During the New South Wales (NSW) government inquiry, the gambling company Star Entertainment has confirmed it still collaborates with a major junket operator that has allegedly been associated with criminal organisations. The casino giant explained that it has not found enough evidence to put an end to its business relationship with its junket partner.
The inquiry held by the NSW gambling regulator into Crown Resorts heard that the Star Entertainment closed the private gaming room held by its junket partner Suncity at the Star Sydney casino in 2019 after a leading local media reported that the junket’s owner Alvin Chau was suspended from entering Australia by the Department of Home Affairs.
Greg Hawkins, the chief casino officer of the Star Entertainment, shared that the private gaming room of Suncity was moved to another part of the Star Sydney casino. Mr Hawkins further noted that the internal anti-money laundering compliance team of the gambling giant was entitled with further investigation of the relationship with its junket partner. He explained none of the information that had been forwarded to him was a reason for the operator to change its partnership with Suncity.
As Mr Hawkins also shared, there was an ongoing evaluation of the collaboration between the Star Entertainment and Suncity Group.
Australian Casino Companies Use Junket Operators to Attract Affluent Chinese Gamblers
As Casino Guardian already reported, junket operators have been bringing high-roller Chinese gamblers to international casinos. Also, they have been offering such gamblers extended credit to play with, as gambling is currently illegal in mainland China. The majority of them, however, have been associated with organised crime and money laundering operations.
Earlier this week, the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority heard that Melbourne- and Perth-based Crown Resorts’ casinos have also collaborated with Mr Chau after the gambling company received a warning regarding due diligence reports six years ago. At the time, the US government revealed that the owner of Suncity was considered to be involved in organised crime and there was evidence, according to which he had previously been one of the members of the Macau-based “14K Triad”.
During the inquiry, Mr Hawkins confirmed he had met Suncity’s boss several times in social situations but he said he was unable to say whether Mr Chau had any links to organised crime. He shared that he had read only speculation on the matter but there had not been enough evidence to validate such claims.
According to the information provided at the inquiry hearing, Crown suspended Suncity from operating its own cash exchange desk two years ago, after the junket operator was found to have stashed AU$5.6 million in cash in its private gaming room at the Crown Casino Melbourne. The findings have raised some money laundering concerns.
As for the relationship between the Star Entertainment and Suncity, Mr Hawkins said that the junket operator was never permitted to operate its own exchange desk at the company’s gambling venues and casino patrons had to buy their chips only through the cashier cage of the Star.
- Author
Olivia Cole
