NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has ruled out any chance of allowing poker machines at Crown's planned VIP casino at Sydney's Barangaroo.

Key points: Crown argues its staff, arrested in China last year, were promoting tourism, rather than trying to secure Chinese gamblers for their Australian venues

Crown argues its staff, arrested in China last year, were promoting tourism, rather than trying to secure Chinese gamblers for their Australian venues A former chair of the gaming authority described the Barangaroo casino licence as "superficial"

A former chair of the gaming authority described the Barangaroo casino licence as "superficial" NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian described the planning process of the Barangaroo development as "robust"

Last night, the ABC's Four Corners program looked at speculation that James Packer's revenue from high-roller Chinese gamblers was plunging since the Chinese crackdown on offshore gambling last year.

That crackdown saw the arrests of 15 Crown staff in China, including three Australians.

Gambling and the promotion of gambling is illegal in China.

In encouraging wealthy businessmen to visit its overseas casinos, Crown argued it was not promoting gambling, but rather tourism in its luxury hotel resorts in Australia, the United States and Macau.

In 2014, Crown paid $100 million to secure the restricted licence for its new casino at Barangaroo, after putting forward an unsolicited proposal promoting the venue as a drawcard for overseas high-rollers.

No change to Barangaroo pokie policy

The Premier said even if Mr Packer could not lure the clientele he was hoping to in the numbers he envisaged, the venue would not become a regular casino with poker machines.

"The policy hasn't changed — that's a VIP room," Ms Berejiklian said.

The former chair of the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority Chris Sidoti told Four Corners the parliamentary scrutiny of the licence granted to Crown was "superficial".

"Casinos are big money spinners and operating a casino in most circumstances is like a license to print money," he said.

"I don't think there was an appetite for thorough scrutiny, I think there was a wish simply to get the job done in terms of um having some basic level of examination and ah doing the deal."

Ms Berejiklian played down Mr Sidoti's comments.

"I respect [the rights of] anyone with experience to express their views but there was a very thorough process," she said.

"That part of Sydney is potentially the most highly regulated and scrutinised processes we've gone through as a government.

"I'm convinced that the process was robust, in the strictest of probity and I look forward to seeing the site further develop."