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.
Police-sanctioned exclusion orders are designed to prevent the laundering the proceeds of crime through casinos, which have been identified by the Australian Crime Commission and AUSTRAC as highly vulnerable to exploitation by organised crime groups.
Law enforcement authorities have previously warned that Jupiters Casino has been a "significant" conduit for money transfers for known Mafia identities.
Jupiters and The Star are both owned by Echo Entertainment Group, which declined to comment on its corporate policy for handling banning orders among its interstate casinos, which also includes The Treasury in Brisbane.
"Without going into detail, we have a robust exclusions policy and a strong collaborative approach in our dealings with the respective police authorities in both NSW and Queensland," an Echo Entertainment spokesman said.
The Queensland Police Service has never banned any interstate individual from the state's casinos despite acknowledging it "on occasion" receives notifications from law enforcement authorities in other states.
"[QPS] has no immediate plans to initiate exclusions of individuals from casinos based on the circumstances occurring in another state or territory," a spokesperson said.
Victoria Police and NSW Police said all banning orders they issue are sent to police forces across Australia as a matter of policy. Both states also implement complementary mandatory banning orders.
But the system is far more haphazard across the country, which is allowing crime figures an easy opportunity to circumvent the banning system simply by flying interstate.
Western Australia has no policy of enforcing bans from other jurisdictions. A spokeswoman for Crown Perth declined to comment on whether the venue allows individuals banned from Crown Melbourne from gambling at Crown Perth.
South Australia "may, if deemed appropriate, take steps to have the individuals banned here in SA".
Representatives of police forces in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and the ACT did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said it was currently working with other jurisdictions to develop a "national approach" to the issue.
cvedelago@theage.com.au
