CASINO WATCHDOG TO LOSE FINANCE ROLE

The State Government is set to repeal the section of the NSW Casino
Control Authority's charter that charges the gaming watchdog with
promoting the State's "tourism, employment and general economic
development".

The objective has "compromised" the authority, because it conflicts
with another objective to ensure that the management and operation of
Sydney's Star City casino is "free of criminal influence and
exploitation", according to an anti-gambling spokesman, the Rev Tim
Costello.

Senior government sources said a Cabinet minute being finalised by the
Minister for Gaming, Mr Face, would be taken to Cabinet in "a matter
of weeks" to delete the economic promotion function.

Mr Face's recommendation has the approval of the Premier, Mr Carr, who
on Wednesday forced the resignation of the authority's chairwoman , Ms
Kaye Loder.

Ms Loder told ABC TV's Four Cornersprogram on Monday that she was
sorry the State had lost revenue when police banned a high roller -
later proved to be a heroin dealer, Van Duoung - from the casino in
September 1997, before its transfer to its current operator, Tabcorp.

Mr Costello, a spokesman for the inter-church gambling task force,
said the casino's watchdog could not regulate gambling while also
promoting economic interests such as tourism.

"The NSW Casino Control Authority is hopelessly compromised," he
said.

Police and casino surveillance of criminals also came under fire
yesterday from Dr Richard Basham, an Asian-crime expert who was hired
as a consultant to the authority one month before 29 people, including
Van Duoung, were banned.

He said the authority had been concerned at "strange things happening
at the casino", especially enormous "buy-ins" of casino chips such as
a $1.8 million purchase made on one day.

High rollers "seemed to be exchanging chips" and the casino's loss
estimates and chip sales "were not tallying", leading to fears the
chips were being taken out of the casino and used for heroin deals.

"The Casino Control Authority realised they had major criminal
activity. A lot of chips were winding up in Vietnam, and Sydney
Harbour Casino chips were coming back in through Customs," he said.

He said the September 1997 exclusions were initiated by the Police
Commissioner, Mr Peter Ryan, who was under political pressure to take
action following a Heraldseries on loan-sharking at the casino. The
list was "cobbled together", he said: only six to 12 of those banned
were heroin dealers, but a "number of very big fish were left off the
list".

But the Commander of Crime Agencies, Superintendent Clive Small, said
the recommendations for the bans came from him and were carried out by
the Deputy Commissioner (Field Operations), Mr Jeff Jarratt, using the
delegated power from Mr Ryan.

Under this power, a total of 44 people - including the 29 in 1997 -
have been banned owing to "serious criminal concerns".

"We keep our eyes on some people but for operational reasons we don't
always ban them. A lot of them have been arrested instead," he said.

Some of the 29 banned in 1997, including Van Duoung, had since been
arrested, charged and convicted. That swoop netted "major drug
dealers", people involved in "loan sharking-type activities" and their
associates.