Star Entertainment’s licensing inquiry in Queensland has kicked off in Brisbane Magistrate Court, at the direction of former Appeal Court judge Robert Gotterson—the use of China UnionPay bank cards and the acceptance of gamblers excluded in other states are among the initial allegations.
The investigation will determine whether or not the company is suitable to hold a license for its Treasury Brisbane and Star Gold Coast casinos. Star’s Queen’s Wharf development, which is under construction, is not included in the proceedings.
The company is also currently under investigation for the same alleged practices in New South Wales (NSW), and the conclusion of that inquiry is expected to be delivered in the coming months.
Both Star and fellow operator Crown Resorts have been accused of allowing Chinese patrons to transfer funds via China UnionPay cards to hotel credit accounts, which were then exchanged for chips or gambling credit. The practice is prohibited by both countries.
Prosecutors allege that Star then further violated the law by attempting to disguise those transactions as room and entertainment charges in order to avoid suspicion from the National Australia Bank (NAB), which handles the company’s accounts. In all, Star is accused of disguising more than $50 million in such charges.
NAB officials said that they asked Star to verify the funds multiple times, and each time the company made no indication that the money was used for gambling purposes.
One of the other main points of concern for investigators has to do with Star’s acceptance of gamblers who had already been excluded from venues in other states such as Victoria and NSW. A large number of these patrons were considered to be “high-risk” due to possible connections with money laundering and organized crime.
Jonathan Horton QC, one of the prosecuting attorneys for the investigation, told the court: “There’s the issue of some persons being actively encouraged to come to Queensland and being given benefits to do so, even though—and this might be an understatement—red flags existed, which ought to have led to their exclusion, let alone not inducing the person to be here.”
Horton said that Star did implement an exclusion policy in 2019, but did not make it retrospective until May of 2022, after a lot of nagging from the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation, the state’s regulatory authority.
Various Star representatives, both former and current, are expected to be questioned as part of proceedings.
