An inquiry into Star Entertainment Group’s Queensland operations will investigate whether the company actively encouraged customers banned or excluded from The Star Sydney to gamble across the border.
Counsel assisting Jonathan Horton QC outlined during opening arguments on Thursday the key areas the inquiry will probe in the coming weeks, including the relationship between Star’s properties in NSW and Queensland.
“One key question we want to ask is to what extent any problems in NSW 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?” counsel assisting the review said.
The inquiry will also look into issued recently uncovered by a similar inquiry in NSW such as the use of China UnionPay cards to allow players to withdraw funds to gamble, anti-money laundering controls and relationships with Asian junkets.
However, counsel assisting also confirmed that the inquiry would avoid covering topics already addressed in NSW.
“In the course of the interstate inquiry, many of the senior management of The Star resigned and have left,” they said. “The context in which (this) inquiry takes place is rather different from when matters began in NSW.”
Public hearings are scheduled to begin from 23 August.
