18 casino staff detained in China
Print Edition
AUSTRALIAN casino giant Crown Resorts Ltd said yesterday that China had detained 18 of its employees, including three Australians, sending gaming stocks tumbling on concerns about their strategy for luring Chinese gamblers.
The Sydney-listed company said it had not made contact with its employees, including Australia-based head of international VIP gambling Jason O’Connor, and was not aware why they had been detained.
Australia consular officials in Shanghai were making arrangements to visit the Australians to offer assistance, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
China’s foreign ministry said in a statement that some Australian nationals were detained for suspected “gambling crimes” without further explanation. It said it was still investigating the matter.
Crown shares fell 14 percent, their biggest one-day decline.
Vitaly Umansky, an analyst at Bernstein in Hong Kong, said the detentions appeared to be a repeat of China’s crackdown on South Korean casino marketing efforts a year earlier.
Thirteen South Korean casino managers were arrested in China last year for offering Chinese gamblers free tours, free hotels and sex services.
Crown does not directly run casinos in China but relies heavily on Chinese gamblers at its Australian operations.
The Crown staff were held following raids last Thursday in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, the Australian Financial Review reported.
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