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Gaming regulators have forced Crown Resorts to delay the opening of a new $2.4billion casino in Sydney, as the trading of Crown shares are suspended.

The chairman of NSW Liquor and Gaming on Wednesday afternoon formally requested that Crown postpone the launch of the new flagship Barangaroo facility, originally planned for December 14.

The future of the casino hangs in the balance as a long-running ILGA inquiry continues to hear damning arguments and evidence about Crown's fitness to run the new venue.

Chairman Phillip Crawford told reporters at a press conference the decision was made due to 'extremely concerning ongoing evidence' uncovered at the inquiry.

'We are hopeful that Crown Resorts will agree to our request to postpone opening of all gaming activities, which would be unable to begin without approval of these regulatory matters,' he said.

'The authority has found ongoing evidence before the Bergin Inquiry to be extremely concerning, that any gaming activity at the casino before the Inquiry's findings are released in February 2021.'

He added that delays were requested being regulatory approvals have been delayed - without which the casino cannot open.

The regulator suggested a 'limited opening' of the hotel and bar, but Mr Crawford said Crown refused the offer.

Crown said it had asked for the trading halt because it had received a letter from ILGA about the opening date of Crown Sydney.

'Unless ASX decides otherwise, the securities will remain in trading halt until the earlier of the commencement of normal trading on Friday, 20 November 2020 or when the announcement is released to the market,' the Crown statement said.

The inquiry commissioner Patricia Bergin will make recommendations in February about whether Crown is suitable to run the casino.

Video: ILGA 'not comfortable' with Crown commencing gaming operations (ABC NEWS)

Crown's lawyers made a bombshell admission to the inquiry on Wednesday morning that money was likely laundered through its bank accounts, but insist the company is still fit to run the casino.

Crown's barrister Robert Craig SC admitted in closing submissions that it was more likely than not that two of the company's bank accounts had been used for money laundering, pointing to two expert reports the company commissioned.

The Riverbank and Southbank accounts have been a key focus of the inquiry after media reports alleged they were used to launder dirty cash.

Banks repeatedly closed the accounts because of money laundering fears, but those fears were not escalated to the board.

Ms Bergin expressed frustration at Crown for serving the expert reports at 11pm on Tuesday, saying it was a problem they arrived 'in the middle of the night' and with no notice, and after counsel assisting the inquiry had questioned multiple witnesses about the accounts.

Mr Craig admitted the company should have reviewed the bank accounts sooner.

Crown also admitted to shortcomings and mistakes in its anti-money laundering processes, but vowed it was cleaning up its act with a series of reforms, only some of which have come before its board.

Mr Craig advised Ms Bergin not to get 'bogged down' in the question of whether money laundering actually occurred, saying it was a distraction from the 'fundamental point' that large cash transactions should be deterred because they give rise to serious risks, and that Crown's new policies were directed to those risks.

Ms Bergin replied that the inquiry's terms of references demanded she consider whether money laundering happened.

Earlier on Wednesday, Crown counsel Neil Young QC denied that billionaire James Packer was a de facto director of Crown once he left the board.

'He was receiving some information and expressing some views, but that is a long way short of making actual operative decisions,' Mr Young said.

Mr Young argued that Crown could not be blamed for any flaws with an agreement by Mr Packer's privacy company to sell 19.99 per cent of its shares to Hong Kong firm Melco Resorts in May 2019.

The company did not know about the transaction and had no power to stop it, he said.

He vowed the relationship between Crown and its major shareholder, Mr Packer's private vehicle, would be 'stock standard' from now on, influencing the company only through its appointed directors.

Crown on Tuesday announced it would stop dealing with all junket operators, subject to consultation with gaming regulators in Victoria, Western Australia and NSW.

Counsel assisting the inquiry has recommended findings that Crown and Mr Packer are not presently fit to be associated with the new casino.

The inquiry continues.

Crown Resorts will open “non-gaming operations” at its new high-roller casino at Sydney’s Barangaroo in less than a fortnight after New South Wales authorities granted the company an interim liquor licence.

The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority announced on Wednesday night that it had granted an interim liquor licence for the company’s Crown Sydney hotel, bars and some restaurants.

It comes just weeks after the ILGA said it would wait until the findings of an inquiry into Crown’s suitability to hold a casino licence were handed down in February before making a decision on whether to approve a range of regulatory items related to the casino’s gaming activities.

The ILGA chair, Philip Crawford, said on Wednesday the authority was also considering two further liquor licences for other “non-gaming areas of the casino” which were due to be decided “within the week”.

Related: Crown delays opening Sydney high roller casino after regulator withholds key approvals

“Last month ILGA decided against approving a range of regulatory items related to the casino’s gaming activities prior to the release of the Bergin inquiry’s findings in February 2021,” Crawford said.

“At the time, ILGA agreed to work with Crown Resorts to enable opening this month of all non-gaming areas including accommodation, restaurants, bars and entertainment areas.”

Crawford said the authority’s position on Crown’s gaming operations had “not changed” and that the interim liquor licence would only apply until 30 April 2021.

“This will enable ILGA to consider any suitability concerns arising from the Bergin inquiry following the handing down of the report due early next year, before making a further decision regarding an extension to the licence,” he said.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange after the ILGA decision, Crown said it was “finalising its pre-opening activities and expects to progressively commence non-gaming operations at Crown Sydney from 28 December 2020”.

The former judge Patricia Bergin has been investigating Crown’s suitability to hold a Sydney gaming licence and heard allegations that the company had ignored warning signs of money laundering within its casinos.

In November the counsel assisting the inquiry, Adam Bell SC, recommended that Crown and its major shareholder James Packer be found unfit to be involved in running the new casino.

Crown had previously indicated it would push ahead with opening parts of the new venue in December despite the inquiry’s findings not yet being handed down, and Crawford had previously said it was open to the company to apply for licences which would allow it to open its hotel and restaurants at Barangaroo.

Crown Sydney Casino

Related: Crown’s Sydney casino opening has been delayed and its fate hangs in the balance – how did it come to this?

During the inquiry, Crown made a number of concessions on its operations, including saying it said it would not deal with junkets unless they were approved by regulators, something that would require changes to the law in Victoria and NSW.

Mass Casinos Opening Dates

In November Crown’s counsel told the inquiry that it had already taken steps since 2017, when allegations of money laundering were raised in Nine media, to improve its anti-money laundering processes and that more steps had been taken since the inquiry had begun.

The company also made a bombshell admission that dirty cash had probably been laundered through its bank accounts.