Star Casino

The Star Entertainment Group has been found unfit to hold a casino licence in NSW following a damning inquiry into its “confronting” conduct.

“Following recommendations of the Bergin Inquiry into Crown Casino’s operation, the NSW Government has established the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC). Star has 14 days to respond to the show cause notice should it wish to.” Star admitted it had been unsuitable to hold a licence when the inquiry started. as such they really weren’t doing their job.” it asks the Star Casino to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against it. The Star Entertainment Group has been found unfit to hold a casino licence in NSW following a damning inquiry into its “confronting” conduct.

So far, the NSW government inquiry into The Star Entertainment Group is going exactly as expected. Another big casino operator is found to have to be ...

Casino taxes are clearly vital to the health of state governments, but it is time for a national watchdog, with real teeth, that can oversee the sector as a whole? [Sign up to our weekly Opinion newsletter.](https://login.myfairfax.com.au/signup_newsletter/10146?channel_key=9ME3ACTT4ZYY1fEMfvR2EA&callback_uri=https://www.afr.com) [James Thomson](/by/james-thomson-1446yx)is a Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. Crawford found a way to work with Crown on its reformation, and it’s likely he’ll take a similar approach at Star. Instead, Bell’s report says that it was not until last December, when the founder of Suncity was arrested in Macau, that Star actually ceased its relationship with him. Finally, the Bell report is more evidence that Australia has a national problem with the way casinos are run. The board had “little or no understanding of what people do at Star Entertainment ‘when no one is watching’.” Hefty fines and the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee Star’s operations for a period (as has occurred at Crown) would seem a much safer bet. Even on Tuesday, Star showed no acknowledgement of the depth of trouble it is in, let alone any contrition. Both Star and Crown entered into marriages of convenience with junket players, led by the sector’s giant, the Hong Kong-based Suncity. Under the NSW government’s process, Star now needs to fight for its life in the state in response to Bell’s report. If Star was serious about risk management, culture and accountability it would have started on the sweeping rehabilitation program now clearly required at least two years ago, when Crown sins were being laid bare. That should count against it as it fights to keep its licence.

Star Entertainment Group faces severe penalties, including the possible loss of its Sydney casino licence, after a scathing...

It wasn't one individual who was masterminding the conduct and attitude of the casino," he said. But it was left to the inquiry to uncover the "deeply troubling culture permeating the ranks of senior management" at Star, Mr Bell said. The board learned of the practices in 2021, and was on notice that they and the banks had potentially been misled by management. "The institutional arrogance of this company has been breathtaking and their willingness to take risks in pursuing financial goals has been appalling," he said. "It's not a question of 'pin the tail on the donkey'. Revocation of the casino licence and the issuing of fines are among the options.

Sydney's Star casino could have its licence revoked after a report found it repeatedly breached the law and was infiltrated by criminals.

It wasn’t one individual who was masterminding the conduct and attitude of the casino,” he said. But it was left to the inquiry to uncover the “deeply troubling culture permeating the ranks of senior management” at Star, Mr Bell said. Management was also made aware of a Hong Kong Jockey Club report in 2019 that linked the junket operator to triad crime gangs, “large scale” money laundering and drug trafficking. The board learned of the practices in 2021, and was on notice that they and the banks had potentially been misled by management. “The institutional arrogance of this company has been breathtaking and their willingness to take risks in pursuing financial goals has been appalling,” he said. Revocation of the casino licence and the issuing of fines are among the options.

Company given 14 days to respond, with state authorities considering revoking their Sydney casino licence.

He said the commission wasn’t “getting the vibe” that it had learned from its mistakes. “The board should be responsible for setting culture. And they paid scant regard to proper harm minimisation criteria.” Anderson said he “hadn’t gotten into the details” of the report’s recommendations, but said he would “would with the [casino] commission”. Despite a series of high-profile resignations during the Bell inquiry, Crawford said the commission remained concerned about the “astounding” level of “institutional arrogance” at the company. He said Star “tended to ignore” risks associated with their conduct, and then “tried to hide” some of the outcomes.

Star's misconduct relating to money laundering is even worse than its rival Crown.

In fact, Star transferred the money to the accounts of Chinese gamblers at its tables but it used a series of ruses which concealed the true source of the funds from regulators and NAB, the bank which processed the payments. [The Herald's View](/by/the-herald's-view-p4yviq)– Since the Herald was first published in 1831, the editorial team has believed it important to express a considered view on the issues of the day for readers, always putting the public interest first. Star also allowed a Macau and Hong Kong-based junket operator called Suncity from 2017 to run a separate gaming room on its premises called Salon 95, where gamblers were able to flout restrictions on buying chips and receiving payouts in cash. It continued this practice until December last year despite clear warnings about Suncity’s owner Alvin Chau’s character and Suncity’s links to organised crime. Bell’s review makes clear that Star was not simply negligent or lax in fulfilling its obligations to check the source of funds wagered on its tables. For example, in 2013 Star started accepting payments eventually worth $908 million from debit cards issued by China Union Pay bank, which it billed as payments for hotel expenses.