Star Casino Sydney Deemed Unsuitable for Licence
The regulator for the Australian state of New South Wales has determined that Star Casino Sydney is unsuitable to hold its licence. The company’s shares have been frozen.
The second investigation into Star Casino’s troubled Sydney branch concluded that the company failed to meet basic governance requirements. As a result, the casino’s licence remains suspended, following an earlier investigation that revealed serious shortcomings in its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism protocols. Despite the suspension, the casino continues to operate under the oversight of a regulator-appointed manager.
The New South Wales Independent Casino Commission NICC is believed to consider severe measures including that of a complete revocation of Star Casino’s licence.
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Ongoing Mismanagement and Regulatory Breaches
On 30 August, the NICC released two critical volumes of the Bell Report as it continues to review the status of Star Sydney’s casino licence. Whilst no final decision has been made, the report provides a sobering glimpse into the ongoing mismanagement and regulatory breaches within Star’ operations, casting further doubt on the casino’s future. This recent investigation highlighted a series of significant errors since the 2022 findings, including four major violations. One of the most notable incidents involved a malfunction in four of the casino’s ATMs, which dispensed free cash for two weeks. This error was exploited by dozens of visitors, costing the casino AU$3.2 million (NZ$ 3,47m).
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Serious Breaches of Consumer Protection
The regulator also uncovered serious breaches of customer protection rules, such as the mandatory break for players after three consecutive hours of gambling, breaching the session limit designed to safeguard at-risk individuals. According to The Guardian, staff at Star Casino were found to have falsified reports to create the appearance of compliance with these regulations, despite failing to take action. This highlights deeper cultural and governance issues within the company, as necessary interventions for at-risk players were either neglected or deliberately falsified. The NSW Independent Casino Commission is now considering further penalties based on these findings.
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Star Casino Shares Frozen
Following these revelations, Star Casino’s shares have been suspended, and the company has delayed the release of its annual financial report. In an effort to steer the company back on track, Star Entertainment brought in former Crown CEO Steve McCann as the new chief executive in June. In addition to its casino in Sydney, Star also operates casinos in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, both of which continue to operate and hold valid licences.
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Future of Star Sydney Uncertain
Given these ongoing breaches, the NICC says that it is now contemplating more severe actions, including potentially revoking Star’s licence entirely. A potential revocation of the licence would only affect the casino in Sydney. Whilst Star has made recent leadership changes the NICC remains cautious about whether these efforts will be enough to bring the company back in line with regulatory expectations. Star’s fate now rests on how the Australian commission interprets these latest findings and whether it believes the casino can operate responsibly moving forward.
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