Key Points
- The Queensland Government has pushed back the planned 90-day licence suspension for The Star Gold Coast to 31 March 2027, allowing the casino to stay open for a bit longer.
- A fortnight ago Nicholas Weeks was reportedly thinking of ditching the suspension altogether, but he changed his mind after the media really started digging into the casino.
- While the $260 million fine is adding a whole lot of pressure on The Star, it hasn’t got a bearing on the question of the licence.
The Queensland government has, yet again, delayed the commencement date for the 90-day suspension of The Star Gold Coast’s license. This was delayed to March 2027. The casino is allowed to continue operating since the suspension is just an extension and not cancellation of the license. It was originally due to kick in on the 30th of September, but now the earliest it will start is next March, and special manager Nicholas Weeks still gets to stay in his job until that date.
A Suspension Date That Keeps Slipping
First off Queensland found that The Star wasn’t good enough to hold a casino licence all the way back in October 2022. That led to some disciplinary action on the 9th of December that year which included a $100 million fine, the appointment of Weeks as a special manager, and a 90-day licence suspension. But then Queensland went and postponed the suspension until the first of December 2023.
Since then the suspension has been delayed six more times, which basically means the original punishment has never actually kicked in. During that time though Queensland has given the all-clear for a plan designed to sort out the casino’s governance, financial crime concerns, safer gambling, tech stuff and risk management.
The Star Brisbane’s licence is still good, but it has to follow the same plan as The Star Gold Coast. Weeks’s role as special manager is now set to run until 31st of March 2027, which is the same date as the licence suspension. That would end up being over four years in the role, which is a lot longer than the original 12 months that were intended.
Attorney General Deb Frecklington said the latest extension would give The Star even more time to show it is really making a go of the key commitments it made to fix the casino. She also warned that if The Star has any issues with hitting its targets, then Queensland will jump into action right away.
Just last September, the acting Attorney General Jarrod Bleijie made a similar warning, saying that the delay was no guarantee against taking swift action if things don’t go to plan. A year earlier Queensland said they were worried about The Star’s financial struggles and how that might have been slowing things down, but this latest round of concerns is all about governance.
Last Year Queensland put the focus on the casino’s “recent financial struggles” when explaining why they were being slow about this, but this time around it’s all about the casino’s governance, or rather the lack of it.
Reports Behind The Decision
According to the Queensland Report Index, there are two reports – a report from a special manager on 25 August 2026 and an additional report on 2 September. The government has redacted parts of both reports in order to protect any commercial information and regulatory process.
It is noted in The Australian Financial Review that the first report outlined a “credible case” for restoring control to The Star. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that according to the first report there was found “a credible basis to rescind the deferred suspension”.
The situation developed between the publication of these reports. A joint investigation conducted by media companies made accusations against governance at The Star based on testimonies of eight people who remained anonymous. Bruce Mathieson Jr, chief executive of The Star, called the investigation “selective reporting”.
Weeks commented on the reports in his additional report noting that the articles mentioned above “increase the uncertainty around some of those questions”. Still, he clearly stated that the information he has access to “does not establish” the allegations. These are still allegations rather than established facts.
As far as Weeks is concerned, the reaction of The Star will be crucial. As he noted, “it will be instructive to see whether the management looked into the substance of the allegations”. Otherwise, “a grievance about the reporting” will raise “different questions”.
An Imposition from the Federal Government Rather Than Queensland’s
In addition to the mounting pressures facing The Star, there is also another major penalty that comes from the federal government. Based on the official penalty notice from AUSTRAC, the Federal Court imposed a penalty of AU$260 million on 28 October for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) violations concerning the New South Wales and Queensland operations of The Star.
Reports separate the penalty into AU195 million for The Star Sydney and AU 65 million for The Star Queensland.
It was found that The Star did not have an adequate AML/CTF program in place between November 2016 and November 2022. In addition, it was found that more than 1,200 customers engaged in gambling through high-risk channels without adequate protections.
Junket revenues exceeded AU1.4 billion, while pre-Covid junket profits exceeded AU100 million. According to Justice Moore, “the figure demonstrates the potential for deriving profits from non-compliance with AML/CTF obligations.” But it should be noted that, in the judgment, the figures are “not a measure of the benefit gained from the contraventions.”
The CEO of AUSTRAC Brendan Thomas said, “We do not condone the prioritising of profits over obligations to the Australian community.”
While the regulator was asking for AU400 million, the court imposed a smaller fine. When making the decision, Justice Moore took into account the AU200 million already paid and previous suspensions and external management.
This is a federal penalty and not a licensing sanction from Queensland. Therefore, it cannot determine what will happen on 31 March 2027. But financial crime is one of the topics covered by the Queensland remediation plan.
Sydney is a Case Apart
The Star Sydney was suspended in October 2022 during the first Bell inquiry. The Bell inquiry characterised the company’s activities as “a case study in unethical behaviour and cultural failure”.
A day later, NSW extended the appointment of Weeks as the manager of The Star Sydney till 30 June 2027. The licence of The Star Sydney is still suspended; however, it is still working as a gaming facility under Weeks’s management. Queensland’s story, on the other hand, is that the suspension has not been implemented yet.
Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford stated that recent allegations of governance, leadership, and culture are significant and taken as such. He also added that the parent company issues “impact on each and every one of its properties”.
According to Crawford, The Star and the parent company should show that they learned from past mistakes. Another issue is whether the parent company will be able to manage the remediation process along with the key leadership positions vacancies.
The commission could remove the suspension at any point in time when the remediation process becomes “properly integrated into the business”.
What Visitors and Gamblers Need to Know
This announcement introduced no new restrictions on entrance, games, and customer accounts. It also does not affect the gambling regulations in Australia since the decision concerns the land-based casino in Queensland.
In addition, The Star’s ASX filing requested an extension of the appointment of the Brisbane external advisor till 31 March 2027.
Expert Analysis: Is a Deferral a Sanction?
We believe that a suspension which has been deferred for six times already has lost its effectiveness. The criterion for judging this is very simple: despite the almost four-year delay, the sanction did not affect the casino even for one day from its licence.
We believe that this series of events does pose a fair question. Does it mean that media investigation must lead the regulator to revise his decision? We do not say that Weeks had done something wrong. But an independent manager must review his decision based on new evidence. As a first step in the response, we have an assessment of Mathieson Jr that calls it “selective reporting”.
At the same time, those who support delay have a valid reason as well. Frecklington recognised “the work of The Star to date”. A more severe approach involves certain risks, as a direct suspension may cause damage to the business which according to Queensland makes some progress. Remediation takes time, although a recent decision of the federal court shows how serious the previous problems of the company were.
On 31 March 2027, Queensland can choose between three options: to impose the suspension, defer it again, or to revoke it. Our advice is that before this moment Queensland should clearly formulate milestones and consequences.
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