October 28, 2026
Star Entertainment warned the court a fine above A$100 million could push it into liquidation. Now chairman Soo Kim says the A$260 million penalty can be paid without new debt or a share sale.
For more than a year, The Star Entertainment Group told the Federal Court that any money laundering penalty above A$100 million could push it into liquidation. Now that the court has ordered it to pay A$260 million, the company's chairman says it can pay. Soo Kim, who is also chairman of Star's controlling shareholder Bally's Corporation, says the casino operator can cover the fine without new borrowing or a share sale. In his view, talk of Star's collapse has been greatly exaggerated.
Penalty: A$260 million, in four instalments of A$65 million
First payment: within 28 days of judgment; final payment due May 2028
Star's previous warning: more than A$100 million would be "challenging" and could mean liquidation
Chairman's position now: no new financing or share sale needed
Latest quarter: revenue up 8% to A$284 million; group EBITDA of A$12 million
Shares: last traded at 13 cents, in a trading halt until the company's formal response
A sharp change in message
The court ruling itself, covered in our report on the A$260 million penalty for Star's Sydney and Gold Coast casinos, was set between what each side asked for. The financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC wanted A$400 million. Star said more than A$100 million would be too much. In its annual report in August, the company told investors that a penalty above that level, payable within 12 months, "would be challenging based on available liquidity options, including accessing equity markets."
Justice Cameron Moore accepted part of that argument. When he delivered judgment, he said that "Star's profitability is such that it is likely to need to raise money to pay any penalty." Within hours, the company's chairman was saying something quite different.
"We are fortunate to be in a financial circumstance that's quite a bit different than even 12 months ago," Kim said. He said the instalments can be paid from cash on hand, money Star expects to receive, and positive cash flow from its casinos this year. He said that means no new debt and no new shares for investors.
That contrast will draw attention. Star's warnings about liquidation helped persuade the court to set the penalty well below AUSTRAC's request. Now that the amount is fixed, the company says it can pay comfortably. Critics will ask whether the earlier warnings were partly a legal strategy. Earlier in the week, governance expert Helen Bird of Swinburne University suggested Star may have expected a penalty of about this size and quietly prepared funding for it.
"The fire is out"
Kim's comments came one day after Star's annual general meeting, where he told shareholders the company had moved from crisis management to rebuilding.
"I didn't come here to say 'mission accomplished,'" he said. "I came here to say, the fire is out, and now the rebuilding starts."
He also tried to change how the casinos see their customers. He said the great majority of people visiting Star's venues had nothing to do with the misconduct that led to years of inquiries, and that the company should welcome them rather than treat them all as a compliance risk. It is a delicate message for a business still under close supervision in New South Wales and Queensland.
What the numbers show
Star's latest quarterly update, released on Tuesday, gives Kim's confidence some support, though not a lot. The figures point to a business that has stopped losing money at the operating level but is not yet generating much spare cash.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Group revenue, September quarter | A$284 million (+8% on June quarter) |
| Group EBITDA, September quarter | A$12 million profit |
| Group EBITDA, June quarter | A$9 million loss |
| Group EBITDA, year-earlier quarter | A$13 million loss |
| Most recent annual result | Loss of about A$307 million |
| Market value | About A$763 million |
A quarterly EBITDA profit of A$12 million is clearly better than the losses before it. But the first A$65 million payment is due within weeks, and three more will follow over the next 19 months. Operating earnings at the current level will not cover that on their own. This is why Kim's statement depends on cash already in the bank and on money Star expects to receive. The company has not yet explained those sources in detail. Its formal announcement to the market should give investors a clearer picture.
A share price that has collapsed
Investors have suffered badly during Star's long crisis. Before regulators began investigating in late 2021, the shares traded at about A$3.70. They closed at 13 cents on Tuesday, down about 96%. Even after that fall, the stock is up about 44% over the past 12 months, although it is down about 24% since the start of the year.
Star asked for a trading halt before the judgment so its shares would not trade before the market understood the penalty's effect. The halt lasts until the company releases its announcement or until normal trading on Thursday, October 30, whichever comes first. The share price will then show whether investors believe the chairman or the judge.
Bally's and the rescue
Kim's confidence also matters because of the rescue deal. In April 2025, a A$300 million rescue package kept Star out of administration. Bally's took control, and the Mathieson family's pub group invested A$100 million and took a significant stake. Kim became chairman, and Bruce Mathieson Jnr became chief executive.
Bally's had warned at the time that a large AUSTRAC penalty could threaten the deal. A fine now set at more than double the amount Star said it could manage is a test of that partnership. If the chairman is right, the rescue has made Star strong enough to absorb a penalty that would have been fatal two years ago. If he is wrong, the controlling shareholder may have to put in more money or watch its investment lose value.
Workers and the wider market
Thousands of jobs depend on the outcome. The United Workers Union, which represents casino staff, said before the ruling that the penalty should be reviewed if it threatened employment. "The uncertainty at Star over the years has caused enormous anxiety for our members, their families and the broader network of hospitality businesses that depend on these venues," said union director Pat O'Donnell.
Bird also raised a broader question: whether Australia's market is big enough for two large casino groups that have both paid record anti-money laundering penalties. Crown was fined A$450 million in 2023 over similar failures. Justice Moore said there were major differences between the two cases. He noted that Star had already been punished through licence suspensions and other penalties for the same period. "It is not a case of business as usual for Star," he said. "Star has already paid a significant price for the contravening conduct."
The penalties have not stopped this year. In June, Star's former chief executive was fined A$700,000 for failing to tell the board about suspicious activity linked to the Suncity junket in 2018 and 2019. In the same month, Star Sydney was fined A$10 million for regulatory breaches, including exceeding gaming time limits and failing to properly screen patrons for links to criminal and terrorist activity.
What to watch next
- The formal announcement: how Star plans to fund the four instalments, and whether its auditors' going-concern doubts are addressed.
- The share price reaction when trading resumes.
- The first A$65 million payment, due within 28 days of judgment.
- Quarterly earnings: whether the return to positive EBITDA lasts through the summer and into 2027.
For now, Star has a fixed penalty, a payment schedule and a chairman who says the worst is over. The next 19 months will show whether "the fire is out" was an accurate assessment or just optimism.
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