Australia’s Star Entertainment is facing fresh scrutiny after a leaked trove of internal documents, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, alleged that the operator has gutted its problem-gambling programs, slashed compliance headcount, and canvassed an inflated budget for its Brisbane casino’s lenders.
According to the mastheads’ investigation, group compliance staff fell from 17 to four this year, and group risk headcount dropped from five to two. The reports cite internal memos warning that understaffing exposed Star to “significant and escalating” regulatory risk and jeopardized its bid to reclaim gaming licenses in NSW and Queensland.
The leak, as reported, details discussions in April 2026 around two sets of budget figures for the Brisbane property, one described internally as achievable, and a second, far more ambitious set said to have been “communicated to the banks” lending to the Destination Brisbane Consortium.
Star Brisbane CFO Richard Chan told the mastheads the alternate budget was a high-level internal model and that, to his knowledge, nothing was shared with the banks.
The reporting frames the alleged conduct against the backdrop of last year’s ownership change, with Bruce Mathieson Jr installed as CEO and Bally’s Corporation and the Mathieson family injecting rescue capital. Sources quoted by the mastheads describe a decline in governance culture since the takeover.
The timing is significant: a special monitor appointed by the NSW and Queensland regulators, Nick Weeks, is due to rule next month on whether Star can retain its licenses, a decision the coverage suggests these revelations will complicate.
