Australia’s Federal Court has imposed an A$260 million fine, about US$ 180 million, on the Star Casino Entertainment Group following years of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations. On 28 October 2025, Australia’s AML and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) regulator, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), confirmed this penalty.
The Star Casino Investigation Reveals a Concerning Story
Investigations found that Star Casino had multiple failures in its AML and CTF program. In particular, the company did not sufficiently monitor customers with high exposure to financial crime. From 2016 to 2022, it gained A$1.33 billion (US$ 930M) in revenue by allowing high-risk customers to use its services. Additionally, AUSTRAC noted that over 1200 customers were able to access high-risk gambling channels without reasonable consumer safeguards.
AUSTRAC will not tolerate companies putting profit over their obligations to the Australian community.
Under the AML/CTF Act 2006, Australian businesses must meet stringent compliance requirements. This includes maintaining a risk-based compliance program and robust Due Diligence della clientela (CDD) processes to identify, assess, and prevent money laundering and other financial crime risks.
Justice Cameron Moore handed down the penalty in the Federal Court. Notably, AUSTRAC originally sought a penalty of A$400 million, highlighting the scale of the violations. The Star, however, sought $100 million, arguing that anything higher would force it into liquidation.
The size of the fine has raised concerns that the company may be unable to pay and could enter administration.
The fine settlement stood at A$260 million noting that the company had paid millions in fines from prior overlapping cases. Governance Expert at Swinburne University, Helen Bird, commented on the size of the fine, stating that if The Star enters liquidation, we can anticipate an announcement soon.
Major AML Exposure Findings in The Star
AUSTRAC discovered multiple interconnected vulnerabilities in The Star’s operations. First, the firm allowed junket operators access to private gaming facilities even though it already had concerns about suspicious activity. These junket operators act as intermediaries, recruiting and managing high-net-worth customers for the casino. It also allowed customers who were initially prohibited from gambling in another Australian state to use its services.
The Star generated more than A$1.4 billion in junket revenue, with pre-pandemic junket profits exceeding A$100 million.
The company’s failures went far beyond missing customer information. The Star managed channels that involved third-party transactions and cash deposits. However, it did not maintain oversight of those parties’ identities. As a result, the casino could not establish proper customer identification, determine the source of funds, conduct enhanced due diligence, or monitor suspicious activity.
Because of The Star’s monitoring deficiencies, we cannot know how much money high-risk customers pumped through its casinos.
Without reliable identity and beneficial ownership verification, the casino had weak control and understanding of who accessed its services and where their money came from. Consequently, it could not detect, trace, or respond to potentially suspicious activity and illicit transaction patterns.
Investigations Began Long Before the A$260 Million Fine
The Star has faced regulatory scrutiny beyond its 2022 Court proceedings. In AUSTRAC’s 2019 casino-wide compliance investigation, it examined The Star’s Sydney and Queensland operations.
In 2022, the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) fined the firm A$100 million and suspended its Sydney license over critical compliance deficiencies, including governance and systemic failures in financial crime risk operations. Separately, just two months later, the Queensland Government imposed a A$100 million penalty after determining that it was unsuitable to hold a casino license in Queensland, citing several failures in financial crime, safer gambling, and its risk management framework.
In 2024, the NICC penalized The Star an additional A$15 million after persistent weaknesses in its governance and risk management program. By 2026, the Court issued the A$260 million federal penalty. The casino’s prior offenses highlight a company-wide failure to address systemic compliance issues.
What Comes Next for AML Enforcement in Australia?
For compliance teams, the Star Casino case offers a critical lesson: Can your compliance system detect risk and trigger timely intervention despite the size and complexity of business structures? AUSTRAC’s recent enforcement actions show where regulatory expectations are headed:
Consistent and reliable governance: Deficiencies in oversight and risk management continue to attract large enforcement penalties. In practice, regulated businesses need to demonstrate strong audit trails, regular reporting, ongoing team training, and clear senior management accountability. This ensures that compliance programs remain effective in addressing emerging threats.
Stronger response to escalation procedures: The case highlights the gap that can arise between identifying risks and acting on them. Despite recognizing high-risk customers, Star could not implement proportionate controls to manage or report them to regulators. A strong risk management program links robust punteggio di rischio to monitoring intensity, due diligence, and ongoing reviews.
Comprehensive third-party verification: When businesses work with intermediaries or third-party entities, they must conduct Know Your Business (KYB) verification. The Star’s opaque payment channels weakened transaction monitoring and financial intelligence reporting. Strong KYB requires reliable verification of identity, beneficial ownership, source of funds, and source of wealth.
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