Star Entertainment Clings to Life After Unloading Brisbane Casino and Securing A$200 Million Loan

Posted on: March 6, 2025, 02:23h. 

Last updated on: March 6, 2025, 02:23h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Star Entertainment has agreed to sell Star Brisbane
  • Star Brisbane only opened in August 2024
  • Star has also secured a loan

Star Entertainment remains clinging to life, though its prognosis has slightly improved over the past 24 hours.

Star Entertainment Australia Brisbane casino
The Star Entertainment’s Star Brisbane casino resort is seen on Sept. 21, 2024. The Star has reportedly agreed to sell its stake in the Queensland casino to its two largest shareholders in a last-ditch attempt to rescue the underwater gaming giant. (Image: Shutterstock)

On the brink of insolvency and bankruptcy, with rumors circulating that the Australian gaming firm could run out of cash as early as this weekend, Star has reportedly agreed to unload The Star Grand Brisbane to two of its largest investors for a measly A$50 million (US$31.7 million). Star invested A$1.6 billion to relocate its Brisbane operation from the Treasury Building to a new resort facility at Queen’s Wharf, which opened last August.

The buyers of The Star Brisbane, Hong Kong-based firms Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium, will additionally assume A$430 million in debt owed to lenders that helped finance the resort located on the banks of the Brisbane River. Chow and Far East each own 25% of The Star Entertainment’s outstanding shares.

As the selloff of Star Brisbane will take time to acquire regulatory approvals, Chris Wallin, an Australian billionaire who made his fortune in the coal industry, has agreed to loan Star A$200 million to ensure its temporary survival.

Regulatory Concerns 

Far East Consortium is a public company invested in the development and management of hotels, parking garages, and mixed-use facilities.

Chow Tai Fook is a conglomerate with close ties to the Chinese government. The privately held company is no stranger to gaming and hospitality, as Chow Tai Fook owns Baha Mar in The Bahamas and the Rosewood Hotel Group.

Queensland gaming regulators, should they approve of The Star selling its Brisbane stake to Far East and Chow Tai Fook, will presumably require the buyers to find a third party to operate the casino and resort on their behalf and refrain from having any direct oversight of its day-to-day operations. Chow Tai Fook is largely the reason for The Star’s troubles in the first place, as the Hong Kong firm’s ties to Triad groups are what prompted Star suitability concerns across the country.

Those inquiries found that The Star failed to protect its casinos from being used by criminal syndicates to launder money. The Star’s casinos, which along with Brisbane include The Star Gold Coast and The Star Sydney in New South Wales, were also accused of welcoming and encouraging gamblers banned in other states to gamble.

Financial Demise 

The government inquiries in Queensland and New South Wales cost the company hundreds of millions of Australian dollars in fines and remedial costs. The regulatory concerns, paired with fewer guests at its casinos and fewer large-scale transactions being facilitated, have caused investors to run.

The Australian Securities Exchange halted trading of The Star shares on Feb. 28 after the company failed to file a quarterly financial disclosure. Star shares (ASX: SGR) remain at just A$0.11, or seven U.S. pennies.

Though the trading of public shares is on hold, Star revealed this week through an ASX announcement that Boston-based State Street Corporation had acquired 144,326,001 ordinary shares at their current value for 5.03% of the organization. State Street is the world’s fourth-largest asset manager.