Star Entertainment Group appoints Christina Katsibouba as CFO

The scandal-plagued Star Entertainment Group has appointed Christina Katsibouba as its new chief financial officer but she will face a number of immediate challenges.

The Star Entertainment Group, which operates the Star casino in Sydney has continued the process of rebuilding after a string of corporate and gambling scandals by appointing a new CFO. Picture: Bloomberg

The scandal-plagued Star Entertainment Group has taken the next step in its rebuild with the appointment of Christina Katsibouba as its new chief financial officer.

She will begin her role from January 1.

Ms Katsibouba is currently The Star’s interim chief financial officer, as announced on May 9 and prior to that she held the position of group executive Gaming.

“Christina is a passionate and experienced gaming executive having worked in the sector for more than seven years,” Star managing director and CEO Robbie Cooke said. “Christina’s finance experience extends over 25 years and traverses the gaming, retail and marketing sectors as well as experience in public practice. I look forward to working closely with Christina as we continue our focus on returning The Star to suitability and earning back the trust and confidence of all our stakeholders.”

Ms Katsibouba will have a full and active inbox when she takes up her role next week, with the gambling company still sporting the bruises of the royal commission and accusations it broke a number of gambling and corporate regulations.

Earlier this month, the corporate regulator launched a landmark case against 11 current and former Star executives for alleged breaches of director duties.

Star also said last week it would pay a total pecuniary penalty of $100m to the NSW independent Casino Commission (NICC).

The NICC determined that payment of the pecuniary penalty is to be made in three instalments, with $30m payable by March 31,$30m by June 30 and the final $40m instalment by December 29. This is alongside another financial punishment of $100m from the Queensland Attorney-General and the Queensland regulator, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation, following disciplinary action under the Casino Control Act.

The Star will also pay the $7m in costs incurred by the independent Liquor and Gaming Authority in connection with the Bell Review by January 31, 2023.

Separately, the casino operator was hit this month by a New South Wales government decision to increase casino duty rates. The intended casino duty rate amendments are proposed to apply to The Star from July 1, 2023.

Shares in The Star fell 2.9 per cent to a new 21-month low of $1.83 on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of $1.74bn.

The drop extended a down run last week on the back of the mooted NSW taxes.

Originally published as Star Entertainment Group appoints Christina Katsibouba as CFO