Star Entertainment Fined A$260 Million by Australian Court
Key Facts
On 28 October 2026, the Federal Court of Australia ordered Star Entertainment Group to pay a fine of A$260 million after finding breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, according to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. The company said it accepted the ruling and would pay the amount in 4 instalments over 19 months. The ruling followed failures that the court said involved the compliance programme and customer monitoring, rather than simply a settlement agreed by the company. The breaches related to the group’s casinos and its ability to identify and manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks. The fine reflects the scale of a case involving breaches that, as addressed by the court, spanned November 2016 to November 2022.
The court divided the fine between two group subsidiaries: A$195 million for The Star in Sydney and A$65 million for The Star Entertainment in Queensland, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s account of the ruling. The total amount is payable in 4 instalments over 19 months, the report said. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre said the deficiencies included failing to verify customer details and the sources of their funds, and failing to conduct appropriate due diligence or monitor their activity. The court found that more than 1,200 high-risk customers were able to gamble through channels exposed to money laundering and terrorism financing risks. The centre’s chief executive said the company had allowed high-risk customers to gamble without properly verifying the source of their funds and had "put profit ahead of compliance on a widespread basis".
The group generated about A$1.33 billion in revenue from high-risk customers between November 2016 and November 2022, according to the centre, based on the company’s own calculation. The court estimated that revenue from organised gambling tour programmes exceeded A$1.4 billion, with profits of more than A$100 million in the pre-Covid years. These figures show the financial activity surrounding part of the breaches, while the ruling addressed failures in customer verification and monitoring. The company also said the current management and ownership were not involved in the conduct that led to the proceedings. Its chairman, Soo Kim, added that the group looked forward to demonstrating that it had the leadership, internal culture and processes needed to prevent a recurrence.
Star said the fine was materially in line with the provision recorded in its 2026 financial statements and that the court-ordered payments were not expected to affect its ability to continue operating. The company made that assessment alongside its acceptance of the ruling and the payment schedule. In its quarterly report, it said cash and cash equivalents stood at A$239 million on 30 September 2026, compared with A$267 million on 30 June. It also said the quarter ended in September had positive underlying free operating cash flow after excluding one-off items. The company expects fiscal 2027 to be its first year in more than two years to deliver positive annual net operating cash flow before those items.
The ruling comes as the group’s Star Sydney casino licence remains suspended, according to its quarterly report. The appointment of the casino’s manager currently runs through 30 June 2027, unless the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission ends the appointment earlier. The company had previously been fined A$200 million for conduct that overlapped substantially with the current case, according to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. Its casino licences were also suspended, and it was placed under management. These earlier measures put the new ruling within a broader regulatory and legal process facing the group.
Star said the terms of the fine constitute a review event under its credit facility agreement with White Hawk, and that it was in contact with the lender and confident the facility would remain available. In its announcement, the company did not describe the ruling as a source of regulatory certainty, instead linking the matter to a review of the financing agreement. In trading, the group’s shares closed 13% higher on 27 October, before the ruling, after the company returned to profitability for the first time in about a year, according to a Reuters report. The share move came in the session before the fine was announced and therefore does not reflect the market’s response to the ruling issued the following day. The availability of the credit facility and developments in oversight of the Sydney casino remain matters tied to the group’s position, with instalments continuing over 19 months.