SYDNEY – Australia’s biggest listed casino operator, Star Entertainment Group, once had it all. Its gaming licences stretched out for centuries. The domestic market was home to the planet’s most prolific gamblers.
The company’s harbourside resort in Sydney drew a constant flow of high rollers from China.
Now Star is bleeding cash, desperate for funding and – by some analyst estimates – has a 50-50 chance of collapsing.
The plight is a saga of financial malpractice, deception and cultural decay. Almost A$4 billion (S$3.4 billion) has been wiped from Star’s market capitalisation since late 2021, leaving the company valued at just A$387 million.
The trouble started in October 2021, when the Sydney Morning Herald reported Star…