On 28 October 2026, the Federal Court of Australia ordered The Star Entertainment Group (The Star) to pay a penalty of A$260 million following findings that the casino operator breached Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws. AUSTRAC announced the Star Entertainment AML penalty the same day.
In determining the penalty, Justice Moore said The Star has already paid a significant price for its contravening conduct.
What the Court Found
AUSTRAC said the contraventions included serious failures in managing The Star's high-risk customers: failures to verify customer information and source of funds, to conduct appropriate due diligence, and to monitor customer activity.
AUSTRAC also said the gambling channels The Star operated carried elevated money laundering risks. Those included limited transparency over the source of funds and the facilitation of third-party transactions and cash deposits where the third party's identity was not recorded.
The court found that The Star's non-compliance undermined the ability of AUSTRAC and law enforcement agencies to trace money to its source. According to AUSTRAC, that meant opportunities to disrupt unlawful activity and recover the proceeds of crime were lost. AUSTRAC also quoted Justice Moore as finding that a significant part of The Star's business depended on:
"...turning a blind eye to customers who presented a high ML/TF risk."
Justice Moore, as quoted by AUSTRAC, 28 October 2026
Justice Moore also found that The Star kept receiving and profiting from money that, on the evidence available to it, was most likely from criminal activity and was being laundered.
How the Penalty Was Considered
Justice Moore said The Star had received penalties of A$200 million for conduct that significantly overlaps with the conduct in these proceedings, that its casino licences were suspended, and that it has been under the supervision of a manager.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said that, in light of the penalties The Star faced under previous casino inquiries, the penalty reflects the seriousness of the contraventions and builds on previous state and Commonwealth fines to provide ongoing deterrence value. AUSTRAC also said it will not tolerate companies putting profit over their obligations to the Australian community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was The Star Entertainment Group ordered to pay A$260 million?
What AML/CTF failures did AUSTRAC say The Star committed?
What earlier penalties did the court take into account?
How did the court say The Star's non-compliance affected law enforcement?
What did AUSTRAC say about the penalty?
The Sentinel Perspective
The conduct AUSTRAC described includes failures to verify customer information and source of funds, to conduct appropriate due diligence, and to monitor high-risk customers.
Sentinel provides KYC onboarding and customer risk assessment, enhanced due diligence, and continuous customer monitoring that re-screens existing customers against PEP, sanctions, and adverse media data and generates alerts when something changes. Each decision is recorded in an audit trail.
See How Sentinel Supports Customer Risk Assessment and Ongoing Monitoring
Request a demonstration tailored to your organisation's AML/CTF program and customer due diligence requirements.
Official Reference
Truth Technologies provides AML, KYC, OFAC, and sanctions screening compliance solutions through the Sentinel platform. This post is published for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. All facts are sourced from the AUSTRAC media release linked above.
