By Max Maddison
Star Entertainment has been hit with $15 million in fines by the NSW casino regulator and its licence suspension has been extended until early 2025.
The financially distressed Sydney casino will continue to be overseen by a government-appointed manager. NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) chief commissioner Philip Crawford said the recent inquiry by Adam Bell, SC, had uncovered continuing compliance failures.
NSW Independent Casino Commission Chief commissioner Philip Crawford announces whether he will close The Star Casino SydneyCredit: Dominic Lorrimer
After Bell’s second report into the casino, which was released in August, Crawford on Thursday said he considered that cancelling Star’s licence would have been a “very final act”, noting the economic implications of the closure in NSW and Queensland.
“We’re very heavily still motivated by what our perception of the public interest is,” he said on Thursday.
“And if Sydney Star fails, the Star Group will fail, and that’s a group that employs 9000-plus people and if you add on to that, the huge number of suppliers to the business.”
Crawford would not engage on whether the casino had become too big to fail, but said there was “no coming back if you take the licence away”.
“There’s no suggestion in this Bell Report of criminality. There’s no suggestion that organised crime infiltrated again, but there’s huge question marks over the last couple of years of their confidence and their capability,” he said.
“That can’t continue, but we’ve got plenty of work being done on the culture, and there’s no doubt that the staff are really keen to do the right thing to get on with business that they do need leadership. It’s a big company.”
The $15 million fine was in relation to breaches of internal control manuals. Moreover, Star had been served with a direction regarding the operation of its compliance committee, and reporting lines within it. The reforms are expected to be implemented by June 30 next year.
The casino’s government-appointed manager will continue until March 31.
Crawford said the company’s transparency and accountability had improved “incredibly” under the stewardship of new chief executive Steve McCann, appointed in June after the review claimed the scalps of Star chairman David Foster and chief executive Robbie Cooke.
“We’ve noted a significant change and improvement in the dialogue between the regulator and the casino post Bell, and especially since the appointment of Steve McCann as the CEO, which happened in early August,” he said.
Star acknowledged the fine and its licence suspension in an update to investors, saying it was working on “a viable pathway towards suitability.”
“The group will continue to engage constructively with the NICC in respect of The Star Sydney and its operations while its licence remains suspended,” the company said in an ASX announcement.
Last month the ailing Star reported a $1.69 billion loss and said it would slash hundreds of jobs and consider selling assets, after negotiating a last-ditch deal with its banks to secure $200 million in loans.
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