© Photographer: Mark Dadswell/Bloomberg The Crown Resorts Ltd. logo is displayed at the Crown Melbourne casino and entertainment complex in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017. Billionaire James Packer's Crown Resorts is scheduled to report full-year results on Aug. 4.

(Bloomberg) -- Crown Resorts Ltd. license to operate its flagship Melbourne casino will be reviewed earlier than planned after an inquiry in Sydney exposed wide-ranging governance and anti-money laundering failures.

A dedicated commissioner at Victoria’s gaming regulator will investigate Crown’s suitability to hold the state’s only casino license, the Victorian government said Thursday. The report is due in 2021.

Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a mega-resort situated on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. The complex is owned by Crown Limited. A temporary casino was opened in 1994 and the full service casino and resort opened in 1997. Crown Entertainment & Upcoming Events - Crown Melbourne Explore the best events and entertainment at Crown Melbourne including our exciting range of shows, comedy, musicals and more.

The probe adds to scrutiny of a gaming company already under pressure to tighten controls. A separate inquiry this year in Sydney, where Crown is poised to open a $1.5 billion casino resort, revealed wide-ranging dysfunction and oversight lapses, and showed the board secretly gave special treatment to billionaire shareholder James Packer.

“We’re making sure Crown Melbourne conducts its business in a transparent and appropriate manner,” said Melissa Horne, Victoria’s minister for consumer affairs, gaming and liquor regulation. “The government will take any appropriate and necessary action,” it said, adding that evidence from the Sydney probe was “concerning.”

Shares of Crown fell as much as 1.2% in Sydney before trading down 0.7% at A$9.78 at 10:16 a.m. The stock has lost 18% this year.

Crown said in a separate statement it “will continue to work cooperatively” with the Victorian state regulator to support its review.

Crown, which has already delayed the opening of its Sydney casino, said yesterday it expects to start non-gaming operations at the waterfront site from Dec. 28.

(Updates with stock decline and company response in the fifth and sixth paragraphs.)

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Crown resorts has been hit by a major setback after the New South Wales gaming regulator blocked next month's opening of a new multi-billion-dollar casino in Sydney....

Crown resorts has been hit by a major setback after the New South Wales gaming regulator blocked next month's opening of a new multi-billion-dollar casino in Sydney.

Melbourne’s Crown Casino is under threat of losing its licence with the Victorian government bringing forward an investigation into the controversial gaming venue. Picture: William West/AFPSource:AFP

Melbourne’s Crown Casino is under threat of losing its licence with the Victorian government bringing forward an investigation into the controversial gaming venue.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) will review the state’s largest single-site private sector employer following “concerning evidence” which came out of a NSW inquiry into Crown Sydney.

It was revealed the NSW gambling regulator last month blocked the planned launch of the casino group’s new $2.2 billion Sydney gaming complex.

The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority halted the opening after Crown made an 11th-hour submission to the Bergin inquiry — held this year to probe the suitability of Crown Resorts to hold a Sydney gaming licence — about criminals allegedly laundering cash through Crown in Melbourne and Perth.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) will review Crown Melbourne. Picture: Scott Barbour/AAPSource:AAP

A dedicated commissioner will be appointed to the VCGLR to hold the seventh Crown Casino review.

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The state’s Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation Minister Melissa Horne said there was “a need for an immediate response” in Victoria following “concerning evidence” presented during the course of the NSW investigation.

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“We’re making sure Crown Melbourne conducts its business in a transparent and appropriate manner,” she said.

“This review is needed given the evidence we’ve seen come out of the NSW inquiry.

“While we await the findings of that investigation, it’s appropriate to bring forward the next review to ensure Crown Melbourne is suitable to hold a licence in Victoria.”

The most recent investigation, the Sixth Casino Review, occurred in 2018.

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The ILGA Inquiry will hand down its findings in February 2021.

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