Star Entertainment Group
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The Star Entertainment Group Limited is an Australian
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
and entertainment company. The company was formerly known as Echo Entertainment. Star is Australia's biggest listed
casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
group. Following a
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
scandal and 3 years of massive losses, it was seeing massive slumps in it share price with fears that it will go into voluntary administration and/or be forced to close or sell off its assets. On 3 March 2025, ASX suspended the company from trading for contravening listing rules by not lodging its half-yearly report, making the second trading halt in a week, as the company tried to find or complete a refinancing deal to ensure it could continue as a
going concern A going concern is an accounting term for a business that is assumed will meet its financial obligations when they become due. It functions without the threat of liquidation for the foreseeable future, which is usually regarded as at least the n ...
. On 7 April 2025, Star Entertainment Group and
Bally's Corporation Bally's Corporation is an American gambling, betting, and interactive entertainment company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. In the US it operates 19 casinos across 11 states, a horse track in Colorado, a golf course in New York, and ...
reached an agreement where Bally's would acquire a 56.7% controlling stake in the company.


Properties

The Star Entertainment owns and operates three properties: The Star Brisbane,
The Star Gold Coast The Star Gold Coast (formerly Jupiters Hotel and Casino) is an integrated resort located in the suburb of Broadbeach, Queensland, Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. The casino, which was Queensland's ...
and
The Star, Sydney The Star Sydney (formerly Star City Casino and prior to that, Sydney Harbour Casino) in Pyrmont, New South Wales, Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia after Melbourne's Crown Melbourne, Crown Casino. Overlooking Darling Ha ...
.http://www.smh.com.au/business/echo-entertainment-groups-star-performer-set-for-makeover-20150204-135gua.html Star Entertainment holds two out of Queensland's four casino operation licenses. The group also manages the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on behalf of the Queensland Government. Star owned a 50% stake in the Sheraton Mirage resort on the
Southport Spit The Southport Spit (officially known as The Spit) is a Spit (landform), spit and neighbourhood within the northern end of Main Beach, Queensland, Main Beach, City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is a permanent sand spit that separates ...
, that it sold in 2023 for $192 million. File:The Star Casino front.jpg,
The Star, Sydney The Star Sydney (formerly Star City Casino and prior to that, Sydney Harbour Casino) in Pyrmont, New South Wales, Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia after Melbourne's Crown Melbourne, Crown Casino. Overlooking Darling Ha ...
File:Queens Wharf Brisbane 1.jpg, Queen's Wharf, Brisbane File:Bird's eye view of Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast.jpg, The Star, Gold Coast


Queen's Wharf Brisbane

The
Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...
announced on 20 July 2015 that Echo Entertainment as 50%
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
partner of the Destination Brisbane Consortium was the preferred tenderer for Queen's Wharf, Brisbane, beating rival Crown Resorts. Echo has two Hong Kong–based joint venture partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium. The two joint venture partners will each contribute 25% of the capital to develop the integrated resort and will also jointly pay for the apartment and broader Queen's Wharf developments. Prior to the Bally’s deal, Star Entertainment was initially looking to sell its stake in the property to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium as part of a deal to keep Star Entertainment afloat.


Controversies

In 2021 a joint report by the Sydney Morning Herald the Age, and the television program
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
, found that Star management had been warned that its anti-money laundering controls were inadequate and that between 2014 and 2021 Star had attempted to recruit high rollers who were allegedly linked to criminal or foreign-influence activities. In response to the report Star stated that it was "concerned by a number of assertions within the media reports that it considers misleading." And also stated that it would take steps to address the allegations with Australian authorities. Following the report shareholders began forming a class action lawsuit against Star and inquiries were launched by Queensland's, Western Australia's, Victoria's, and New South Wales's state gaming regulators. On 13 September 2022 the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) published a report finding The Star unsuitable to hold its Sydney casino license because of its conduct relating to
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
risks. It had 14 days to respond. The company was fined A$100m ($62m) as a result. Star's gambling license was suspended and operations were placed under a new manager Nicholas Weeks. In late 2022, the Queensland Government also found Star unsuitable to hold its dual state casino licences. Former Court of Appeal Judge Robert Gotterson conducted an independent review of the matter. Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman found Star misled regulators and failed in its anti-money laundering duties. The company has been served a statement of claim for a securities class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The class action alleges that Star breached disclosure obligations and acted against the best interests of the shareholders. Star was fined $100 million on 9 December 2022. Casino licences for the Treasury Brisbane and the Star Gold Coast will be suspended for 90 days, with this action deferred until December 1, 2023. The deferment gives Star an opportunity to remediate its management and operations. In addition to these issues with their properties in Queensland, in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
The Star, Sydney The Star Sydney (formerly Star City Casino and prior to that, Sydney Harbour Casino) in Pyrmont, New South Wales, Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia after Melbourne's Crown Melbourne, Crown Casino. Overlooking Darling Ha ...
has been under government supervision. This will remain in effect through September 2025 at the earliest. In April 2024, the chair for The Star Star Entertainment Group Limited David Foster resigned from his post less than a week after giving evidence to the ongoing inquiry into the license suitability of the company's The Star Sydney property. Foster reportedly found his efforts increasingly frustrated by office politics and, in particular, the relationship between the company's Chief Executive Officer, Robbie Cooke, and the independent manager appointed to help implement an official state-mandated remediation plan, Nicholas Weeks. Foster's departure came after he told the official inquiry his company was currently unsuitable to operate a casino in New South Wales. There was ‘not a scenario’ in which it would be able to run the property unsupervised. He was additionally quizzed over a series of ‘heat of the moment’ texts with Cooke in which the pair allegedly discussed getting rid of Weeks by having shareholders launch a class-action lawsuit against the government-appointed manager. As of January 2025, AUSTRAC is currently calculating a fine for breaching
counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...
and anti-money laundering laws. The company has deposited $150 million for the fine, and it is reported that shareholder Bruce Mathieson is refusing to pour more money into the company until a fine is agreed upon. On 10 February 2025,
ASIC An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficien ...
is proceeding to sue the former board of the company in the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...
for failing to keep track of money laundering. It already settled with and withdrew CFO Harry Theodore on misleading the
National Australia Bank National Australia Bank Limited (abbreviated NAB, branded and stylised as nab) is one of the four largest Banking in Australia, financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "Big Four (banking), The Big Four") in terms of mar ...
on its ATMs being used to funnel the money, with the penalty yet to be calculated.


Losses

During the 2022-23 financial year Star lost $2.44 billion. In the 2023-24 financial year the company sustained losses of $1.69 billion. In the following years, the company has continued to struggle. There has been speculation that they could be acquired by a larger company or they could go into administration.


Takeover attempts & sale of assets

In May 2024, it was reported that multiple suitors were looking to acquire Star Entertainment and their assets. Hard Rock International was said to be weighing a bid for the struggling company, but they subsequently stated that they were not looking into acquiring Star Entertainment. On 29 January 2025, as part of possible sales of non-core assets of the company, the company announced it would sell The Star Sydney Event Centre and unspecified spaces within the complex to Foundation Theatres in order to raise $60 million. The sale of the Star Sydney Events Centre was complete in April of 2025. On 10 February 2025 Star announced it knocked back 'several' inquiries from prospective foreign investors for Queen's Warf, citing that they undervalued the asset, but is in talks with CTFE and FEC on whether to relinguish its stake in Queen's Warf. Later in February, it was reported that
Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...
was mulling an acquisition of Star Entertainment Group. Blackstone already is in the global casino business and owns Australian rival Crown Resorts so it may not go through on anti-competition concerns, though reports speculate authorities' stance may be soften in this special case. The group has particular interest in the company's gambling machine assets. It is also specualated Blackstone will only intervene ''if'' the company collapses. In order to attempt to keep Star afloat, the company attempted to sell its stake in The Star Brisbane. The company had also secured a $200 million loan. Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium would have assumed Star’s stake in The Star Brisbane and will also assume all debts incurred by the property. Chris Wallin was also planning to give Star Entertainment the $200 million loan which would have been intended to help keep the company solvent for the time being. On 7 March the company agreed to sell its stake in Queen’s Wharf for only $53m in installments, but the deal collapsed.


Acquisition by Bally’s Corporation

Bally's Corporation Bally's Corporation is an American gambling, betting, and interactive entertainment company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. In the US it operates 19 casinos across 11 states, a horse track in Colorado, a golf course in New York, and ...
emerged as a possible bidder for the company in February of 2025. It had been reported that they sent representatives to meet with Star officials in Australia. Bally’s does not run any properties outside of the US. In March of 2025,
Bally's Corporation Bally's Corporation is an American gambling, betting, and interactive entertainment company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. In the US it operates 19 casinos across 11 states, a horse track in Colorado, a golf course in New York, and ...
submitted a bid to rescue Star Entertainment. Ballys was offering $250 million for a 50.1% stake in the company. By April of 2025, Star was looking to Ballys to rescue the company. On 7 April 2025, Star Entertainment and Bally’s reached an agreement where Bally's will acquire a controlling 56.7% stake in the company, effectively rescuing Star Entertainment from collapse. The $180 million deal will allow Star to keep all three of their properties and will allow Bally's to expand outside of the US for the first time in the company’s history.


2025: Bankruptcy speculations

The share price saw a catastrophic 40% sell-off between 8 and 11 January 2025, becoming the worst performing business on the ASX, only selling for over a dime. This followed a release of a very bleak financial report over the previous quarter, particularly that it burned through $100 million in the quarter, and fears the company has a 50-50 chance of collapsing into voluntary administration by the end of February. Angus Hewitt, an equity analyst at
Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar, Inc. is an American financial services firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded by Joe Mansueto in 1984. It provides an array of investment research and investment management services. With operations in 29 countries, Mornin ...
, cites weak consumer sentiment and restrictions such as mandatory carded play as significant factors. There are also fears that its portfolio will be divested or shuttered, with the Queen's Wharf, Brisbane precinct opening just the previous August, as well as that the company collapsing will wipe out investors or workers. The
Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...
has said that it is in talks to support the South East
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
workers should something happen, but has ruled out intervening on the actual company. Two out of three Star properties operate in Queensland. The share price bumped up to $0.13 on 13 January after mystery speculators bought up shares of the company, amid an otherwise dismal day on the stock market after inflationary revelations. On 17 January as part of last minute negotiations with stakeholders to prevent collapse, the company has asked the NSW and Queensland Governments for tax breaks - which they have previously denied the company - and placed itself in safe harbour, a move that protects the directors from
insolvent trading A number of legal systems make provision for companies trading while insolvent to be unlawful in certain circumstances, and provide for directors to become personally liable for a company's debts if they have acted improperly. In most legal syste ...
whilst they grapple with refinancing the company without using an external administrator. By February of 2025, it was reported by
Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs fe ...
that Star Entertainment “could enter administration within a week”. The company has been unable to secure enough cash to offset it’s liquidity crisis. Ross Greenwood who is the business editor at Sky News reported “Sources close to the financially troubled Star Entertainment have revealed to us that the company could enter administration within a week as its cash reserves again run dry”. The company would need an immediate cash injection in order to remain solvent. Later that month Oaktree Capital Management offered a $650 million loan to help refinance the company's debt.


Trading halt

On 28 February 2025, Star Entertainment Group was forced into a brief trading halt "pending a further announcement", after not posting its overdue half-yearly financial results until it received "liquidity proposals hich are feasible indetermining whether the Company can continue as a going concern...and the ASX determines that the Company’s shares should be reinstated to quotation n Monday. On Monday 3 March, the company was placed into a compulsory second trading halt by the ASX after not posting its half-yearly earnings in the end, putting such deals in jeopardy as a result and thousands of jobs at risk as a collapse is potentially imminent. It reportedly has spent $50 million in a month over just $75 million cash at hand in the previous report. The company is reported to be waiting for access to proceeds from its asset sales, which are currently waiting for state approval, as well as a separate "
bridge loan A bridge loan is a type of short-term loan, typically taken out for a period of 2 weeks to 3 years pending the arrangement of larger or longer-term financing. It is usually called a bridging loan in the United Kingdom, also known as a "caveat loan ...
", before it can refinance itself. If it cannot get the funds, it will be forced into administration. With the company asking for financial support from the states, the states have reiterated their hesitancy to contribute, with NSW premier
Chris Minns Christopher John Minns (born 17 September 1979) is an Australian politician serving as the 47th and current premier of New South Wales since March 2023. He has been the leader of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) si ...
saying they are not using their taxpayer money on casinos rather than roads, EDs and schools. The company was at risk of entering administration in early March before securing a $200 million loan. The company was also able to sell Queen's Warf, receiving multi million dollar installments and fees to stave off administration, following conflicting reports of collapsed negotiations.


See also

* Gambling in Australia *
List of integrated resorts An integrated resort is a type of casino hotel that features hotel space, a casino, convention or meeting space, retail, dining and entertainment options. This article lists integrated resorts by their locations. Integrated resorts which are c ...
* List of casino hotels


References


External links

* {{hotel chains Gambling companies of Australia Holding companies of Australia Entertainment companies established in 2011 Holding companies established in 2011 Australian companies established in 2011 Gambling companies established in 2011 Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Companies based in Brisbane Hospitality companies of Australia