<p>London’s swanky <a href="https://www.casino.org/news/aspinalls-wins-case-against-too-drunk-to-gamble-nightclub-owner/">Apsinalls Club</a> has warned of “material uncertainty” over its future because of regulatory action against its parent company on the other side of the world.</p>n<figure id="attachment_317314" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-317314" data-style="width: 858px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-317314 size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO" src="https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Aspinalls-858x571.jpg" alt="Aspinalls, Crown Resorts, London" width="858" height="571" srcset="https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Aspinalls-858x571.jpg 858w, https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Aspinalls-430x286.jpg 430w, https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Aspinalls-302x200.jpg 302w, https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Aspinalls-238x158.jpg 238w, https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Aspinalls-194x128.jpg 194w, https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Aspinalls.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px" /><figcaption  id="caption-attachment-317314"class="text-description">Aspinalls, like many of London’s upscale private member’s casinos, is facing turbulent times because of a dearth of high rollers visiting the British capital. (Image: Crown Resorts)</figcaption></figure>n<p>Since 2011, the private member&#8217;s club for high-rolling gamblers has been owned by Australia’s Crown Resorts, which is facing suitability reviews over its gaming licenses at domestic properties.</p>n<p>In a report seen by London’s <em>Evening Standard</em>, directors for loss-making Aspinalls said the casino would rely on Crown’s financial support to cover liabilities during current turbulent financial times.</p>n<p>But it noted there were “significant doubts” about Crown Resorts ability to continue as a going concern. Unfavorable decisions by Australian regulators could render Crown “unable to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal order of business,” it added.</p>n<h2><strong>High-Roller Drought </strong></h2>n<p>Aspinalls posted losses of £2 million ($2.5 million) for the year to June 30, 2023. London has been facing something of a high-roller drought in recent years. The UK capital’s VIP gaming sector has long been composed of visitors from the Arab Gulf states, a demographic that has recently thinned out.</p>n<p>That’s in part because the British government scrapped the duty-free system for foreign visitors after the UK left the European Union. Previously, visitors could recoup the 20% sales tax, known as value-added tax (VAT), on items purchased in the UK.</p>n<p>Casinos have also been affected by the UK Gambling Commission’s ban on using credit cards for gambling.</p>n<p>Three high-end London private member&#8217;s casinos have closed in recent years, the Ritz Club, the Clermont, and <a href="https://www.casino.org/news/crockfords-uks-oldest-casino-closes-after-195-years/">Crockfords.</a></p>n<h2><strong>Regulatory Headache </strong></h2>n<p>Meanwhile, in Australia, Crown Resorts is facing license reviews in New South Wales and Western Australia. This comes after regulators accused the company of turning a blind eye to money laundering at its properties and of doing business with Macau-based junket operators with links to organized crime.</p>n<p>The good news for Aspinalls is that Crown was last month given the all-clear to continue operating its flagship property in Melbourne under its new owner, the US private equity giant Blackstone. That decision came after Aspinall’s financial report was written, <em>the Standard</em> reports.</p>n<p>Crown was stripped of its Sydney license in 2020 but was reissued with a provisional license in 2022 and remains under probation.</p>n<p>Aspinalls was founded in the 1960s by John Aspinall, an eccentric zoo owner, who spent the vast fortune he amassed from his casino on building a huge collection of wild animals.</p>n<p>The post <a href="https://www.casino.org/news/crown-resorts-position-puts-londons-aspinalls-casino-in-peril/">Crown Resorts Position Puts London&#8217;s Aspinalls Casino in Peril</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.casino.org/news">Casino.org</a>.</p>n