The Queensland government has decided to defer the decision on the suspension of The Star Gold Coast’s casino license until March 31st of 2025.
In an official statement released on Friday, authorities indicated the deferral comes ‘as the Crisfulli Government seeks answers on how the business is fixing a litany of problems’.
The Star Gold Coast was going to have its casino license suspended on December 20th, 2024 for a period of 90 days.
Back in May the government had announced that it was pushing back the date of the casino license suspension until December 20th, with the Special Manager in place, Nicholas Weeks, to remain on until December 8th. Weeks’ Special Manager position has now been further extended to June 30th of 2025.
In making the extension, the Queensland government indicated that it ‘considered the independent advice of Special Manager, Mr Nicholas Weeks, and The Star’s remediation progress to date’.
The new timeline would give authorities time ‘to properly assess The Star’s progress on its only recently amended remediation plan’, with Weeks to ‘be an integral part of that process’.
A report by the Special Manager and the outcome of the government’s assessment will be released “following the Government’s March 2025 decision,” indicated Attorney-General Deb Frecklington.
“This Government has been clear in its expectations of The Star, and will not allow The Star Gold Coast to keep operating as a casino at the expense of integrity, our Government’s high standards, and community safety,” indicated the official.
“We recognize this may place pressure on The Star; however, the remediation actions must be its urgent priority.
“There should be no assumption that there will be any further deferrals granted to The Star and any failure to meet milestones may result in The Star Gold Coast casino license being suspended,” she stated.
Under evaluation will be The Star’s ‘progressing in achieving its priority remediation measures of cultural reform, safer gambling, risk management, financial crime, and governance’.
