The gambling industry in Australia once again demonstrated that it is too big to fail. The flagship Sydney casino of the Star Entertainment Group dodged a shutdown, although its operating permit will be suspended as of October 21st, and the owner will face an unprecedented monetary fine of AU$100 million.
Following some rumours that emerged over the weekend, the beginning of the week saw the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) officially announce its decision to impose the whopping monetary penalty and cease the operating permit of the casino. The measures were imposed in response to a damning inquiry into the operations of The Star Entertainment that found that the company facilitated the penetration of foreign influence, criminal activity, fraud, and money laundering and ended up with an independent manager being installed to oversee the company’s business.
Under the measures that are set to be taken by the NSW gambling regulatory body, The Star casino in Sydney will be given the chance to continue trading under the manager’s licence for no less than 90 days. The NICC chief commissioner, Philip Crawford, however, explained that the process to restore the casino’s suitability to hold its Sydney operating permit could take longer than that.
Furthermore, Mr Crawford shared that the appointment of Nicholas Weeks as an independent manager to oversee the gambling business’ licence was in the public interest in order for an impartial expert to make sure that the Star Entertainment is really able to make things right and prove it is fit to hold a casino licence.
Star Entertainment Group Accepts Royal Commission Findings and Embarks on Way to Transparency
The suspension of the Sydney casino licence was welcomed by Premier Dominic Perrottet, who also shared his expectation that the operating permit would not be renewed until the Australian gambling giant is compliant.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the AU$100-million fine is the maximum penalty that could be imposed on a gambling operator under the new casino legislation that was officially introduced by the Government of New South Wales in August.
In September, the Star Entertainment Group said it accepted the findings of the Royal Commission inquiry headed by Adam Bell SC, which eventually found that the Australian gambling giant was not fit to hold an operating permit for its flagship casino in Sydney. At the time, it became clear that the inquiry heard allegations of organised crime links, fraud, money laundering, and foreign interference at the casino in Pyrmont, so the company had to take significant and urgent remedial steps to restore the casino to suitability. The company shared that it was ready to do whatever necessary to make things right.
The Star Entertainment Group shared that it had developed a multi-year plan, with a total of 130 milestones it had to meet in two years. Some of the most important steps it was supposed to complete as part of the process were bringing changes to the business’ leadership, cutting links to so-called junket operators, and boosting its compliance, risk, and security staff members.
Reportedly, it was exactly this response of the company that convinced the NSW Independent Casino Commission that the Star Entertainment was aware of the importance of the inquiry findings and was ready to collaborate with the state’s regulator to bring more transparency ot its business.
As the announcement of the record AU$100-million fine imposed on the company by the NICC coincides with the first day of Robbie Cooke on the role of the Star Entertainment’s new CEO, the chief commissioner of the watchdog said he was hopeful the chance of the chief executive officer would help the company make its way towards suitability.
- Author
Olivia Cole
