Star Entertainment Group confirmed on Monday 15 July 2024 that a planned upgrade to enable cashless gaming across its three Australian casino floors has caused a technical malfunction. As a result, all electronic gaming machines and electronic table games have been turned off. The company has not said when they will be switched back on.
What the company has said
Star owns and operates The Star Gold Coast, The Star Sydney and Treasury Brisbane. According to a notice on the casinos' websites, the machines were taken offline to uphold safer gambling procedures.
"To maintain our commitment to safer gambling procedures and providing the highest standards to our members and guests, Electronic Gaming Machines are currently offline," the company notice said, adding that it would "advise once normal operations recommence".
Star told local media that concerns a cyberattack lay behind the disruption were "without merit". It said its systems were disrupted by "system performance issues identified in post-upgrade testing". That led to the decision to switch off all electronic gaming machines and electronic table games at each property.
The pokies were turned off at around 10:00 pm local time on Saturday 13 July. Star officials said disabling electronic gaming was intended to "ensure compliance with relevant regulations and to maintain the company's commitment to safer gambling procedures". These are the company's own explanations. The source material does not include independent confirmation of the technical cause. It also does not detail the nature of the performance issues or say which regulations were at stake.
Live dealer table games, restaurants and bars remain operational, and live entertainment is proceeding as scheduled. Player activity statements are currently unavailable.
Scale of the affected venues
The Star Sydney generates the most annual gaming revenue of the three properties. It has 1,490 slot machine and electronic table game positions and 140 live dealer table games. Treasury Brisbane is due to close in the coming months, when the new Star Brisbane opens on the banks of the Brisbane River.
The source does not disclose how many machines are affected across all three venues, any revenue impact, or whether the cashless gaming rollout will proceed on its original timetable.
Timing amid regulatory pressure
The outage comes while Star is under heavy regulatory scrutiny. A New South Wales government inquiry is expected to present, in the coming weeks, its findings on whether Star remains suitable to hold the casino licence for The Star Sydney. In May, the inquiry suggested that a finding of unsuitability is likely.
Star believes it should be found suitable after cutting ties with its former CEO and Chair, David Foster. He was accused of "going to war" with the NSW Independent Casino Commission and with Nicholas Weeks, who was appointed to oversee The Star Sydney's operations on the commission's behalf during the inquiry.
In Queensland, an inquiry in 2022 found Star unsuitable to hold its two casino licences. The company was allowed to keep the licences, subject to disciplinary action and assurances of regulatory compliance upgrades. Star's shares on the Australian Securities Exchange have lost more than 85% of their value over the past five years.
The broader gambling picture
Star and Crown Resorts are Australia's two largest casino operators. Australia has one of the world's highest gambling participation rates, with about three in four adults gambling at some point each year. The Australian Institute of Family Studies says nearly four in 10 adults gamble weekly, and nearly half of that group face some risk of gambling harm.
Cashless gaming is generally discussed in the context of harm minimisation and player tracking. The source does not describe how Star's system is designed to work. Readers should treat the company's safer gambling framing as its own account until more detail is published.