Star Sydney's Licence Suspended, Fined $100 Million

Gaming officials in New South Wales, Australia announced that they've indefinitely suspended the gaming licence of Star Entertainment Group, while also fining the operator $100 million AUD for an assortment of failings within the state.

The move comes a month after the company was found to be unsuitable to hold a gaming licence in the sate after an investigation found that Star had numerous social and anti-money laundering failings that ran back for years. The investigation found that the company was able to circumvent Chinese laws to prevent capital from leaving the country by misclassifying gambling spending as hotel expenses while also lying to banking institutions.

Star was also found to have allowed an entity with organized crime affiliations to conduct cage operations from within the casino.

The suspension will be effective from October 21st and will see the company forced to pay the huge fine and take action to fix its business practices. The company did face complete licence revocation, but NSW officials decided to go with the less severe suspension.

Star Sydney will continue to remain operational during the suspension, as they'll have a new casino manager that's approved by the NSW Independent Casino Commission. The NICC says that they'll closely monitor Star Sydney's operation and re-evaluate the company's suitability for a licence moving forward.

In regard to the changes, Star has asked the Australian Stock Exchange to halt trading of its shares while it undergoes the suspension and change of management.

Casino Listings News is following this story and will update readers as appropriate.