Star Entertainment Group wants to be the only casino in the Gold Coast

The company wants an exclusivity arrangement of a 30-year deal with the Queensland government and pretends to invest AU$2 billion.

Australia.- Australia’s Star Entertainment Group has a master plan to monopolize casino operations on the Gold Coast. The company wants an exclusivity arrangement of a 30-year deal with the Queensland government and pretends to invest AU$2 billion.

Star Entertainment Group operates The Star Gold Coast and doesn’t want the development of another casino. The master plan includes a major expansion of its existing property plus a recently announced AU$100 million redevelopment of the ageing Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“We have decided we will approach Star to exclusively deal with them so they can provide detail of their offer. The government will examine this offer and make a decision,” Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones Jones said in November. 

After some meetings between local authorities and members of Star Group, Chairman John O’Neill reinforced the insistence of its investment and the idea that the city is too small for two casinos. 

“Our commitment to Queensland and the Gold Coast is well documented. The Government, however, continues to speculate about a second casino on the Gold Coast”, he said.

“The Star’s position has always been: we support investment in tourism assets on the Gold Coast, but the Gold Coast market is too small for two casinos. The introduction of another local casino competitor would force us to defend our local market share at the expense of driving incremental interstate and international tourism”, he added.