## Sydney Star Casino Report: “Gross negligence” for licensing regulations in Suncity gaming space –
An investigation by Bell Lawyers into widespread misbehavior at Star Sydney Casino has uncovered that the company’s dealings with troubled junket operator Suncity represent a “violation” of the Star’s casino permit, exposing a series of social responsibility shortcomings.
The claims focus on activities in a room within the casino known as “Salon 95”. In this room, the junket operator was granted the unusual privilege of operating a secondary cash cage where chips were exchanged for money, a function typically reserved for the casino license holder.
Suncity founder and CEO Alvin Chau was apprehended in November 2021 and charged with leading a “criminal syndicate”. This implies that Star Entertainment (licensed by pertinent authorities in New South Wales) may have relinquished control of the most sensitive aspects of casino operations to an organization potentially connected to organized crime, raising serious concerns about the casino’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing tactics and the level of criminal penetration.
There was a security camera within Salon 95, but it had a significant blind spot.
On the fifteenth of June, 2018, security camera recordings displayed a casino teller providing a substantial amount of money to a representative of a high-roller room who was not associated with the Star Entertainment Group.
The report indicated that concerning this event, “personnel at the Star’s Salon 95 appeared increasingly audacious in their disregard for the regulations the Star was endeavoring to enforce.”
This was not a singular occurrence. The report cited numerous instances where security camera recordings captured Star Entertainment Group workers participating in questionable conduct at Salon 95.
During the inquiry, Star’s regulatory affairs administrator, Graeme Stevens, conceded that he had “intentionally deceived” New South Wales regulators when the casino submitted room alteration applications, concealing the identity of the Salon 95 teller.
In a section dedicated to the connection between the Star and the Suncity Group, the report concluded that the Star had breached its internal control manual and, consequently, violated the Casino Control Act of 1992, a significant violation of its operating permit.
Simultaneously, the Suncity Group has relinquished its entire high-roller room business, a fundamental component of the company, and is attempting to rebrand and shift its business concentration towards integrated resorts.
Absence of Social Accountability
The report, compiled with legal counsel, reveals a severe lack of social responsibility in the casino’s actions, going beyond financial and regulatory violations and ties to organized crime. The document, released in January, outlines three key shortcomings at Star Casino: allowing patrons to gamble for extended durations without staff intervention; offering alcohol, including as a motivator to gamble; and failing to ensure social exclusion measures were implemented.
Philip Crawford, head of the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) and President of the ILGA, emphasized the widespread and systematic nature of the casino’s shortcomings in a statement accompanying the report’s publication.
“Beyond examining Bell’s genuine risk of criminal infiltration and the senior management’s concealment of their actions,” Crawford stated, “the report documents instances of individual patrons experiencing gambling harm.
“Star Casino provided complimentary alcohol to high-rollers as a motivator to gamble and permitted vulnerable patrons to gamble for over a day without intervention. These individual accounts are alarming and demonstrate how unchecked gambling can transition from entertainment to exploitation.”
The freshly formed Independent Casino Commission of New South Wales (NICC) will determine if disciplinary measures are warranted against the gaming establishment. The NICC has granted the operator a fortnight to provide a response to the investigation.
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