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Regulatory failure has been a hot topic in Australia recently. Royal commissions into the financial and aged care sectors have revealed major regulatory failures. The harm done by these oversights has been significant. Regulation is not just red tape. It protects the interests of those who put their faith, money, and in some cases, loved ones, into regulated institutions. Crown, Australia’s biggest casino operator, has been linked to organised crime, money laundering and fast-tracked visas for big gamblers. All of these issues are the responsibility of gambling regulators. Yet, regulators appear to have missed it, despite their key role in preventing criminal influence affecting gambling operators. Not that this is a surprise. The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has been under scrutiny for some time. In 2017, the Victorian auditor-general pointed out that VCGLR’s capacity to regulate Crown (and other liquor and gambling venues it also regulates) was underwhelming. In its conclusions, the Auditor observed: There is a need for VCGLR to improve its oversight of the casino. VCGLR is not able to demonstrate that its casino supervision is efficient or effective as is required for best practice regulation of a major participant in Victoria’s gambling industry. In 2016-17, punters using Crown’s Melbourne casino lost A$1.56 billion. The Victorian government’s share of this, via tax revenue, was A$207.7 million. The Crown casino in Perth relieved its patrons of A$622.8 million. The WA government got A$61.9 million of this. This revenue is important to cash-strapped state governments. With few sources to raise revenue, and many big-ticket items to fund, states need revenue. Even so, Crown’s contribution to Victoria’s revenue stream is modest. 789bet -19 state budget papers estimate a contribution of A$237 million from the casino, compared to A$1.119 billion from pokies in pubs and clubs, and A$1.876 billion in total gambling taxes.