Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman told reporters on Friday the government was “sending a clear message that unlawful and criminal behaviour will not be tolerated in Queensland casinos”.
Alongside the fine,whichmirrors the amount NSW regulators penalised the company and was possible only because oflast-minute changes to state laws,Fentiman said the government would defer any licence suspension.
“Essentially,this means that Star has 12 months to get their house in order if they do not want to see a 90-day suspension of their licence,” Fentiman said. In NSW,the 90-day suspension was enforced immediately.
Nicholas Weeks,appointed as the independent manager of the flagship Sydney casino,will take up a similar role across the company’s Brisbane and Gold Coast sites with help from a Queensland-based assistant,former Sunsuper executive Terri Hamilton. Both casinos will still be able to operate.
However,Fentiman said the company would have to work closely with Weeks to “do everything they can to become suitable by the time Queen’s Wharf wants to open”.
A consortium including Star is building the $3.6 billion casino and resort development on prime riverfront CBD land,to which its current Brisbane licence will transfer when it opens in thesecond half of 2023.