Australian casino operator Crown Resorts is reportedly losing its CEO as the fallout from the damaging report into its regulatory shortcomings continues to spread. 

On Thursday, Australian media reported that Crown CEO Ken Barton had agreed to resign ‘in the coming days’ following a meeting with chair Helen Coonan. Barton has been under pressure to walk the plank since Tuesday’s release of a devastating regulatory report that found Crown unsuitable to hold a gaming license at its Crown Sydney venue in New South Wales. 

Barton’s disastrous appearance last September before the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) inquiry left him with few options. Amongst other failings, the ILGA report found that Barton paid little attention to internal reports of suspect transactions in financial accounts set up to help VIP gamblers funnel money to Crown casinos.

ILGA commissioner Patricia Bergin concluded that Barton’s actions “demonstrated a serious lack of judgment” and his issues “will not be cured by the appointment of people expert in the field who report to him.” The report also concluded that Barton was too obsequious in his dealings with James Packer, Crown’s single largest shareholder (the report recommended Packer’s current 36% stake be reduced and capped at just 10%).