results, much of it due to the success of its VIP gaming operation that attracts Asian high rollers by consistent promotion of the brand in the region. It boasts the reputation of being the world service leader for VIP clients and the biggest single site VIP gaming operation in the world. The Victoria Training Awards last year named the Crown Employer of the Year after the company won the National Training Award the previous year in recognition of the Crown’s commitment to employee training in the areas of responsible gaming and regulatory compliance. (E-07.19.05)

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