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NSW hits Star Sydney with AU$10m fine, remedial action underway

Star Sydney has been hit with a new AU$10m fine by the NICC, citing hundreds of breaches While serious, many of the breaches actually took place before remedial actions were introduced

Written by Casino House Group Editorial Team

Published on May 29, 2026

Summary

Star Sydney has been hit with a new AU$10m fine by the NICC, citing hundreds of breaches
While serious, many of the breaches actually took place before remedial actions were introduced
The regulator has ordered further AU$5m set aside for strengthening the company’s financial crime risk management

The Star Sydney, the Star Entertainment-owned casino resort, is under more pressure in its domestic market, as the New South Wales (NSW) gaming regulator issued an AU$10m fine against the company, roughly $7.18m. The regulator cited what it described as systemic failures related to the company’s historical financial crime risks.

NICC issues a total of AU$10m fines to Star Sydney

Besides the fine, the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) has also ordered The Star Sydney to set aside further AU$5m ($3.6m) in order to strengthen the technology used in financial crime risk management operations, and address other shortcomings. The Star Sydney Chief Executive Bruce Mathieson Jr was quick to respond and said that the company will continue to engage with the NICC and continue to strengthen its remediation program so that the company may have its license reeinstated. The casino is currently open and overseen by NICC-appointed manager Nick Weeks, who has been tasked with overseen the property through September 30, 2026. This is the latest ordeal that the company is facing, as its license remains suspended and the NICC confirmed that Liquor and Gaming NSW is investigating what it alleges to be thousands of breaches that took place over seven years, from December 2018 through September 2025. The total amount issued against the company was split into multiple smaller fines, with an AU$5m fine citing systemic failures in financial crime risk operations between July 2023 and September 2025, specifically.

Most of these failures occured prior to the casino's remedial program

Another AU$3m fine was for allowing 1,898 patrons to convert casino reward points to cash between December 2018 and November 2023. An AU$1.5m fine covered widespread breaches of mandatory gambling break requirements between May 2024 and April 2025, with some patrons able to gamble for more than 36 hours straight. A further AU$500,000 was added for allowing an excluded patron to enter the casino on nine occasions. NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford struck an equally serious tone when commenting on the situation, arguing that the company had failed to uphold the Casino Control Act of 1992, but also argued that the Star Sydney had taken remedial actions and the cases investigated mostly related to the period before these implementations. Imposing these fines along with the enforceable undertaking reiterates the seriousness with which the NICC considers any breaches that leave customers vulnerable to gambling harm or casinos vulnerable to criminal infiltration, Crawford explained.