Crown Resorts’ Crown Sydney has received its gaming license from the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, largely clearing the way for the A.5 billion luxury destination to open in 2019.
The casino and hotel will be located at a redevelopment area known as Barangaroo on Darling Harbour, not far from rival Echo Entertainment’s The Star, which loses its exclusive license in New South Wales in November 2019.
Crown Sydney is conceived as a haven for wealthy Asian players, Chinese in particular, and the project won the state government’s preliminary approval last summer with a proposal for a table games-only facility restricted to “members” and their guests. Accordingly, the ILGA license stipulates that no slot machines will be allowed, as Crown has proposed, and smoking will be permitted.
Crown Resorts CEO Rowen Craigie called the license award “an important milestone.”
Crown is paying $100 million for the license and has promised to triple the state’s tax haul from The Star in its first three years of operation.
