Perth Casino Royal Commission: Former Gambling and Wagering Commission chairman makes Crown Perth admission

“Can see why Packer cashed in his chips” – that was the first thought the former head of WA’s gambling regulator had when confronted with allegations Crown Perth could have been used for massive money laundering. Duncan Ord, the chairman of the State’s Gambling and Wagering Commission up until earlier this year, was recalled to give more evidence before the Perth Casino Royal Commission today. He was forced to admit he had been too trusting of Crown and what they told him over the years – including their response to the bombshell 60 Minutes allegations in 2019 about the close ties between the gambling giant and international criminals. That response came in a presentation from Crown hierarchy to the GWC – in which they insisted the allegations were a “beat-up”. Mr Ord’s response came earlier, when emails began flying between himself, chief casino Mick Connolly and communications staff about the program. “Can see why Packer cashed in his chips … hope our probity audit is rigorous,” Mr Ord wrote. That was despite the GWC not then doing checks on junket operators coming to Perth. When asked whether the regulator accepted Crown’s answers on various scandals from 2017 onwards, Mr Ord said it “accepted we were being told the truth”. When asked whether that trust of Crown had been excessive – as conceded by new GWC chair Lanie Chopping last week – Mr Ord said that was a “reasonable response”. Last week, Ms Chopping indicated that the “softly, softly” approach taken by her predecessors would be a thing of the past. Ms Chopping signalled how she intended to tackle what she described as “screaming issues” surrounding the GWC. She flagged the possible return of inspectors to the floor of the Perth casino, which were removed in 2015. She said that previous chief casino officer Mick Connolly — who has admitted close fishing friendships with top Crown legal officials — would not be returning while she was in charge. She also admitted in the past, the regulators were “perhaps not as suspicious as they should have been” of the information coming to them from Crown, and from their own department. “I think that level of trust was excessive,” she said. In that spirit, Ms Chopping said she was still not satisfied that Crown had paid all the tax it owed to the WA Government — despite an internal government investigation concluding it had.