Star slides as casino customers limited

The Star has been forced to limit the number of people at its Sydney casino after a NSW public health crackdown.

Each separate area of The Star is now limited to 300, and customers gathering in different areas will not be able to “mingle”, the company told the ASX on Friday. Picture: Toby Zerna

The Star has been forced to limit the number of people at its Sydney casino after a NSW public health crackdown aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus was extended to include casinos.

Each separate area of The Star is now limited to 300, and customers gathering in different areas will not be able to “mingle”, the company told the ASX on Friday.

Before the changes, The Star had been required to adhere to the four square metre rule but it was exempt from capping the number of patrons to 300, as many pubs and other venues had to.

The earlier restrictions meant that the number of guests could have been considerably higher, since the casino floor area is about 20,000sq m in total, suggesting it could have several thousand people.

But the changes, which came into effect on Friday, mean that the number of patrons will be limited to 900 across the entire venue.

The updated public health orders come as NSW tries to contain a number of new clusters of COVID-19, following a spike in outbreaks in Victoria.

Venues that fail to comply with the orders could be fined up to $55,000 and a further $27,500 each day if they continue to breach the rules.

The casino said it would be adjusting staffing levels to reflect the new operating environment and would make “higher value customers” a priority.

Star Entertainment said that under restrictions that had been in place between June 19 and June 30, limiting its patronage to 900, average daily slot and table gaming volumes were comparable with private gaming room levels in the first half of the 2020 financial year.

The announcement triggered a 2.1 per cent drop in the company’s share price on Friday to $2.77, while the broader ASX 200 lost 1.1 per cent.

The announcement followed revelations the casino was one of three venues in NSW fined for failing to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.

NSW Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said on Friday that fines had been issued to the Golden Sheaf pub in Double Bay, the Auburn Hotel in western Sydney and Star Casino in Pyrmont.

Mr Dominello said inspectors would be regularly checking in on venues.