 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| ASX: SGR | |
| Industry | Gambling, Tourism |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Brisbane, Australia |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Ben Heap (Chairman) Robbie Cook (CEO) |
| Revenue |  A$2.3 billion[ citation needed ] |
Number of employees | 8,000[ citation needed ] |
| Divisions | |
| Website | StarEntertainmentGroup.com.au |
The Star Entertainment Group Limited is an Australian gambling and entertainment company. [1] The company was formerly known as Echo Entertainment. [2]
The Star Entertainment owns and operates the Treasury Casino & Hotel, [3] The Star Gold Coast and The Star, Sydney. [4] Star Entertainment holds three out of Queensland's five casino operation licenses. [5]
The group also manages the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on behalf of the Queensland Government. [6] Star owned a 50% stake in the Sheraton Mirage resort on the Southport Spit, [7] that it sold in 2023 for $192 million. [8]
The Queensland Government announced on 20 July 2015 that Echo Entertainment as 50% joint venture partner of the Destination Brisbane Consortium was the preferred tenderer for Queen's Wharf, Brisbane, beating rival Crown Resorts. Echo has two Hong Kong–based joint venture partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium. The two joint venture partners will each contribute 25% of the capital to develop the integrated resort and will also jointly pay for the apartment and broader Queen's Wharf developments.
In 2021 a joint report by the Sydney Morning Herald the Age, and the television program 60 Minutes, found that Star management had been warned that its anti-money laundering controls were inadequate and that between 2014 and 2021 Star had attempted to recruit high rollers who were allegedly linked to criminal or foreign-influence activities. In response to the report Star stated that it was " "concerned by a number of assertions within the media reports that it considers misleading." And also stated that it would take steps to address the allegations with Australian authorities. [9] [10] Following the report shareholders began forming a class action lawsuit against Star and inquiries were launched by Queensland's, Western Australia's, Victoria's, and New South Wales's state gaming regulators. [11] [12]
On 13 September 2022 the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) published a report finding The Star unsuitable to hold its Sydney casino license because of its conduct relating to money laundering risks. It had 14 days to respond. [13] The company was fined A$100m ($62m) as a result. [14] Star's gambling license was suspended and operations were placed under a new manager Nicholas Weeks. [15]
In late 2022, the Queensland Government also found Star unsuitable to hold its dual state casino licences. [16] Former Court of Appeal Judge Robert Gotterson conducted an independent review of the matter. [17] Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman found Star misled regulators and failed in its anti-money laundering duties. [16] The company has been served a statement of claim for a securities class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The class action alleges [18] that Star breached disclosure obligations and acted against the best interests of the shareholders. Star was fined $100 million on 9 December 2022. [19] Casino licences for the Treasury Brisbane and the Star Gold Coast will be suspended for 90 days, with this action deferred until December 1, 2023. The deferment gives Star an opportunity to remediate its management and operations. [19]
In April 2024, the chair for The Star Star Entertainment Group Limited David Foster resigned from his post less than a week after giving evidence to the ongoing inquiry into the license suitability of the company's The Star Sydney property. Foster reportedly found his efforts increasingly frustrated by office politics and, in particular, the relationship between the company's Chief Executive Officer, Robbie Cooke, and the independent manager appointed to help implement an official state-mandated remediation plan, Nicholas Weeks. [20] Foster's departure came after he told the official inquiry his company was currently unsuitable to operate a casino in New South Wales. There was ‘not a scenario’ in which it would be able to run the property unsupervised. He was additionally quizzed on Tuesday over a series of ‘heat of the moment’ texts with Cooke in which the pair allegedly discussed getting rid of Weeks by having shareholders launch a class-action lawsuit against the government-appointed manager. [21]
In May 2024, it was reported that multiple suitors were looking to acquire the company. [22] Hard Rock International was said to be weighing a bid, [23] but they subsequently stated that they were not looking into acquiring Star Entertainment. [24]
Television broadcasting in Australia began officially on 16 September 1956, with the opening of TCN-9, quickly followed by national and commercial stations in Sydney and Melbourne, all these being in 625-line black and white. The commencement date was designed so as to provide coverage of the Olympic Games in Melbourne. It has now grown to be a nationwide system that includes a broad range of public, commercial, community, subscription, narrowcast, and amateur stations.
Crown Melbourne is an integrated resort consisting of a casino and hotel located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a subsidiary of Crown Resorts, and was the first casino of the now-international Crown brand.
SkyCity Entertainment Group, also known as simply SkyCity, is a gambling and entertainment company based in Auckland, New Zealand. It owns and operates five casino properties in New Zealand and Australia, which include a variety of restaurants and bars, three luxury hotels, a convention centre and Auckland's Sky Tower.
Tabcorp is Australia's largest gambling company, employing more than 5,000 people. It is the largest provider of wagering and gaming products and services in Australia. Tabcorp is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The Star Sydney in Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia after Melbourne's Crown Casino. Overlooking Darling Harbour, The Star, owned by Star Entertainment Group features two gaming floors, one bar, 3 restaurants, 351 hotel rooms and 130 serviced and privately owned apartments. It also includes the 2,000 seat Sydney Lyric theatre and 3,000-seat Event Centre, the latter designed by Montreal-based theatre design firm Scéno Plus. Its gaming operations are overseen and controlled by the New South Wales Casino Control Authority and is licensed to be the only legal casino in New South Wales. In late 2007, it was granted a 12-year extension of its exclusivity and licence.
The Star Gold Coast is a casino and hotel located in the suburb of Broadbeach on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. The casino, which was Queensland's first, is situated next to the Nerang River and is operated by Star Entertainment Group. It opened in November 1985 as Conrad Jupiters. In 2017 it was rebranded as The Star, Gold Coast.
The Treasury Casino, also known as The Treasury was a casino in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It also housed a hotel, 6 restaurants, 5 bars, and a nightclub. The casino was operated by Star Entertainment Group. It closed on the 25 August 2024 to make way for a new Star Casino at Queen's Wharf.
The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) is located on the Gold Coast Highway in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The venue was opened on the 29th of June 2004 at a cost of A$167 million. It is linked by a covered walkway to The Star Gold Coast. Managed by the Star Entertainment Group, the Centre caters for 10 to 6,000 people.
Multiplex is an international construction contractor founded in Australia and currently headquartered in London, England. Operating in Australia, Canada, Europe and the Middle East, the company specializes in high-rise buildings, studio, high-end residential, mixed-use, education, health and civil infrastructure developments.
CIMIC Group Limited is an engineering-led construction, mining, services and public private partnerships leader working across the lifecycle of assets, infrastructure and resources projects.
Crown Resorts Limited is an Australian gaming and entertainment group that owns and operates various entertainment complexes, including Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth and Crown Sydney. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange until purchased by Blackstone in June 2022.
The Expansion of the A-League Men is the ongoing process of establishing new clubs in the A-League Men. The A-League Men was established to replace the National Soccer League as the top division in the Australian football league system. It is the only professional football league in the country. Founded in 2004 with eight teams commencing competition in the 2005–06 season, the league has since expanded into new markets across Australia and New Zealand. From the 2024–25 A-League Men season, 13 clubs will compete in the league, after Auckland Football Club was granted an expansion license.
Gambling is an activity undertaken by many Australians. In 2022, 72.8% of Australian adults gambled within the previous 12 months and 38% of Australian adults gambled at least once per week. In 2017, Australians were estimated to lead the world with the highest gambling losses on a per-capita basis. Australians spend more on online gambling than any other country in the world.
The Christmas Island Resort, often called the Christmas Island Casino, is a holiday resort on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean about 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of Java and 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) north-west of the Australian mainland. The resort, including an integrated casino, opened in late 1993. The casino was generally profitable, with gross profits from casino operations peaking at $153.7 million in 1994-95. Overall, however, the casino and resort struggled financially and, after being badly affected by the Asian Financial Crisis, it was closed on 23 April 1998.
Crown Sydney is a skyscraper in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. Designed by WilkinsonEyre, it stands at a height of 271.3 m (890 ft) with 75 floors, making it the tallest building in Sydney and 4th tallest in Australia. It was developed by Crown Resorts, primarily comprising a hotel and residential apartments, while a casino and other hospitality venues make up the rest of its floorspace. Construction began in October 2016, and the building was topped out in March 2020. It was inaugurated to the public in December 2020.
Far East Consortium International Limited (FEC) is a company with its head office in Central, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1950 by Deacon Chiu and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972.
Queen's Wharf is a multipurpose residential and entertainment precinct that is partially completed and partially under construction on either side of William Street in the central business district of Brisbane, Australia. The megaproject is one of Australia’s biggest mixed-use precincts.
BESIX Watpac is an Australian construction and civil engineering company. Formerly listed in on the Australian Securities Exchange, it is now a subsidiary of Besix.
Media related to Star Entertainment Group at Wikimedia Commons
