Star Entertainment has been slapped with a 100-million dollar fine for a second time and is now on a deadline to “get its house in order”.
Although the Queensland government threatened to cancel Star’s licences in Brisbane and Gold Coast, it instead imposed a $100 million fine and required an impartial manager to oversee its activities. Following two independent investigations that were initiated by a 2021 investigation by this masthead that discovered the company had permitted significant alleged criminal conduct, it was determined that the corporation was ineligible to hold its three casino licences throughout NSW and Queensland.
Shannon Fentiman, the attorney general, told reporters on Friday that the government was making it quite clear that illegal and criminal activity will not be accepted in Queensland casinos. Fentiman said that the government will postpone any licence suspension along with the fee, which matched the amount NSW regulators fined the corporation and was only made feasible by last-minute modifications to state rules.
After serious failings, we are taking disciplinary action against The Star.
This includes penalties and fines totalling $100 million, a deferred 90-day suspension of their casino licences & a special manager to oversee and direct their operations.
— Shannon Fentiman (@ShannonFentiman) December 9, 2022
Essentially, this implies that if Star wants to avoid having their licence suspended for 90 days, they have 12 months to get their act together, Fentiman added.
The 90-day suspension was immediately put into effect in NSW.
