AUSTRAC v Star AUD 260 million penalty: Allegations, Court Orders and Status

On October 28, 2026 Moore J of the Federal Court of Australia ordered The Star Pty Ltd and The Star Entertainment Qld Ltd to pay AUD 260 million in civil penalties in Chief Executive Officer of AUSTRAC v The Star Pty Ltd [2026] FCA 1606.

The penalty is payable in four installments over 19 months, according to Star's ASX announcement of October 29, 2026.

It was the first casino anti-money-laundering case in Australia in which the penalty was contested. It is a regulator penalty, so no player payout exists. How we source and check every case: methodology.

Total and installment count from Star's ASX announcement; the AUD 195M and AUD 65M split is press only.

What this case is about

Chief Executive Officer of AUSTRAC v The Star Pty Ltd and The Star Entertainment Qld Ltd, docket NSD1025/2022 in the Federal Court of Australia, New South Wales Registry, began when AUSTRAC lodged its concise statement on November 30, 2022.

It was brought under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth). A complaint states one side's allegations, and only the court's orders decide anything.

What AUSTRAC alleged about Star's anti-money-laundering program

AUSTRAC's civil penalty claim alleged that Star's anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing program was non-compliant and that ongoing customer due diligence, source-of-funds and third-party transaction controls failed. Those are AUSTRAC's allegations, as set out in its concise statement. The number of contraventions is not stated in the record we hold.

The facts were agreed in the proceeding, and only the amount of the penalty was contested. This is one of the regulators and attorneys general in court cases we track.

What the Federal Court found: more than 1,200 high-risk customers

The court's findings, as reported, were that more than 1,200 high-risk customers gambled through high-risk channels and that Star earned about AUD 1.33 billion from them between November 2016 and November 2022, a figure Star itself calculated.

The judgment text was not retrievable when we checked, so these figures rest on press reports of Star's ASX announcement and of the judgment summary. We cite the judgment by its citation, [2026] FCA 1606, and by the date of the order, October 28, 2026.

Who is covered

The case covers two Star companies and the conduct at three casinos; it covers no player.

The two defendants and the three casinos

The Star Pty Limited runs The Star Sydney; The Star Entertainment Qld Limited runs the Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane casinos. Press reports of the orders give the shares below, which the ASX announcement does not state.

Who is not covered: players and shareholders

No player, customer or shareholder is a party to this case or receives a payout from it. AUSTRAC, a regulator, was the applicant, and the penalty is not a compensation fund.

Shareholders' claims are separate. The Star Entertainment shareholder class action is docket S ECI 2022 01039 in the Supreme Court of Victoria, where registration and opt-out closed on September 26, 2024 and the court page lists no settlement.

Is there a payout?

No payout to players exists: the AUD 260 million is a civil penalty ordered in a regulator's case, there is no fund, no claim form and no deadline.

The penalty: AUD 260 million in four installments

The Federal Court ordered AUD 260 million in total, payable in four installments over 19 months according to Star's ASX announcement of October 29, 2026.

Press reports of the orders give AUD 195 million for The Star Pty Ltd and AUD 65 million for The Star Entertainment Qld Ltd, with installments from November 25, 2026 to May 25, 2028. Those details are not confirmed in the orders.

A penalty is not a settlement fund, and nobody files a claim against it. Our guide to gambling class actions in Australia sets regulator penalties against class action settlements.

Why AUSTRAC asked for AUD 400 million and Star offered AUD 100 million

AUSTRAC sought AUD 400 million and Star argued for no more than AUD 100 million, and the court's AUD 260 million falls between them. Both figures are press reports of the penalty hearing.

Because the facts were agreed, the contest was about the amount. On those reported figures, the penalty is 65 percent of AUSTRAC's request and 2.6 times Star's ceiling, which is arithmetic on the reports and not a court statement.

What happens next

The next events are the installments, a costs order and any appeal, and none of the three has a confirmed date in the court record.

Installments, costs and possible appeal

Star said in its ASX announcement that it accepted the penalty and that the amount was materially in line with its provision. The record does not say whether either side could still appeal, and no appeal is recorded as of November 14, 2026. A costs order is not confirmed in the court record.

We do not predict what either side will do. Large judgments are listed in our tracker of landmark gambling court cases, and we update this page when an appeal or a costs order appears.

Timeline

AUSTRAC filed against Star on November 30, 2022 and the court ordered the penalty almost four years later.

The reported revenue period ends in the month AUSTRAC filed its concise statement.

What the court has decided so far

One substantive order exists: the penalty judgment of October 28, 2026 by Moore J ([2026] FCA 1606), the court's first contested casino anti-money-laundering penalty.

Facts were agreed; only the amount was contested. AUSTRAC sought AUD 400 million, and the court ordered AUD 260 million.

No other substantive order is in the record we hold. Every case against this company group, including the director and shareholder proceedings, is listed on the page for Star Entertainment lawsuits.

Documents and sources

Every figure on this page comes from the judgment citation, Star's ASX announcement or the court-filed concise statement, listed here with the copy we read. The judgment text itself was not retrievable, and press reports are marked as such.

• Federal Court judgment [2026] FCA 1606 (primary; citation read, text not read).
• Star ASX announcement, October 29, 2026 (primary).
• AUSTRAC concise statement, 2022 (primary; the file number is read from the notice of filing as indexed by search).
• AUSTRAC media release on the 2022 proceedings (regulator).
• asgam report of the orders (press, supporting only).
• Lawyers Weekly on the first contested AML/CTF penalty (press, supporting only).

Related cases

These related cases show how this penalty compares and what else Star faces.

Other AUSTRAC penalties against gambling businesses

AUSTRAC has won court-ordered penalties against gambling businesses between 2017 and 2026.

Cumulative total from our statistic; Star's figure is as read from the ASX announcement.

Added together with Star's, the court-ordered penalties above come to AUD 822 million. That sum is a statistic from our records, computed from the judgments, and it excludes costs orders and the pending Entain case.

Other Star cases

Other proceedings concern the same period.

• ASIC v Star directors: NSD1082/2022 in the Federal Court, where Lee J found on March 5, 2026 that the former CEO and the former general counsel breached s 180 ([2026] FCA 196), and notices of appeal were filed on July 14, 2026.
• The DA Lynch shareholder claim: S ECI 2022 01039 in the Supreme Court of Victoria, registration closed September 26, 2024, no settlement and no trial date on the court page.

Neither of these is a claim against the penalty on this page.

Questions people ask

How much was Star fined by AUSTRAC?

AUD 260 million, ordered by Moore J of the Federal Court on October 28, 2026. It is a civil penalty in [2026] FCA 1606.

Who gets the AUD 260 million?

The record does not say; the penalty is not a compensation fund and no claim form exists. Who receives it is not confirmed in the court record.

Is the Star penalty final?

Star accepted the penalty; no appeal is recorded as of November 14, 2026. A costs order is not confirmed in the court record.

Can Star customers or shareholders claim compensation?

No; players and shareholders are not covered by this penalty, and the shareholder claim is a separate case. For the grounds that have worked elsewhere, see can you sue a casino or sportsbook.

Is this the biggest casino fine in Australia?

No; Crown's AUD 450 million penalty of 2023 is larger, which makes Star's AUD 260 million the second largest court-ordered AUSTRAC penalty among the gambling businesses in the record. Every Australian case is listed under gambling lawsuits in Australia.

Filing a settlement claim is free. GamblingLawsuits.org is not a law firm and not a claims administrator, and no claim form exists for this case. Last checked November 14, 2026.