2010s
In September 2013, the Sri Lankan government gave approval to Crown's then chairman and largest shareholder, James Packer, to invest in Crown Sri Lanka in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. The project was to be completed by 2015. However, when a new government took office, President Maithripala Sirisena cancelled all three casino licenses awarded by the previous administration; including the Crown Resorts project.[8]
In August 2014 Betfair completed the sale of their 50% stake in Betfair Australia to venture partner Crown Resorts.[9]
On 5 August 2014, Crown bought the site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip for $280 million with the intent to build a new hotel beginning in 2015.[10]
In December 2014, James Packer signed a deal with Matthew Tripp, which gained Packer control over Tripp's online betting platform BetEasy.[11]
On 26 June 2015, Crown officially announced that the new $6 billion hotel, called Alon Las Vegas, was to be located on the former New Frontier site and to open in 2018.[12] Crown announced in December 2016 that it was halting the project and seeking to sell its investment.[13]
In October 2015, Crown acquired a 20 per cent stake in restaurant and hotel company Nobu for US$100 million.[14]
In 2016, ground broke on Crown Sydney and was scheduled to open in 2020, which was planned for sometime thereafter the 14 December.[15]
In February 2017, Barry Felstead replaced Rowen Craigie as CEO of Crown Melbourne. On 21 March 2018, James Packer resigned as an executive chairman of Crown Resorts.[16]
In May 2019, Packer agreed to sell 20% of Crown's shares, representing nearly half his personal stake in the company, to Melco Resorts & Entertainment, for A$1.76 billion (US$1.22 billion). Melco is led by Lawrence Ho, Packer's former joint venture partner in Melco Crown Entertainment.[17] On 8 August 2019, the gaming regulator in the state of New South Wales (NSW), the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA), announced that it was conducting an inquiry into Melco's deal for Crown's shares[18] based on new information that Lawrence Ho was until 28 June 2019 a director of a company with which Crown was forbidden to associate.[19] The inquiry will also look into allegations made on a recent broadcast of Australia's 60 Minutes television program.
