Bans imposed by Victoria and NSW police to stop money laundering and other criminal activity at the country’s largest casinos are being circumvented by underworld figures, who are increasingly travelling to Queensland to gamble.
Fairfax Media can reveal that Queensland police and one of the largest casino operators, Echo Entertainment Group, have taken no action to stop known organised crime figures from gambling at Jupiters Hotel & Casino in the Gold Coast even after they were blacklisted by police in Victoria and NSW.
This includes several major Mafia and gangland identities that are the subject of ongoing state, federal and international law enforcement investigations that led them to be banned from Crown in Melbourne and The Star in Sydney by each state’s Chief Commissioner of Police.
The men recently flew to the Gold Coast to gamble substantial amounts of cash in the high-roller room of Jupiters, sources say.
Queensland has become a haven for underworld gamblers despite the state passing draconian “anti-association” laws in a bid to crack down on the activities of outlaw bikie gangs.
The lack of a uniform system for enforcing national casinos has also left venues in most other states exposed as well – even when the casinos are owned by the same companies.
