source : the age
The state’s casino regulator has fined Sydney’s Crown and The Star a combined $2.25 million for allowing a 16-year-old boy to gamble tens of thousands of dollars using a fake ID.
On Wednesday, the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) issued the gambling giants penalties of $1.75 million and $500,000, respectively, for the security breaches that occurred over several months last year.
The teenager, from Sydney’s northern beaches, visited Crown Sydney 19 times between April and August 2025 and gambled more than $21,000 on table games. He was served 91 alcoholic beverages, some of which were complimentary. On several occasions, he attended the casino with his mother.
During three visits to The Star, the 16-year-old gambled almost $400. He was stopped from entering the casino on his fourth attempt using a fake driver’s licence. The boy obtained silver status at Crown, and membership to The Star Club, using the fake licence.
He was handed a five-year casino ban, which will start when he turns 18. In NSW, it is illegal for a person under 18 to enter a casino.
“The NICC acknowledges that both casinos have accepted responsibility for the significant failures in their identity verification and customer onboarding processes which have allowed this minor to enter their venues repeatedly and over a significant period of time,” NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford said.
“However, this does not diminish the seriousness of allowing a 16-year-old to enter casino gaming areas and gamble away a significant amount of money. In the case of Crown Sydney, this also included the illegal service and consumption of complimentary alcohol.
“Maintaining effective identity verification processes is not only a necessary tool in the protection of minors but for detecting fraud and criminal activity in NSW casinos.”
Liquor and Gaming NSW, which referred the breaches to the NICC, will continue to monitor the casinos’ compliance with internal controls.
“The breakdown in safeguards that allowed a vulnerable young person to repeatedly access casino gaming areas and suffer actual harm is unacceptable,” its executive director of regulatory operations, Dimitri Argeres, said.
A Crown spokesperson said the casino had strengthened its internal controls, including with enhanced fraudulent ID detection methods, additional staff training and new ID verification technology.
“Crown Sydney takes its obligations in relation to minors and the use of false identification extremely seriously,” the spokesperson said, adding that the casino had cooperated with the regulator’s investigation since becoming aware of the incident.
Wednesday’s fine adds to Star Entertainment’s woes, as it awaits a possible fine of up to $400 million from the federal financial crimes watchdog, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. Its Darling Harbour casino has teetered on the brink of closure since its licence to operate in Sydney was suspended in October 2022, after an independent inquiry into its suitability.
Star Entertainment was last year handed a $300 million lifeline by US-based gambling giant Bally’s Corporation and Star’s majority shareholder, pub and pokies billionaire Bruce Mathieson.
The Star remains under state-government-appointed management, which has been extended several times and is currently in place until September 30. The NICC has previously fined Star Entertainment more than $100 million for failures to stem criminal activity and money laundering within its casinos.
The casino is the subject of an ongoing NICC investigation after allowing accused Penthouse Syndicate ringleader Anya Phan to gamble $800,000 as a VIP customer, despite knowing she was unemployed and living off an $800 a fortnight pension. Police allege Phan, a self-proclaimed fortune-teller, laundered the ill-gotten fortune made from the syndicate’s large-scale property frauds.
