It was Mr Packer's political wheeling and dealing and relationship with Chinese businessman Laurence Ho, in his bid to build a casino at Sydney's Barangaroo, that led to his undoing and was the catalyst for the New South Wales Bergin inquiry, which found Crown was not fit to hold a casino licence. Mr Packer’s previous attempt to leave the company in 2019 was scuttled when the would-be buyer reneged in the face of controversy and details of the deal were leaked. They came after years of scandals that included the company being fined for illegally promoting gambling in China where 14 staff were jailed, and several damaging inquiries which found the casino operator enabled money laundering and had links to criminal gangs.ĬOVID-19 lockdowns and border closures just added to the woes at Crown, which was seeing its profits and share price fall. The moves against Mr Packer meant he had little choice but to sell out of Crown.

Mr Packer is set to exit Crown Resorts after Blackstone’s takeover.Ĭrown shareholders also backed the Blackstone deal after the board told investors it would be in their best interest.

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