Australia’s Star faces likely withdrawal of casino license or $67 million fine for regulatory violations Reuters

(Reuters) – The casino commission in Australia’s largest state said on Friday it could revoke the license of Sydney-based Star Entertainment or fine it up to A$100 million ($67.2 million) after that an investigation found violations of anti-money laundering protocols.

The New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) served the casino giant with a disciplinary notice relating to four significant breaches detailed in a second report published on 30 August.

Star is currently “considering the matters raised in the announcement” and expects to respond to the regulator by September 27, the casino operator said in a separate statement.

“NICC has also requested information on the company’s current financial position and its proposed plans to address these issues on an ongoing basis.”

Earlier this year, the NICC launched a second investigation into Star over concerns that it did not sufficiently address its cultural failings after it was exposed for major failures to fight money laundering and terrorism in 2022.

The violations cited in the notice relate to “a cash fraud against Star, a failure to conduct wealth checks on hundreds of members flagged as high risk, and fraudulent guest welfare entries that put already vulnerable customers at greater risk of harm “. NICC said in a statement on Friday.

The regulator gave the company 14 days to respond to the show cause notice.

Star Entertainment’s license to operate its lucrative Sydney casino has already been suspended in October 2022 after an investigation found the company unfit to hold a license and ordered it to pay a $100 million fine.

The company’s shares were suspended from trading on September 2 by the Australian stock exchange operator after Star failed to file its annual report for the 2024 fiscal year by the required due date.

($1 = 1.4872 Australian dollars)