Australia casino operator Star found unfit for Queensland licence

China Star Entertainment

06/10/2022 03:08

By Byron Kaye
       SYDNEY, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Australia's Queensland state
declared casino operator Star Entertainment Ltd  SGR.AX 
unsuitable for a gambling licence on Thursday after an inquiry
found it concealed illegal Chinese wagering payments and lured
problem gamblers from interstate.
    The ruling completes a regulatory sweep of Australia's
casino sector. Since 2021, both Star and larger rival Crown
Resorts, recently bought by Blackstone Inc  BX.N , have been
deemed unfit for a gambling licence in every state in which they
operate, although neither company has so far been prohibited
from operating in any jurisdiction.
    For Star, the Queensland finding is especially bruising
because the company has staked its future on a A$3.6 billion
($2.3 billion) casino development in state capital Brisbane,
which is set to open in 2023. The company faced a similar
finding in Sydney last month.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N30K015
    "Star embarked on a program of literally having a one-eyed
focus on profit," Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman
told reporters, adding she would prepare a "show cause" notice,
forcing Star to justify why it should be allowed to keep its
licence.
    "It is open to the government to cancel their licence,"
Fentiman said.
    The inquiry found the company had a culture of "not being
truthful with the regulator, not taking their responsibilities
around gambling harm and money laundering as seriously as they
should," she said.
    Star said in a statement it was considering the Queensland
report and would continue to cooperate with the gambling
regulator. Its shares were little changed on Thursday, but have
fallen 44% over the past year since media began reporting on
governance concerns about the company.
    In two of the three other states where the government has
found the operator of an established casino unfit for a licence,
it has allowed the company to keep taking bets under
supervision. The third, home to Star's Sydney casino, is yet to
make a decision.
    The Queensland inquiry found Star concealed A$55 million in
gambling payments by Chinese nationals by characterising them as
hotel fees, breaching Chinese gambling restrictions and
"deliberately misleading" Star's bank, National Australia Bank
Ltd  NAB.AX .
    Star also actively encouraged gamblers who had been excluded
from casinos in other Australian states to visit its premises in
Queensland, the inquiry found.
    ($1 = 1.5356 Australian dollars)
 (Reporting by Byron Kaye; editing by Richard Pullin)
 ((byron.kaye@thomsonreuters.com; +612 9171 7541; @byronkaye;))