Star Entertainment Closing Corporate Office, Returning Governance to Three Casinos
Posted on: January 12, 2026, 07:55h.
Last updated on: January 12, 2026, 10:22h.
- Star Entertainment is winding down its corporate offices in Brisbane
- The shuttering will impact around 600 jobs, though some will be offered employment at the company’s three casinos
- Star continues to seek reduced overhead
Star Entertainment is closing its corporate offices in Brisbane, a decision that will significantly reduce the organization’s costs.
US-based Bally’s Corporation acquired a controlling stake in the Australian gaming giant last year. Bally’s, owned by billionaire Soo Kim’s private equity firm Standard General, bought a roughly 61% stake in Star for AU$300 million through a partnership with the Mathieson family. Bally’s position is approximately 38%, while Mathieson holds 23% of the group.
Since taking control, Kim and Bruce Mathieson Jr., the latter of whom has since assumed the role of chief executive officer of the group, have been seeking to stabilize the casino by trimming overhead and generating quick revenue. In August, Star finalized a deal to sell 50% of The Star Brisbane, which freed the company from more than AU$1 billion in debt.
Star Entertainment’s three-casino portfolio consists of The Star Gold Coast, The Star Sydney, and The Star Brisbane.
Corporate Ceasing
The Australian Financial Review was the first to report on Star Entertainment deciding to close its corporate complex in Brisbane.
It is our intent to close the corporate office in its current form,” Mathieson Jr. told the business media outlet. “Some tough decisions must be made. We must act. We must seize the moment in order to build a stronger and sustainable Star.”
The company’s corporate headquarters currently employs about 600 people, per investor filings with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
“The corporate office has added complexity rather than value and simplification. We must get closer to our customers and to your frontline team. And we have to meet the regulatory imperative to decentralize the business and empower our property teams,” Mathieson continued.
Risky Bet
Star’s downfall began in 2021, when reports surfaced that the company, along with Aussie rival Crown Resorts, had largely looked the other way when it came to combating money laundering. Subsequent government inquiries found that Star was no longer suitable to hold gaming licenses on claims that its casinos were being used by criminal syndicates to wash dirty money.
Star was also accused of failing to promote responsible gaming, falsifying business records, and having a corporate leadership that possessed an “institutional arrogance.” Critically, Star was afforded time to clean up its act instead of having its gaming licenses stripped.
The company underwent a corporate and managerial overhaul and invested heavily in worker retraining to become compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorism financing rules. Star additionally paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.
Ridding its corporate office and allowing each casino to ensure suitability could be a risky bet. Without a universal system in place, such compliance responsibilities will rest with each casino’s management team.
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