The Star warns AUSTRAC fine could force it into administration
It wants to pay a quarter of the amount that the watchdog is seeking.
Australia.- The Star Entertainment Group has reportedly claimed that a fine of over AU$100m ($65.22m) from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) would lead the casino operator to bankruptcy. The financial watchdog is seeking an AU$400m (US$260.88m) fine.
According to the Canberra Times, The Star’s lawyer, Steven Finch SC, said during a hearing that an AU$100m fine would be reasonable as “That amount … is all the money that we have and reasonably anticipate being able to borrow, hoping but not certain that we will be able to survive that.”
Finch argued that a fine smaller than that amount would still have a deterant effect on other businesses. He told justice Cameron Moore: “If you engage in this sort of conduct … you are open to being fined every dollar that you’ve got and every dollar you can borrow.”
Bally’s Corporation and Investment Holdings Pty are expected to invest AU$300m (US$176m) into The Star in exchange for a majority share of the company. AUSTRAC highlighted this is its closing submissions to the Federal Court.
Crown Resorts recently agreed to pay an AU$450m fine for money-laundering breaches, and AUSTRAC’s barrister, Simon White SC, said this could be a benchmark for what The Star might pay. He said The Star’s conduct was worse than Crown’s and that The Star’s management had continued working with high-risk gamblers even after the public inquiry into the latter. He reported that about AU$138bn was made through junkets and AU$20bn from high-risk customers.
For the third quarter of the financial year 2025, The Star reported net revenue of AU$271m (US$173.8m). That’s a decrease of 9 per cent sequentially and 35.35 per cent in year-on-year terms. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were negative AU$21m (US$13.4m) compared to negative AU$8m (US$5.1m) in the previous quarter. The company said the results reflect “a seasonal softening in revenues, reduced levels of gaming visitation and the one-off impact of adverse weather events driving property closures in Queensland in March.”
