New South Wales casino regulator slaps beleaguered company with suspending Star Entertainment’s Sydney casino gaming license, imposing record $100 million fine for non-compliance Did.
Philip Crawford, chief commissioner of the Independent Casino Commission, said Monday that entertainment venues in Pyrmont can continue to operate without games and announced hefty fines.
“We fined The Star $100 million and second, decided to suspend Star’s casino license.
The suspension is effective from 9:00 am on Friday.
Crawford said it was the first time in NSW’s history that a casino shutdown had been imposed.
“A significant step has been taken,” he said.
“It sends a real message to the industry that gambling in this country is not illegal, but it must be done according to certain rules.”
Why was my star license suspended?
An investigation by Adam Bell SC found The Star ineligible to hold a casino license after a series of non-compliances were identified.
These included junket operators linked to notorious gangs operating illegal cages in casinos.
The commissioner said it was difficult to quantify how much money was laundered through Salon 95, the star’s high-roller room, citing around $900 million laundered through China Credit Union payments as a serious drawback. mentioned as
He said he was not satisfied with Starr’s reform plan, so he was given harsh penalties.
The New South Wales Legislature passed legislation last month raising the fine limit from $1 million to $100 million.
“The restoration plan contained in Starr’s submission wouldn’t have made much sense without the leadership of a competent and experienced CEO,” Crawford said.
“Star’s new CEO, Robbie Cook, will take over at Star today. He presents us as someone who is absolutely capable of providing the strong leadership needed at Star.”
But an urgent “root-cause analysis” was needed before any serious discussion to get the license back could begin, Crawford said.
“The social contract was broken very badly..and now they (the stars)..restore that trust..” he said.
“Without leadership, this restoration plan probably won’t help.”
Appointment of new manager
Nick Weeks of Wexted Advisors has been appointed manager to ensure that “Star Casino will remain open and all staff will remain employed.”
Without the appointment of a manager, thousands of star employees would have lost their jobs overnight.
“At this time, the committee did not believe that this would be in the public interest,” Crawford said.
“Star Casino probably has about 10,000 employees, and many of them rely on their income to pay their mortgages and raise their children.”
The manager’s initial stay is 90 days and can be extended.
Net profits from gambling are transferred to staff to help keep operations running.
“We’re not setting up this manager on the assumption that we’re likely to fail,” Crawford said. “We want to succeed.”
Prior to the commission’s decision, Cook had vowed to rebuild the gambling and entertainment company.
“We need to put compliance at the top of our list so we can protect shareholder value,” he told AAP last week.
“There are certainly some challenges in business,” he said.
Under his leadership, Cook made it clear that “compliance takes precedence over profit,” adding that “cultural change doesn’t happen overnight.”
“My main focus on addressing these issues is to rebuild trust in our regulators, our government partners, our 75,000 shareholders, our 8,000 team members, and our community at large. ‘s commitment.”
