The Star Casino Under Investigation In New South Wales

The Star Entertainment Group, one of the biggest hotel and casino operators in Australia, is in trouble in New South Wales as the local authority has decided to investigate The Star Casino in Sydney.

The New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority has announced it launched the investigation into The Star Casino after concerns were raised about the operator’s dealings with junkets and failings regarding money laundering prevention measures.

The investigation will focus on examining The Star’s compliance to the Casino Control Act of 1992 and the Casino Control Regulation of 2019. Moreover, the investigators will look into anything regarding licensing compliance and legal agreements between The Star Entertainment and the New South Wales Authority.

The New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority has received evidence from The Star on August 4, 2020, just before the famous Bergin Inquiry into Cron Resorts, the biggest rival operator in Australia. That evidence revealed that The Star was working with junket operators and continued to do so despite the fact that Crown had been ordered to stop working with these businesses through the inquiry.

In May 2021, the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority found out that The Star had continued their junket dealings until at least October 2020.

The Authority will be looking to cover several areas in the investigation, including The Star’s bank account management and the implementation of effective anti-money laundering procedures.

Moreover, the investigation will look into deposits from overseas and from VIP customers, along with examining the proper maintenance of transaction receipts and methods of withdrawing credits from the casino’s bank accounts.

The investigation launched by the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority will also cover staff responsibilities within the casino to study the company’s core values and eventually uncover any money lending or loan sharking that might take place, along with examining the management of VIP and international clients.

Last but not least, the investigation will check the security measures that are in force at the casino, its surveillance facilities will be under scrutiny, along with facial recognition technology and how exclusion orders are put into practice.

The investigation is similar to the one that was launched last year to assess Crown Resorts’ suitability to operate a casino at Barangaroo in Central Sydney. That probe uncovered money laundering practices and organised crime at Crown Melbourne and the operator’s Sydney license was suspended.

SOURCE: . Inside Asian Gaming. September 14, 2021.