The Star Entertainment Group’s Sydney casino has once again seen its licence suspension extended by the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC).
A pathway-to-suitability submission was received by the NICC on 12 March, in which The Star Sydney reaffirmed its January communication that a licence determination would not be sought for this month.
For more than three years, The Star Sydney has been under suspension, as the operator was determined to be no longer suitable for a casino licence after NICC-commissioned reviews by Adam Bell SC in October 2022 and August 2024 found several regulatory failures.
The NICC took into account the possibility of the casino being able to satisfy the commission with appropriate remedial actions when determining the initial suspension. As a result, it didn’t cancel the property’s licence outright. To allow gaming operations to continue at The Star Sydney, Nicolas Weeks was appointed as manager at the establishment.
The current extension means the casino licence suspension will remain in place, with Weeks’ appointment extended until 30 September 2026 unless terminated at an earlier date.
In a regulatory update to its investors, The Star mentioned that the suspension extension aligns with ‘the current term of the appointments of the Special Manager to The Star Gold Coast and the External Advisor for The Star Brisbane’.
Praise was also issued to The Star’s new leadership team by NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford, who commented: “The new owners are making significant changes to the operation of the business which are being monitored closely by the NICC.
“This includes work to make the business more financially sustainable in the long term which will assist them in demonstrating suitability. We will continue to work with The Star on their remediation priorities so that the casino can remedy the serious concerns raised in the two Bell inquiries.”
WhiteHawk refinancing
The licence suspension extension follows The Star reporting its H1 FY26 results at the beginning of March, expressing optimism after 2025 ended with normalised net revenue of A$585m (H1 FY25: $650m) and a significant net loss of over A$75m.
In addition, it was the first reporting period post the A$300m strategic investment from Bally’s Corporation and Investment Holdings being completed near the end of last year.
The Star also edged closer to refinancing its debt with WhiteHawk Capital Partners earlier this week after delivering its commitment letter on time, moving towards refinancing its existing debt “in full and incremental liquidity to retain sufficient liquidity for the ordinary course of operations”.
For The Star to avoid default, refinancing must be completed by 15 May 2026. Since February, the operator has had a provisional deal in place with WhiteHawk and has been reviewing its resourcing structure and strategy.