Australia’s Star Entertainment halts trading to assess impact of regulatory findings By Reuters

Star Entertainment said on Friday its Australian-listed shares had been halted from trading so the casino operator could absorb the fallout from a scathing report into its corporate culture and assess the implications for its 2024 financial results.

Earlier this year, the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) appointed lawyer Adam Bell to conduct a second investigation into the company over concerns it had not adequately addressed its cultural shortcomings after major anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism failures were revealed in 2022.

Star Entertainment’s licence to operate its casino in Sydney was suspended in October 2022.

The company said in a statement to the stock exchange on Friday that it is scheduled to publish its annual results later in the day, and that it is “studying the implications that the report may have on disclosures related to its financial results for the year ended June 30.”

The final report by Adam Bell found that Star had been slow to address governance and culture issues identified in Bell’s 2022 report, according to Philip Crawford, the NICC’s lead commissioner.

“The National Anti-Corruption Centre is reviewing Mr. Bell’s findings, including four compliance breaches, and will respond in due course,” Crawford said in a statement Thursday.