The Star committed repeat breaches of Casino Control Act, inquiry hears
Counsel Naomi Sharp SC has continued to tell the New South Wales inquiry why The Star Entertainment Group is not suitable to hold a casino licence.
Australia.- Naomi Sharp SC, the counsel assisting the New South Wales inquiry into The Star Entertainment Group, has continued to close her arguments as to why the company is unsuitable to hold a casino licence for The Star Sydney.
She referred to the long series of failures over the years, highlighting multiple violations linked to the use of China Union Pay cards. She said more than 1,300 VIP guests used the cards in almost 2,000 transactions from 2013 to March 2020, despite the practice being prohibited by the card operator.
Shap also accused the casino operator of not being transparent and of repeatedly violating the Casino Control Law by letting high rollers use Chinese debit cards to get cash to play. The inquiry had heard that around AU$900m was processed on the CUP cards before CUP terminals in Star venues were disabled in 2020.
Sharp has already said that Star Entertainment Group is not suitable to hold a casino licence in Sydney as it displayed unethical behaviour within its legal team and engaged in dubious practices. She said that Adam Bell SC, who is leading the investigation, should note that Star has maintained a “continuing lack of transparency in its dealings with the regulator”, including with Bell.
She said Star’s use of the CUP process is a good example of employees “appreciating that there was a serious risk and courting that risk”.
The counsel assisting the New South Wales inquiry also noted that The Star continued to work closely with Suncity despite a 2019 report on illegal activities and a 2018 report that raised suspicions about including suspicions about Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, the founder of Suncity who was arrested on cross-border gambling and money laundering accusations in November 2021. Sharp said The Star did not act properly and continued to work with him despite the claims.
