The Star was found unsuitable to hold casino licences in both states in 2022 and has been operating under the supervision of manager Nick Weeks since then, with NSW suspending the company’s casino licence while allowing it to continue operating, while the Queensland Government has continued to defer a three-month suspension.
Weeks is now set to continue overseeing The Star Sydney until mid-2027, while in Queensland, his term has been extended until the end of March next year.
With regulatory failures behind the unsuitability determinations, the Queensland Government and the NSW casino regulator have both acknowledged that The Star has made progress towards returning to suitability to hold its casino licences. The business has been executing remediation efforts for several years now.
“There is no doubt that The Star has come a long way in addressing the matters which led to the suspension of its casino licence in 2022,” said chief commissioner of the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC), Philip Crawford.
“However, recent allegations regarding governance, leadership and culture at the casino are serious and are being treated as such by both the manager and the NICC. It is disappointing that despite the progress made by the Sydney casino, the group company continues to experience problems that affect each of its properties.
“The NICC will be watching carefully to see how The Star and The Star Entertainment Group resolve these issues,” said Crawford.
“Both companies need to demonstrate to the NICC that they have learned from past mistakes and can resolve these cultural issues without the need for the NICC’s intervention.
“Ultimately it is The Star’s responsibility to demonstrate that it believes in its remediation efforts and that they can do the work to ensure its remediation sticks long-term.”
As it awaits what could be a sizeable fine as a result of legal proceedings brought against it by AUSTRAC related to the same regulatory failings that cast doubt over its licences, The Star has continued to warn of existential uncertainty regarding the company’s future.
However, it did note in its latest financial results that it had seen stabilisation in its revenue after two years of declines.
The Star controls significant hotel inventory in Sydney and both hotel rooms and event space on the Gold Coast. In Brisbane it continues to operate both hotel rooms and event space although it no longer has an ownership stake in the Queen’s Wharf development in which The Star Brisbane and its event centre are located.
