China Detention of Casino Officials Sees Gambling Companies Stocks Plummet
- Undisclosed number of employees detained including executives
- Under a consular treaty between the two countries, Chinese authorities have three days in which to notify Canberra of the detention of any Australian citizens
- Sands China Ltd. dropped 3.3 percent on the day Monday
- Crown sees biggest one-day fall in its history
On Sunday, Gambling911.com reported on how Chinese officials had detained a number of employees of Australian casino firm Crown, owned by gambling magnate James Packer.
Chinese officials have said the investigation is ongoing with few details being revealed as of Sunday evening though a spokesman for Australia’s foreign affairs department said it was “aware of reports of the possible detention” overnight Thursday of a number of Crown employees across China, including three Australians.
Under a consular treaty between the two countries, Chinese authorities have three days in which to notify Canberra of the detention of any Australian citizens, the Wall Street Journal reported.
At least one top executive was among those detained.
“Crown believes that Jason O’Connor, the head of Crown’s VIP International team, is one of 18 employees being questioned by Chinese authorities,” the company spokesperson said.
On Monday, the fallout was evident as casino companies with exposure in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau saw their shares drop steeply throughout the day.
Sands China Ltd. dropped 3.3 percent, while Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. lost 4.3 percent. The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Asia Pacific casino stocks decreased 2.8 percent.
Crown itself lost 14 percent, the biggest one-day decline on record.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
