Bally’s Star Entertainment Fined $10 Million for Financial Crimes at Sydney Casino

Posted on: June 1, 2026, 02:04h. 

Last updated on: June 1, 2026, 02:04h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • The Star Sydney has been fined A$10 million for regulatory shortcomings
  • The Sydney casino is accused of allowing players to gamble for marathon sessions
  • The Star was fined A$200 million in 2022 for anti-money laundering failures

Star Entertainment has been fined A$10 million (US$7.17 million) in New South Wales stemming from four disciplinary matters at its Sydney casino.

Star Sydney casino Bally's fine
The exterior of The Star Sydney is pictured in a file photograph. State gaming regulators in New South Wales have fined the casino A$10 million for a series of regulatory breaches. (Image: Shutterstock)

The NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) said the disciplinary penalties are the result of four orders related to The Star Sydney. Australia’s second-largest casino after Crown Melbourne, The Star Sydney overlooks Darling Harbor in the state capital.

The NICC explained that The Star Sydney was fined $1.5 million for allowing customers to continuously gamble without a break longer than the prescribed limits. NSW casino rules limit a gambler to playing no more than 12 hours per 24 hours. The NICC said a player at The Star Sydney gambled for more than 36 hours straight.

The casino was fined $3 million for allowing at least 1,898 customers to convert their rewards points into cash, and $500,000 for allowing an excluded person access to gamble on nine occasions.

The steepest fine, $5 million, was for “systemic failures” in The Star Sydney’s financial crimes risk operations. The fine comes with an “enforceable undertaking” requiring The Star Sydney to establish a $5 million account to comply with regulatory obligations to upgrade its financial crimes risk department.

Regulators Report Compliance Improvements 

The NICC explained that The Star Sydney’s regulatory infractions largely came before Bally’s rescued the company in April 2025. Bally’s acquired a 56.7% stake in the organization with a A$300 million strategic capital investment.

While these disciplinary matters are disappointing, we have seen considerable progress at The Star under its new leadership. The NICC is confident that the revised remediation workstreams, the expertise of Bally’s Corporation, and the technological uplift that has taken place since these breaches occurred have made a materially significant improvement in The Star’s remediation progress,” said NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford.

“While we are optimistic about The Star’s remediation progress, the casino’s recent poor compliance history has also factored into the Commission’s decision. 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 added.

Star Struck With Fines

This week’s fines in NSW are only the latest against The Star.

Previous levies include A$200 million in fines in 2022 from the NSW and Queensland governments. The financial punishments came after state inquiries determined The Star to be unsuitable to possess casino licenses on claims that the company’s casinos failed to protect against money laundering.

The governmental investigations found that Star Sydney, Star Brisbane, and Star Gold Coast did little to safeguard their gaming floors from being used to launder dirty money. As a result, the casinos were rife with people tied to organized crime.

Star was additionally accused of marketing and catering to high rollers who had alleged links to criminal enterprises.