Star Entertainment has been fined $15 million for serious compliance failures, but the NSW gaming watchdog has given the casino operator a chance to retain its Sydney licence.
The judge overseeing AUSTRAC’s case against Star Entertainment has questioned the parties’ agreement to refer questions of fact and law to a former judge for determination, rather than an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing expert.
The NSW Independent Casino Commission has announced a second inquiry into embattled casino operator Star, amid concerns about its response to Adam Bell SC’s first inquiry.
The Star is challenging a finding from the commissioner of taxation that the casino giant owes $5.3 million on payments made to junket operators, arguing the payments were not ‘payments for operating or promoting a junket’.
The winning, 14 per cent contingency fee proposal by Slater & Gordon in a fight to run a class action against Star Entertainment was not driven by a desire to prevail in the contest and buy market share but was the product of a “reasoned decision” that took into account the law firm’s practice as a whole, a judge has found.
One law firm has emerged victorious in a four-way contest to run a shareholder class action against Star Entertainment with the lowest proposed group costs order since contingency fees legislation was enacted in Victoria.
Star Entertainment coughed up $595 million in regulatory and legal costs in the 2023 financial year, as it faces ongoing disputes with ASIC and AUSTRAC and an $80 million class action.
A Star Entertainment joint venture has been hit with a lawsuit by the Queensland arm of Multiplex Constructions over alleged costs overruns in the construction for a multi-billion-dollar resort in Brisbane.
SkyCity may be the first company to test the strength of AUSTRAC’s claims in court, according to a judge who recently said in a separate case that the regulator’s habit of agreeing to penalties could give rise to a “moral hazard”.
As the knives come out in a contest between four law firms battling to run an $80 million class action against Star Entertainment, a court-appointed barrister has named his favourites – one of which has proposed a contingency fee of just 14 per cent.