Laying the foundations for a new casino regulator NSW Government

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Laying the foundations for a new casino regulator NSW Government

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Investigators found major failings in AML controls, VIP oversight, and corporate governance. The Star Sydney has remained under external supervision and government oversight — a status expected to continue through at least September 2025. Star Casino regulatory action in both NSW and Queensland was triggered by concurrent inquiries that exposed deep systemic failures. The findings were damning, and the penalties were substantial, though licence suspensions were repeatedly deferred to give the company time to remediate. With its $15M NICC fine instalment obligations, mounting legal costs, and a pending AUSTRAC penalty potentially reaching AU$400 million, the arithmetic was brutal. By the final quarter of 2024, the company was spending AU$107 million in a single three-month period while only holding AU$79 million in the bank. Mandatory carded play requirements, introduced as part of post-inquiry reforms, reduced the casino floor’s appeal to certain segments of players.
The practical advice for affected members was — and remains — to redeem rewards points as soon as practicable when a company is in financial distress, and to review communications from Star and Bally’s as the ownership transition bedded down. However, members were advised to stay alert to any changes in programme terms, as new ownership frequently triggers a review and redesign of loyalty structures. Most players exchange cash or EFTPOS payments for chips at the point of play, meaning there is generally little risk of a deposit balance being trapped in an insolvency event for the typical player. In Star’s case, because voluntary administration was ultimately avoided, employees were not required to access this scheme, and casino operations continued without interruption. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli made clear that the government’s priority was the thousands of workers at the Gold Coast and Queen’s Wharf, not the company’s shareholders or executive structure.
Work then started to redesign the regulatory structure of NSW casinos, with a view to introducing legislative changes to parliament in mid-2022. In August 2021 the Government agreed to support all 19 recommendations from the Bergin Inquiry Report on the regulation of casinos in NSW and the suitability of Crown Resorts to hold a restricted gaming licence. Both came through bruising regulatory inquiries; both now operate under enhanced compliance regimes. Australia’s metro payid casinos online are run by two operators. The minimum legal age for all forms of regulated gambling in Queensland, including casinos, electronic gaming machines (‘pokies’), lotteries, and sports betting, is 18 years old. For recreational players, winnings from lotteries, sports betting, or casino games are considered the result of luck and are not subject to income tax in Australia. The rules operators must follow are on the operator page.
Throughout the process, independent external managers appointed by NSW and Queensland regulators — principally Nicholas Weeks — continued to oversee casino-level operations, ensuring regulatory continuity even as the corporate structure was in flux. Each enforcement action brought fresh expenses — external managers, legal teams, remediation programmes, and regulatory fines all had to be funded from an operating business that was simultaneously seeing its revenue decline. For players, this should mean operational continuity, though the company’s ongoing regulatory obligations in NSW and Queensland — and the pending AUSTRAC penalty decision — mean the path to full stability is not yet complete. During the crisis, Star continued to honour existing redemptions, and the programme remained active through the transition to Bally’s ownership. The NICC appointed external manager Nicholas Weeks to oversee operations while Star worked toward suitability.
This is prohibited by the federal Interactive Gambling Act 2001, and these sites offer no consumer protection. What you can expect from a licensed site’s offers in Queensland. Verify with the local regulator and your ad-platform account manager before launching. Programmatic networks must enforce distance buffers around school properties and youth centers. Commercial runs are legal but heavily restricted by ACMA standards. Native architectures must integrate robust geo-tracking software to respect federal land exclusions. Unlicensed sites may take deposits but offer no consumer protection if a payout dispute arises.
The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority has approved funds manager Blackstone’s suitability to hold a casino licence in NSW, paving the way for the company to become the operator of Crown Sydney casino. All jersey sponsorships, stadium signage, and field-of-play logo placements for wagering operators are completely illegal under national reforms. Existing points could still be redeemed, though members were advised to stay alert to any programme changes as the new ownership restructures the business. Operations continued under an external manager appointed by the NSW Independent Casino Commission. The cost of remediation, legal defence, and regulatory penalties then piled onto an already challenged business.
Both states maintained regulatory oversight rather than forcing immediate closure. In Queensland, Star was fined AU$100 million and faced a 90-day licence suspension that was repeatedly deferred pending remediation. In NSW, The Star Sydney’s licence was suspended following both the 2022 and 2024 Bell Inquiry findings of unsuitability. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) actively blocks unlicensed offshore casino sites. It is important to note that under Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001, offshore online casino sites are prohibited from offering services to Australian residents.
Throughout the period of financial uncertainty, one of the consistent messages from both the Queensland and NSW governments was that frontline jobs would be protected regardless of the corporate outcome. Star’s cost-reduction programme targeted at least AU$100 million in annual savings, achieved partly through layoffs, the closure of Treasury Brisbane, and the shuttering of corporate office functions in Brisbane. At its peak, Star Entertainment Group operated three major casino properties across Australia and was valued as a significant ASX-listed company.