One of the largest gambling operators in Australia – Star Entertainment Group – is facing two more class-action lawsuits following the previous similar legal actions filed against the operator in March 2022 by Slater & Gordon and in November 2022 by Maurice Blackburn.
The shareholders of the casino and gambling company have now launched a class action over Star Entertainment’s alleged failure to disclose money laundering links to criminal organisations at its venues in Sydney and Queensland. The legal action, filed by Shine Lawyers, alleges that the revelations of claimed misconduct resulted in the sharp decline in the company’s stock price.
As mentioned above, the lawsuit states that Star Entertainment allegedly failed to unveil links to organised crime, corruption, fraud, money laundering and terrorism-financing risks. The gambling company also failed to disclose the misconduct’s associated regulatory risk although it was raised in a 2018 report issued by KPMG.
The head of class actions at Shine Lawyers, Craig Allsopp, alleged that Star Entertainment was aware, or at least ought to have known, that the wide-ranging violations occurred and that it would have a significant detrimental impact on its shareholders once the misconduct was exposed. He further explained that the gambling company had assured its investors that everything was okay at a time when it was anything but okay, and the latest class action lawsuit would be looking to hold the operator accountable for the losses experienced by its shareholders.
Star Entertainment Previously Found Unsuitable to Hold NSW and Queensland Casino Licences
As Casino Guardian previously reported, the Australian gambling operator was found unfit to hold a casino licence in the states of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland after the allegations of money laundering, fraud, and links to criminal organisations emerged. It faced an AU$100-million fine for a bunch of violations, including deceiving banks, with local regulatory bodies threatening they would take the company management to court.
As a result of the damning revelations and the Government probes, the share price of Star Entertainment fell by almost 25% and the company has lost more than AU$1 billion off its market value, making its investors the biggest losers of the gambling operator’s hiding the truth.
The most recent class action lawsuit alleges that Star Entertainment’s conduct was deceptive, misleading, and contradicted its investors’ interests. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that the gambling company breached its continuous disclosure obligations. According to the class action claims, the gambling company failed to reveal very important information to the market, which eventually led to a drop in its share price and negatively affected the interests of the operator’s shareholders.
The other class action filed by Shine Lawyers is pretty much similar to the one filed by Phi Finney McDonald. Reportedly, the investors’ legal representatives have accused Star Entertainment of violating some continuous obligation laws and misleading the public, which eventually resulted in a decline in the company’s stock price from March 2016 to May 2022.
- Author
Olivia Cole
