Steve McCann, who was recently appointed as chief executive of The Star, has reportedly implored the government of New South Wales to grant The Star an extension to the state’s planned deadline on mandatory carded play implementation. As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald’s Amelia McGuire, anonymous sources have revealed that senior members of the NSW government held discussions on Wednesday regarding the said policy.
The system is set to overhaul in-person gaming across New South Wales casinos, seeing as it will have patrons of The Star and Crown Resorts playing electronic casino games solely via the usage of player cards or a smartphone app as opposed to cash. Carded play will allow for the setup of gaming limits of up to AU$1,000 per day, self-exclusion, and more. An effort to combat money laundering is another key factor behind cashless gaming becoming mandatory.
Currently, The Star is expected to have fully switched to the new system by August 19th. However, the transition has not been smooth for the gambling giant. This July saw all gaming machines across The Star Sydney, The Star Gold Coast, and the company’s Brisbane branch be shut down after attempts to upgrade the system for carded play did not go as planned. It took a couple of days for the machines to be put back in operation, but according to Mr McCann, there are fears that issues that may result in further outages might emerge if the deadline on mandated carded play is not extended. He has also given security concerns as another reason to grant The Star more leeway.
While there is no confirmation on whether the NSW government has taken Mr McCann’s request into consideration, sources have claimed that the Wednesday meeting was centred around compromises and the potential of increasing the daily betting cap.
Cashless Gaming in Pubs and Clubs Versus Casinos
Unlike casinos, pubs and clubs that offer gambling as a form of entertainment in New South Wales have not yet been required to implement cashless gaming. The NSW Liquor & Gaming Commission has, however, held trials in select establishments that made the voluntary decision to participate.
This type of regulatory discrepancy even played a role in the replacement of The Star’s previous Chairman of the Board, David Foster. During this spring’s public hearings surrounding the Bell Two Inquiry into The Star, Mr Foster testified about alarming messages that he had exchanged with former CEO Robbie Cooke in which he had discussed the potential abolishment of the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC).
When asked to speak about these findings, Mr Foster claimed that those were remarks made “in the heat of the moment” and that he was mainly frustrated with how the regulatory framework in New South Wales has resulted in an “uneven playing field” when it comes to how the operations of casinos and clubs are supervised. In the past, he had even brought up the issue with Philip Crawford, Chief Commissioner of the NICC, explaining his wish for the Commission “to oversee the club operations as well as the casinos to ensure an even playing field.”
Anne Ward rose to the position of Board Chairman following Mr Foster’s departure, and the NICC’s inquiry into The Star ended this July when Adam Bell SC, who led the probe, handed his report to the Commission. The inquiry concerned The Star’s suitability for a NICC licence as back in 2022, money laundering violations led to The Star Sydney losing its eligibility to hold a licence in New South Wales and being handed a staggering AU$100 million fine.
- Author
Daniel Williams
