The Star to face second NSW inquiry into Sydney casino

Star Entertainment Group will be subjected to a second inquiry in NSW as the regulator issues its latest blow to the embattled business just one day before its half-yearly results.

Adam Bell SC will investigate Star Sydney’s conduct since he issued his first damning report in 2022. The original Bell inquiry report found The Star was unsuitable to hold its casino licence, having found evidence of an extensive compliance breakdown that led to money laundering, criminal infiltration and large-scale fraud.

The inquiry will run for 15 weeks from Monday.

The NSW Independent Casino Commission then moved to suspend Star Sydney’s licence to operate and imposed a special manager for a period of 90 days. Special Manager Nicholas Weeks’ term has since been extended three times as the regulator has not yet been satisfied by the casino businesses remediation process, despite its 640-step plan.

The NSW Independent Casino Commission’s chief commissioner Phillip Crawford said in an interview on Monday morning he was not yet convinced Star Sydney has successfully changed its culture since its casino licence was stripped in October 2022.

“We do not take this decision lightly, but I’m not yet sure they have addressed the cultural reform Bell identified in his first report,” Crawford said.

The Star has replaced all of its board and the bulk of its leadership since damning inquiries into its operations in NSW and QLD.

“Bell Two will bring us back to the Bell Report and The Star’s efforts to regain its casino licence in the shadow of that report.”

The inquiry will run for 15 weeks from Monday, with the final report due on May 31.

Crawford said the regulator would assess four options upon receiving Bell’s new report which include; reappointWeeks as special manager and continue the licence suspension, retire the manager and close the business, cancel the license or– in the event it believes The Star may be suitable to regain its licence– impose an independent monitor.

“Hearings will be held in camera and the report will be released publicly in due course,” the regulator said.

“There is much at stake for The Star, so the NICC is giving the casino every chance it can to demonstrate whether it has the capacity and competence to achieve suitability,” Crawford said.

The Star has replaced its board and the bulk of its executive team since it was stripped of its NSW and QLD casino licences.

This masthead revealed last December the regulator was not satisfied with the group’s remediation process and did not believe it was ready to operate without the supervision of an independent manager. A spokesperson said at the time it had six months to prove it was able to operate independently or risk its doors closing.

Trading in Star shares was paused on Monday morning.

More to come

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