Star probe to call witnesses on whether issues drifted ‘over the border’
Thursday 14 de July 2022 / 12:25
2 minutos de lectura
(Queensland).- An inquiry into The Star Entertainment Group’s two Queensland casinos will call witnesses across five days next month to publicly probe concerns including the management of banned gamblers and whether other recently aired issues drifted “over the border” from NSW.
An initial public hearing has also revealed moves to access details already gathered by the state’s Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation, which is carrying out an ongoing investigation alongside the federal anti-money laundering agency.
Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman announced the inquiry in June amid a NSW probe into the company’s suitability to hold its Sydney casino licence, sparked by allegations of money-laundering, criminal infiltration and fraud raised by this masthead in October.
The OLGR and Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre investigations were launched at least nine months ago. Additional reporting has raised questions about the company’s efforts to court blacklisted “whale” gamblers from interstate and a lack of police action to issue banning notices.
Headed by former Appeal Court Justice Robert Gotterson AO, the three-prong external review will run as an inquiry with the powers of a royal commission to look at operations across Star’s Gold Coast and Brisbane casinos — the latter of which will transfer to the $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf development from mid-2023.
Gotterson will also advise whether Star’s various corporate arms are suitable to run the sites, and look into whether there should be a broader overhaul of the state’s decades-old casino regulations already set for some proactive tweaks by the Palaszczuk government.
Speaking at the first public hearing on Thursday, counsel assisting Jonathan Horton, QC, said the review had sought material obtained from Star by the OLGR, and started poring over recent Crown casino inquiry findings along with evidence heard by the NSW Bell inquiry ahead of a final report on Star’s Sydney casino next month.
“There may be reasons to distinguish what happened in Sydney with operations and activities in this state,” Horton said. “One key question you want to ask is this: to what extent were any problems in NSW ones which came over the border, either because of common governance and practices, or by gamblers excluded there being allowed entry to casinos here, or even being encouraged or incentivised to do so.”
Despite the company already seeking to distance its Queensland operations from those in NSW, it had conceded this week that anti-money laundering polices were shared by all three of its Australian casinos.
Horton said early work by the inquiry suggested shared elements across the group included the legal department and treasury division — which dealt with NAB about queries from China UnionPay.
He floated the idea of rolling periodic reviews under potentially bolstered regulation, such as in NSW, to check casinos and their operators “remain lawful”.
Horton also noted the high-level clear-out of Star executives and board members since the NSW inquiry was launched. “One would hope there’s a sense of beginning afresh, down a different path,” he said.
Representing Star, Gareth Beacham, QC, said the company would be “fully cooperating” with the inquiry.
The review is seeking public submissions and is expected to hold public hearings at the end of August, with yet-to-be confirmed witnesses expected to include gambling harm minimisation groups, those responsible for exclusions, and at least one Star representative.
The parliamentary committee separately considering the government’s proposed regulatory changes, including heightened penalties for breaches, is due to publish its report next week.
Categoría:Casino
Tags: Sin tags
País: Australia
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