On March 17, a closed-door inquiry into operations at Star Sydney went public. The review, which has the power and authority of Australian state royal commissions, “will consider how effectively the Star is complying with its statutory obligations and whether it remains suitable to hold a casino license,” said New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority Chairman Philip Crawford.
Adam Bell SC will conduct the hearings, which will include witness testimony, according to a press release from the New South Wales (NSW) government. The scope of the review will examine “to what extent the casino is free from the infiltration of criminal interests such as money laundering and how well it is administering its obligations to minimize gaming harms,” Crawford said. “The Star is responsible for ensuring adequate anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems are in place and for thoroughly vetting and managing relationships with close associates, junket partners and high rollers.”
The findings will be released in June, when “appropriate recommendations for remedial action” will be made, if necessary.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, Bell was a key figure in the Bergin Inquiry in Sydney into Crown Resorts, which ultimately found that company unsuitable to hold a gaming license for its new property in Sydney’s Barangaroo district, and led to probes of Crown operations in Victoria and Western Australia.
The Star investigation followed a review of Australia’s second largest gaming concern by The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes, the same news outlets that uncovered similar compliance lapses at Crown.
Local media report that billionaire and high roller Dong Fang Lee will be called to the stand in the hearings. Lee is alleged to have used Star’s China Union Pay card system to move “millions” from China to Australia in 2014 and 2015. Two former Star executives, Paul McWilliams and Tarnya O’Neil may also testify. In 2018, they commissioned the internal audit that concluded the Star was failing to combat money laundering at its casinos.
“We have every confidence that the review will thoroughly investigate the Star’s current operations, compliance with its statutory obligations, and make appropriate recommendations for remedial action if necessary,” Crawford said.
In more positive news, Star Entertainment CEO John O’Neill said visitors to its three properties at Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney “are spending more money. The average spend is up substantially. There’s maybe a gap between the haves and the have-nots, but the disposable income of those going out is substantially up.”
Domestic revenues at Star Sydney were up 28 percent from the prior-year period, and were approaching pre-Covid levels in November and December, particularly in mass revenues. In Gold Coast, domestic revenue was up 6 percent from the prior-year, and non-gaming revenue was up 35 percent despite the shutdowns and operating restrictions upon reopening.
In related news, Australia’s gaming industry regulators, lawyers and operators have called for a more “harmonized approach” to gaming regulation. At the Regulating the Game 2022 conference, participants called for consistently across different regulating bodies, jurisdictions, and industry sectors.
“One of the challenges we at Crown are facing, and that I think many of the other industry players will face in the not too distant future, is that the approach by jurisdictions is different,” said Crown Chief Risk Officer Steve Blackburn. “And I’m certainly not the first you will hear say that harmonization is necessary. … We need to start with an understanding that the challenges in these spaces do not change because of some arbitrary line in the center of the millibar or along the Murray River. They simply don’t change. They are the same problems in each jurisdiction.”
