The maximum fine casinos could face in South Australia is set to increase by a factor of 750 as the industry faces rising scrutiny over widespread misconduct.
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The Malinauskas government is planning to raise the top penalty from $100,000 to $75 million, after adverse findings against casino operators in four other states as well as legal proceedings against Adelaide's SkyCity.
Financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC has taken the casino's New Zealand-based operator to court for allegedly failing to comply with federal anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
SA consumer affairs minister Andrea Michaels said SkyCity's status as the state's sole licence holder was a privilege that came with a requirement to meet community expectations.
"What we want to see is a greater level of accountability," she told reporters on Tuesday.
"And we'll see that through these increased fines, so that these fines aren't just seen as a cost of doing business."
Ms Michaels said the fine would bring SA in line with the rest of the country after no changes had been made to gambling penalties in the state for more than 25 years.
Rival casino operator Crown has been fined $700 million for breaches, including wrongly claiming tax deductions and flouting responsible gambling laws, following separate inquiries in Victoria, NSW and Western Australia.
The biggest fine came when Crown agreed to pay AUSTRAC $450 million for failing to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
The culture at the operator of Sydney's Star casino has also been in the spotlight recently, with a NSW inquiry hearing Star Entertainment Group bosses spied on a compliance manager and planned to wage "war" against the regulator.
A South Australian investigation into SkyCity, led by former Supreme Court judge Brian Martin, was put on pause after the Federal Court proceedings were launched.
Acting Liquor and Gambling Commissioner Fraser Stroud said the investigation could continue to examine SkyCity's suitability as a licence holder once the court hands down its findings.
Opposition Leader David Speirs said his party would likely support the bill once introduced to parliament, depending on the detail of the legislation.
"It's been pretty concerning activity across the nation with regard to the appropriate nature and behaviour of casinos and it's probably time that SA's laws had an update."
SkyCity said it understood the government's position to increase the maximum casino penalties.
"SkyCity Adelaide appreciates that it is a privilege to hold South Australia's only casino licence and we continue to fully co-operate with all of our regulators," a spokesperson said.
Australian Associated Press
