Salter Brothers pull out of their bid to buy Star Entertainment | The Courier Mail
Star Entertainment has reported a $302m loss in the first half of the financial year, which is a bigger than expected downfall.
The company told the ASX the net loss was from July 1 to December 31 of last year.
They recorded a $9m loss in the same period of the previous financial year.
Star Entertainment has agreed to a $60m divestment of its Sydney event centre, as the casino looks to quickly raise cash to stave off collapse.
In the casino operator’s latest move, it has completed its divestment of the The Star Event Centre and other additional spaces within The Star Sydney complex to Foundation Theatres.
I will have a beer to celebrate its future bankruptcy and liquidation.
The site first gained notoriety during the US election, when its founder’s apartment was raided by the FBI.
Now it’s pivoted to Australia, offering odds on who’ll be PM, who’ll win Brisbane, and whether Peter Dutton will hang on to his seat.
ACMA:
PointsBet breaches spam and gambling self-exclusion laws
Online gambling provider PointsBet Australia Pty Ltd has paid a $500,800 spam penalty and is subject to enforceable undertakings after breaching Australia’s e-marketing and gambling self-exclusion laws.
Investigations by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that the company sent more than 800 messages that breached Australia’s spam laws.
PointsBet also contravened laws relating to BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER), by delaying closing accounts of customers who had registered and sending marketing messages to self-excluded persons.
Between September and November 2023, PointsBet sent 705 emails containing a direct link to its betting products without including an unsubscribe function.
The emails were mischaracterised by PointsBet as ‘non-commercial’ despite promoting their services, making them subject to the spam rules.
PointsBet also sent seven marketing emails without recipient consent and 90 commercial texts that did not have sender contact information.
The NSER investigation found PointsBet sent 508 marketing messages to self-excluded individuals in August and September 2023. Under the NSER laws, people registered with the NSER must not be sent marketing materials from a licensed wagering service.
ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said there are no excuses for gambling companies that fail to understand their legal obligations given the risks to people experiencing gambling harms.
“It is deeply concerning that these failures have impacted PointsBet’s customers, some of whom had taken proactive steps to exclude themselves from online wagering,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“People signing up to the NSER are taking positive steps to remove online gambling from their lives. Their decision must not be compromised by companies like PointsBet.
“Wagering providers must also appropriately identify where messages promote or advertise their services and ensure that those messages comply with the rules, including the obligation to promote the NSER.”
The ACMA found that no excluded customers were able to place bets with PointsBet during the period investigated. The ACMA has accepted comprehensive court-enforceable undertakings from PointsBet committing it to reviews into its compliance with spam and NSER laws, actioning any recommended improvements and providing regular training for all relevant staff.
“This action should serve as a warning to all wagering providers that they must meet their legal obligations or face the consequences. We will closely monitor PointsBet’s compliance with its undertakings and with the spam and NSER laws,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
The imposition of a financial penalty was not available to the ACMA for the NSER breaches due to the complex and novel matters investigated. However, a failure to comply with an enforceable undertaking can lead to court-ordered financial penalties.
Compliance with interactive gambling safeguards and misleading spam messages are both current compliance priorities for the ACMA. This is the first enforceable action announced under the NSER rules, and businesses have paid more than $14 million in spam penalties over the last 18 months.
People can sign up to the NSER here. More information about making complaints about an online wagering service or spam can be found on the ACMA website.
I went for a wander around the Canberra Casino this afternoon.
It is very underwhelming… i saw maybe 8-10 gaming tables open, 1 bar, 1 small restaurant (closed) and that was it.
Even Wrest Point Casino in Hobart is much better than this. Even your average RSL is better!
It’s Canberra. The only things going for it is the porno and fireworks.
Do they still sell the porno and fireworks in Canberra? 
No idea!
Do you want some?
Erm…I’m going to err on the side of caution and say no. The fireworks would be used in a very inappropriate manner.
The price of Tattslotto tickets will increase by 10c per game from today to cover for changes to the lottery, including a bigger division 1 prize pool.
Yeah it’s small but decent. Underwhelming if you’ve been to any larger casino but it’s not a bad little place, and I’ve found the staff to be pretty friendly albeit bored at times.
It gets busy on Friday and Saturday nights with tables open that at other times don’t even look like gaming tables. There’s often a queue for poker. But the rest of the time it’s pretty quiet. There’s a handful of regulars who turn up during daylight hours, and a small stream of tradies roll through in the afternoon.
The fact it almost doesn’t have a dress code probably keeps it afloat, especially considering it’s not exactly close to any other nightlife. 90% of the people (myself included) that I see in there wouldn’t get through the door if the dress code was just slightly tighter.
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ever been to auckland? SkyCity is very underwhelming as well. found it to be quite small and pokey.
Oh that’s interesting..no I haven’t .. good to know, for a city of 1.7 million, I thought they might have had something a bit more substantial… The casinos in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are all much better than the Canberra one.
I would hope Brisbane would better than canberra.. it bankrupted the star building it
ACMA:
Unibet penalised $1 million for gambling self-exclusion rule breaches
Betchoice Corporation Pty Ltd, trading as Unibet, has paid a $1,014,120 penalty for failing to close the accounts of 954 of its customers who had registered with BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register™ (NSER).
An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found more than 100,000 contraventions by Unibet of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA rules) for not closing the accounts of 954 customers as soon as practicable after they had registered on the NSER.
The investigation found that 45 of these customer accounts remained open for 190 days or more, including many who had registered to self-exclude from online and telephone betting on the first day of the NSER. While none of these self-excluded customers were able to place bets during their self-exclusion period, the accounts should have been closed.
The company also provided wagering services to 45 customers after they ceased to be registered with the NSER, using old accounts that should have been closed. The ACMA found evidence that these customers were able to place thousands of bets through these accounts after their NSER registration ended, including one customer who placed more than 1,200 bets on their old account.
Under the IGA rules, once an individual registers with the NSER, wagering service providers must close that person’s account as soon as practicable, with additional contraventions for each day the account remains open. If the person’s self-exclusion ends and they choose to place bets again, they must be required to open a new account rather than being allowed to log into their old account.
ACMA member and gambling lead Carolyn Lidgerwood said this was a significant lapse in Unibet’s NSER compliance processes.
“Our investigation found very serious breaches by Unibet over a sustained period of time,” Ms Lidgerwood said.
“Taking in some cases 190 days to close accounts is clearly unacceptable and does not reflect the decisions made by Unibet customers to seek support to help them not gamble.
“The NSER rules are also there to ensure that people are making a clear and deliberate choice to recommence gambling. That is not the case if they can simply access old accounts.
“We recognise that no bets were made from these Unibet accounts or marketing sent while customers were self-excluded. However, this outcome puts the industry on notice that they must comply with the rules or face potential financial penalties and other actions available to the ACMA under the IGA,” she said.
In addition to the first financial penalty imposed by the ACMA for breaches of NSER rules, the ACMA has accepted a 2-year court-enforceable undertaking from Unibet. The undertaking commits Unibet to a comprehensive independent review of its compliance systems and processes and the implementation of recommended improvements.
Unibet has also voluntarily undertaken to issue refunds to affected customers who were able to access accounts that should have been closed. The ACMA considers these important commitments from Unibet, directed at ensuring future compliance.
People can sign up to the NSER here. More information about making complaints about an online wagering service can be found on the ACMA website.
Four betting services breach gambling self-exclusion rules
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found four wagering service providers – Buddybet, Ultrabet, VicBet and Topbet – breached rules that protect people who registered with BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER).
An ACMA investigation found Buddybet failed to close wagering accounts for people on the NSER and sent marketing to them. The company has since exited the Australian market.
A separate ACMA investigation found Ultrabet reopened the account of someone at the end of their self-exclusion period and allowed that person to bet with that account. Ultrabet also caused marketing to be sent to another self-excluded person.
Under the NSER rules, once an individual registers with the NSER, wagering service providers must close that person’s account as soon as practicable. Accounts must not be reopened or reinstated once a person ceases to be registered with the NSER.
Instead, people at the end of their self-exclusion period who want to recommence gambling need to make a clear and deliberate choice to do so. Providers must also cease sending self-excluded people any electronic marketing such as emails or texts.
The ACMA has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Ultrabet, which commits the company to review its compliance systems and processes and implement improvements.
Following two other separate investigations, online bookmakers VicBet and Topbet have each been issued with a formal warning after the ACMA found they contravened the NSER marketing rules. The ACMA found each company had sent marketing material to a self-excluded person.
Authority member Carolyn Lidgerwood said breaches of the NSER rules can lead to significant harm.
“Wagering providers should know their obligations under the rules and know that we are enforcing them. The rules about account closure must be complied with,” Ms Lidgerwood said.
“People on the NSER have made a conscious effort to exclude themselves from online gambling services. Sending gambling marketing messages to people who are trying to stop gambling is unacceptable. Betting services must have systems in place that respect the decisions of people to self-exclude, or face further consequences.”
People can sign up to the NSER here. More information about making complaints about an online wagering service can be found on the ACMA website.
they can now finally afford a house less than 3 hours from the CBD!
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