The Star Sydney blends luxury hotel stays, innovative dining, competitive gaming, and entertainment excellence into a single iconic venue on Darling Harbour. As a cornerstone of city tourism and nightlife, The Star delivers a memorable Australian casino payout charts casino experience—whether for high-stakes play, gourmet indulgence, or evening events. Its reputation for fairness, safety, and relentless innovation keeps guests returning, making it a must-visit destination for anyone exploring Sydney’s leisure scene.
There could be profound implications for corporate Australia, pertaining to how much trust directors can place in management assurances that a business is running well. By this time, the high-roller market had dried up in the aftermath of COVID-19 and amid a crackdown by Chinese authorities. But the NSW government announced sweeping new regulations to be imposed on the company, including mandatory carded play, extensive due diligence on patrons, and $1000 cash limits. Two years earlier, the company had come off second best in a bruising contest with Crown, whose chairman, James Packer, had won government approval to operate a competing Evospin casino 24/7 live chat in NSW and was developing a luxury hotel at Barangaroo. But Star had leveraged this to its benefit by securing government funding to develop its own resort-style entertainment complex in Pyrmont.
"Pubs and clubs don’t have the same restrictions that Star has, which is obviously hurting, and the VIP players that used to be a big part of the casino business have gone, maybe forever. But we do think this is cyclical, and there’s no guarantee that cardless play is not going to apply to pubs and clubs eventually." "We think casinos in Australia will never be the lucrative businesses they once were," Hewitt said. The cost of the Queens Wharf development had blown out by $1 billion, and one of Star’s partners in that project, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, was facing probity questions. Star’s saving grace was the willingness of the Queensland government, which was counting on the taxes to be generated by the casino, to dismiss concerns that Chow Tai Fook had misled regulators over its links to underworld figures as a misunderstanding. The business model developed by Crown and mimicked by Star was the cultivation of Chinese high rollers who were moving their private capital offshore on gambling tour groups known as junkets.
On the main gaming floor you’ll find over 1,000 electronic gaming machines and a host of traditional table games, as well as the 36 Degrees Bar and the Oasis Lounge. The Sovereign Room is The Star’s exclusive gaming floor on the third level of the casino resort. The room is available only to international players and high rollers who submit an application for membership. This members-only gaming floor includes extra dining, exclusive lounges and four private gaming rooms.
On 13 September 2022 the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) published a report finding The Star unsuitable to hold its Sydney casino license because of its conduct relating to money laundering risks. Star's gambling license was suspended and operations were placed under a new manager Nicholas Weeks. The Star Entertainment Group Limited is an Australian casino instant payouts 2026 gambling and entertainment company. Opened in 1997, the casino formerly known as Star City had a massive revamp in 2011. Star’s woes are all the more startling given its former dominance in a country that loses more money gambling per capita than any other in the world. The company has been left overwhelmed by the cost, in time and money, of overdue compliance, financial controls and regulatory fines. The company has also churned through key personnel, including two chief executive officers (CEO).
Many of the classic venues remain, including the Sydney Lyric, however a new Star Event Centre is now open catering to international performers, intimate concerts, conferences, exhibitions and functions. Watch sports at the 24/7 Sports Bar and catch live music at their in-house venue Rock Lily. There is also a looming penalty from Australia’s financial crimes regulator for alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws. The trouble is, traditional casino owners like Star and Crown are ceding power and influence to a new breed of online competitors such as Sportsbet and Bet365. Crown Resorts, Star’s domestic rival, was also subjected to successive public regulatory investigations starting in 2020, which each found that it was not fit to run casinos. The crackdown was spurred by revelations of questionable business practices and porous anti-money laundering policies.
The 17 floor casino towers above the Darling Harbor with multi-level gaming space, a luxurious five star hotel and a variety of bars and restaurants. The Star Casino Sydney is also home of the Sydney Lyric Theatre and Event Centre, a massive 2,000 seat entertainment venue. Star chief executive Steve McCann has unsuccessfully tried to coax lenders, state governments and investors into giving the embattled casino operator the time and cash needed to work through its challenges. The venue boasts 2,500 of the latest pokies modern slot machines and 350 table games registered. The staple games are all on offer, including Baccarat, Blackjack, poker, video poker and, of course, Roulette.
In April 2024, the chair for The Star Star Entertainment Group Limited David Foster resigned from his post less than a week after giving evidence to the ongoing inquiry into the license suitability of the company's The Star Sydney property. Foster's departure came after he told the official inquiry his company was currently unsuitable to operate a casino in New South Wales. There was ‘not a scenario’ in which it would be able to run the property unsupervised. He was additionally quizzed over a series of ‘heat of the moment’ texts with Cooke in which the pair allegedly discussed getting rid of Weeks by having shareholders launch a class-action lawsuit against the government-appointed manager. In response to the report Star stated that it was "concerned by a number of assertions within the media reports that it considers misleading." And also stated that it would take steps to address the allegations with Australian authorities. Following the report shareholders began forming a class action lawsuit against Star and inquiries were launched by Queensland's, Western Australia's, Victoria's, and New South Wales's state gaming regulators.
In a casino setting, compliance breaches can have serious consequences for the SkyCrown community forums, and the Bell Report illustrated how quickly weak controls can lead to criminal infiltration and gambling harm," Crawford said. "The NICC understands the many challenges The Star is facing and will continue to closely monitor The Star’s progress in proving it is capable of regaining its Aria casino sports betting license." Crawford said the NICC-appointed manager, Nick Weeks, will continue to oversee The Star Sydney until at least March 2025, when another review of the casino’s business is conducted. Crawford detailed that The Star continues to have numerous shortcomings in its governance, regulatory compliance, technology operations, and risk management. After the 2022 inquiry, Star was allowed to continue operating the Sydney casino, but under a government-appointed manager. Star was ordered to undergo many remedial measures to bring the casino into regulatory compliance and was fined AU$100 million.
