Australian casino operator Crown Resorts will open its new Crown Sydney venue with booze but without gambling, while its Melbourne venue is facing an earlier than expected license review. 

On Wednesday, Crown announced that it had received an interim liquor license for its new Sydney venue ahead of the property’s plan to open on Monday, December 28. The license allows Crown Sydney to serve hooch at the Crown Towers hotel, as well as the property’s bars and some restaurants, but only until April 30, 2021. 

There will be no alcohol served on Crown Sydney’s gaming floor, because the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) New South Wales has forbid the property from offering gambling. The ILGA is waiting on the February 2021 release of an inquiry’s report into Crown’s shocking record of regulatory non-compliance at its other Aussie properties before making a call on allowing Crown Sydney to conduct gaming.

If you’ve been under a rock for the past few months, Crown’s board, senior management and its largest shareholder James Packer essentially crapped the bed by publicly expressing ignorance and/or disinterest regarding Crown’s willingness to look the other way when regulations interfered with revenue generation. Seriously, it wasn’t pretty.