Sydney casinos to ban cash after money laundering scandal

Sydney's only two casinos will make their gaming operations cashless in a bid to stamp out money laundering.

Regulators said The Star and Crown Sydney, which is yet to be opened, agreed to the unusual move on Thursday.

It comes after an inquiry earlier this year found it was likely criminal activity had occurred at Crown Resorts' casinos in other Australian cities.

Crown has been under immense pressure to reform its gambling operations following the inquiry.

It found Crown had been "facilitating money laundering, exposing staff to the risk of detention in a foreign jurisdiction and pursuing commercial relationships with individuals" connected to criminal groups.

The findings have prevented the company - which is majority-owned by billionaire James Packer - from securing a licence to operate its newly-built A$2.2bn (£1.2bn; $1.7bn) Sydney casino.