{"id":33442,"date":"2022-09-13T02:36:22","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T05:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=33442"},"modified":"2026-04-23T04:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T07:59:07","slug":"the-star-entertainment-found-unsuitable-to-hold-sydney-casino-licence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/the-star-entertainment-found-unsuitable-to-hold-sydney-casino-licence","title":{"rendered":"The Star Entertainment found unsuitable to hold Sydney casino licence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Star Entertainment Group has 14 days to respond to the inquiry&#8217;s findings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Australia.- Adam Bell SC&#8217;s report into The Star Entertainment has concluded that the operator is\u00a0not suitable to operate casinos in New South Wales. <strong>Philip Crawford<\/strong>, chief commissioner of the Independent Casino Commission, said Star had been issued with a show cause notice and had 14 days to respond before he takes a decision based on the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said: \u201cNot only were huge amounts of money disguised by the casino as hotel expenses, but vast sums of cash evaded anti-money laundering protocols in numerous situations, most alarmingly through Salon 95 \u2013 the secret room with a second cash cage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are in the process of taking stock of the report\u2019s content.\u00a0<strong>There are a range of implications\u00a0<\/strong>across 30 recommendations that need to be worked through. Once we have given The Star the opportunity to respond to the notice, we will be in a position to determine an appropriate disciplinary approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe NSW Government\u2019s&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philip-crawford-named-to-lead-the-nsw-independent-casino-commission\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent reforms<\/a>&nbsp;have enhanced the regulatory apparatus with which to act on Bell\u2019s report and our options include loss of licence, suspension, monetary penalties, and\/or appointment of a manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe NICC has all the tools it needs at its disposal to respond to Bell\u2019s recommendations, and we will develop an approach that is proportionate to the seriousness of the report.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NICC reported that it is considering pursuing one or more of the following actions in relation to the Star&#8217;s casino licence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>the cancellation or suspension of the licence,<\/li><li>the imposition on the casino operator of a pecuniary penalty of up to $100m,<\/li><li>the amendment of the terms or conditions of the licence (other than under section 22),<\/li><li>a requirement that a casino operator, or a close associate of a casino operator, give an undertaking (an enforceable undertaking) to do or refrain from doing something,<\/li><li>the issue of a letter of censure to the casino operator.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The NICC said that in the event that it decides to cancel or suspend The Star&#8217;s casino licence,\u00a0<strong>it may consider appointing a manager<\/strong>. The Star said it is considering the report and intends to respond within 14 days.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In March,&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/crown-perth-found-unsuitable-but-will-keep-its-licence\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Crown Resorts was also deemed unsuitable<\/a><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>to hold a licence for its Perth casino. However, the company kept its licence under stricter conditions with the appointment of a special manager.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Star Entertainment Group has 14 days to respond to the inquiry&#8217;s findings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":21186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Star Entertainment Group has been deemed unsuitable to hold a casino licence in New South Wales following Adam Bell SC's inquiry, citing significant anti-money laundering failures and disguised transactions. The Independent Casino Commission (NICC) has issued a show cause notice, giving Star 14 days to respond before determining disciplinary actions, which could include licence suspension, cancellation, or a pecuniary penalty up to $100 million. This development underscores heightened regulatory scrutiny within the Australian gaming sector, mirroring previous actions against Crown Resorts.","focusai_entities":"The Star Entertainment Group, Adam Bell SC, Philip Crawford, Independent Casino Commission (NICC), Crown Resorts","focusai_location":"Australia, New South Wales, Perth","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (1.0), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Star's Response Strategy?","query":"What specific remediation actions and governance enhancements is The Star Entertainment Group likely to propose in its 14-day response to the NICC to mitigate the risk of licence cancellation or suspension?"},{"label":"Regulatory Precedent Impact?","query":"How might the NICC's final decision on The Star, particularly regarding the appointment of a manager or licence conditions, establish a new regulatory precedent for other casino operators in Australia and potentially influence global governance frameworks?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,154,158],"tags":[23871],"class_list":["post-33442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-legislation-news","category-slider-home","tag-the-star-entertainment-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33442"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33474,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33442\/revisions\/33474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}