The Star Sydney has been fined $15 million and will retain its licence, with restrictions, after a lengthy probe into the casino.The NSW Independent Casino Commission today announced the Star would be hit with the hefty fine and said it would impose a suite of licence conditions.It means the struggling casino – which was found to have issues regarding leadership and culture – will keep its doors open for now but remains under strict supervision of the regulator.The future of Sydney’s Star remains unknown after it was hit with a $15 million fine. (Dion Georgopoulos/AFR)Philip Crawford, NICC chief commissioner, said the Star was found to have repeated compliance failures and revealed operations inside the business “fell short of suitability”.”Despite more prescriptive supervision that prevented the type of misconduct seen in the first inquiry, numerous shortcomings in governance, regulatory compliance, technology and risk management remain, including in areas that The Star claimed it had remediated,” Crawford said.”Reform in the systems, policies, processes and culture that support these areas cannot be understated in a business as complex as The Star’s.”In a casino setting, compliance breaches can have serious consequences for the community, and the Bell Report illustrated how quickly weak controls can lead to criminal infiltration and gambling harm.”The casino faced a probe over a suite of culture and leadership issues. (Edwina Pickles)The NICC will monitor the Star’s operations as it assesses if it is capable of maintaining its licence.The licence restriction will remain in place until March 2025.”More work needs to be done before the star can be regarded as a compliant and responsible operator, deserving of a licence,” Crawford added.Crawford told reporters today the NICC acknowledged the Star employed thousands of people.”We’ve had in our minds for quite some time that the public interest is served around the jobs,” he said.”If Sydney Star fails, the Star group will fail, and that’s a group that employs 9000-plus people … it would affect the lives of a lot of people.”Star Entertainment entered a trading halt in August after the NICC published its Bell Report findings.
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