NSW government delays tax hike on embattled Star Entertainment

Comment has been sought from The Star.

Two independent inquiries stripped the gaming giant of its licences in NSW and Queensland last year following an investigation by the Herald in October 2021. The inquiries found the casino operator had enabled suspected money laundering, large-scale fraud, organised crime and foreign interference in its Australian casinos.

The Star has exclusive rights to operate poker machines in casinos in NSW but has just 1.8 per cent of the state’s machines – with the rest in the state’s pubs and clubs.

The casino’s leadership has claimed the tax rate will have devastating consequences for the business, which is already struggling to shore up its profits, weighed down by more than $1.1 billion in debt as of December.

Star Entertainment chief executive Robbie Cooke has flagged the tax increase will force him to slash $100 million from the Pyrmont casino’s $450 million cost base. The group has already made 500 roles redundant across the Sydney and Queensland casinos from its 8000-strong workforce.

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“There is no business that can sustain a doubling of the tax rate,” Cooke told this masthead in February.

“At its bluntest, we would need to extract $100 million from our operations, and that is extremely hard when we’re dealing with a cost base of $450 million in Sydney.”

Mookhey said in April he did not think Kean’s proposal had been properly developed and called out the former deputy NSW Liberal leader for failing to consult the group on the financial ramifications.

However, the new treasurer also said it was difficult to unwind the tax now it had been written into the budget.