Star Entertainment to sell interest in casino building amid regulatory problems

(Reuters) -Star Entertainment will sell its interest in the Treasury Brisbane Casino building in Queensland for A$67.5 million ($45.47 million), the embattled casino operator said on Friday.

Star, which continues to work with its advisors to finalise its fiscal 2024 results, has been under scrutiny after New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) found it has been slow to address the governance and cultural issues.

Earlier this year, NICC had appointed lawyer Adam Bell SC to conduct a second investigation into the company due to concerns that it had not sufficiently addressed its cultural shortcomings after being exposed for major anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism failures in 2022.

Trading of shares in the company has been suspended since last week for not lodging its financial results by the due date.

The sale comes after Star said in its half-year results that it was looking to sell its interest in the Brisbane casino property.

The company added that the sale was subject to conditions including consent from the government and a new lease in a suitable form being granted. The lease is targeted to occur around Sept. 27.

($1 = 1.4846 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Vijay Kishore)