Star Entertainment Group has announced the suspension of its business activities following the issuance of a final report into the company’s conduct in New South Wales.
ASX Compliance made a market announcement on Friday confirming the news of the suspension of trading.
‘The securities of The Star Entertainment Group Limited (‘SGR’) will be suspended from trading at the request of SGR, pending its publication of an announcement,’ the notice states.
‘Unless ASX decides otherwise, the securities will remain on hold until the commencement of normal trading on Monday 2 September 2024 or until the announcement is made to the market, whichever is earlier.’
The suspension comes after the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) handed down the final Bell Report, authored by Adam Bell SC.
The report found the company had failed to address cultural concerns raised in its first report of 2022, which found the Star was not suitable to hold a casino licence.
STAR POKIES CLOSURE
NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford said the group had only recently begun to address “challenges that should have been prioritised earlier”.
“The Bell Report notes that Mr Steve McCann, Group Chief Executive, Ms Janelle Campbell, Sydney Chief Executive and Ms Jeannie Mok, Group Chief Operating Officer, bring significant experience and expertise to the process of engagement with regulators and cultural remediation and transformation, which will be vital if the NICC decides that The Star should remain the operator of The Star Casino,” Mr Crawford said.
He noted that “transparency and cooperation” had improved since the appointments of Mr McCann, Ms Campbell and Ms Mok.
Mr McCann, who previously worked at Lendlease and Crown Resorts, was only appointed chief executive at the end of June.
“However, the Bell Report underlines NICC’s concerns that it was not getting all the facts from The Star at a time when we needed certainty that the company could fund and prioritise an urgent business recovery,” he said.
‘The NICC is responsible for regulating an industry that is highly vulnerable to criminal infiltration and we are tasked with setting regulatory standards that meet community expectations.
“It was unclear whether The Star would be able to operate with less oversight when it engaged in past conduct with its license still suspended.”
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