James Packer resigns from Crown Resorts citing mental health reasons

Billionaire James Packer has resigned as a Director of the Crown Resorts casino and hospitaltiy group for reported mental health reasons.

A spokesperson from Consolidated Press Holdings, another of Packer's companies, today confirmed that he is "suffering from mental health issues," adding "at this time he intends to step back from all commitments."

Crown's Executive Chairman John Alexander said in a statement that "we have appreciated James' contribution to the board and respect his decision to step down from his role as director at this time."

Earlier this month, Packer sold more than $100 million worth of his shares in Crown Resorts, which owns the Crown casinos in Melbourne and Perth.

However, he remains the major shareholder of Crown, with a 47% stake worth more than $4 billion.

Packer previously resigned as a Director of the company in December 2015 to focus on development projects in Melbourne and Las Vegas.

This was in addition to him overseeing the development of the newest Crown casino at Barangaroo, Sydney - which is currently under construction.

Packer rejoined the board in January 2017, several months after staff from Crown's sales and marketing team were arrested in China.

His personal life has been in the spotlight in recent years - from his public break-up with American singer Mariah Carey, to being questioned by police as part of an investigation into the alleged corruption of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Crown is currently facing potential disciplinary action from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, which could result in its casino licence being suspended.

This was after the Commission investigated claims from whistleblowers that Crown restricted punters' options by removing buttons on several of its poker machines.

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