Star Entertainment $307M Loss Amid AUSTRAC Fine Risk

Casino operator Star Entertainment posted a Star Entertainment $307 million loss for the 2026 financial year, according to a report by Nine.com.au. The result, an improvement on 2025's nearly $428 million loss, comes as a potentially larger fine hangs over the company.

The loss was impacted by more than $80 million in fines and settlements tied to recent legal troubles, plus $35 million in restructuring costs. Chairman Soo Kim, appointed in December after US casino giant Bally's injected hundreds of millions to keep the company afloat, said "we are witnessing the first green shoots."

The company highlighted $367 million in cash and other assets on hand, a turnaround from early 2025 when it risked running out of cash, achieved after selling its Queen's Wharf stake and cutting operating costs by almost 8% to $860 million. "The business is cash flow positive for the first time in years," Kim said.

The Star is awaiting a Federal Court decision over a Star Entertainment money laundering case brought by AUSTRAC, which alleges the operator failed to conduct due diligence on high-risk customers. AUSTRAC is pushing for a Star Entertainment $400 million fine, though the company said any penalty above $100 million would be "challenging based on available liquidity options."

In related Australian corporate news, Origin Energy confirmed bank details of dozens of customers were accessed in a separate data breach.