Following “severe breaches” at its casinos, Star Entertainment Group was slammed with another AUD 100 million in fines and was assigned a special manager to monitor its Queensland operations.
The Queensland state attorney general, Shannon Fentiman, also informed the ASX-listed casino and resort operator on Friday that if it didn’t take enough corrective action regarding its management and operations, the casino licenses at two of its locations would be suspended.
Fentiman said, “It is clear that there have been major failings by the Star group and its entities. I was appalled at the extent of the actions of The Star in welcoming excluded persons to their casinos and the exorbitant incentives on offer for questionable gamblers.”
Fentiman has given Star 12 months to pay fines and to comply with the regulations, saying, “Essentially this means Star has 12 months to get their house in order if they don’t want to see a 90-day suspension of their license.”
The penalties, according to Fentiman, have been “very thoroughly” thought through in light of the scathing Gotterson Review findings and Star’s show-cause response.
“These disciplinary actions aim to strike a balance between ensuring that thousands of Queenslanders can remain employed, but also sending that very strong message that what happened here in Star casinos is completely unacceptable,” she added.
Previously, Star was fined AUD 100 million in October at their Sydney branch. The fine was levied after the regulator came to know about the various anti money laundering laws being broken by the operator.
Nicholas Weeks, who was appointed as manager of Star’s casino license in Sydney by the NSW Independent Casino Commission, has also been selected as special manager in Queensland.
Weeks also discovered that Star permitted vulnerable customers to wager for longer than 24 hours at a period and gave VIPs free alcohol as an incentive to gamble in the Sydney branch.
The Queensland government also put Star’s casino licenses in Brisbane and Gold Coast on hold for 90 days, but because Star employs so many people, they postponed the action until December 1, 2023. This will give Star a chance to make amends.