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In the aftermath of Star Entertainment’s major compliance issues presented last week during public hearings, Matt Bekier, CEO and Managing Director of Star Entertainment, has formally announced his resignation. Said public hearings determined that Star had failed to effectively address concerns about its ties with junkets and had deceived the state's gaming authority, his resignation was announced.
A statement from Star to the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday stated that Bekier “said the right thing to do was for him to take responsibility,” following which he stepped down from the company board.
Although the announcement of the resignation did not specify when he would leave, Bekier would still “work with the Board to transition his executive responsibilities in an orderly manner.”
The retirement of Bekier, who was ranked 14th on Inside Asian Gaming's Power 50 list last year, coincides with the impact from recent probes into rival Australian live casino operator Crown Resorts, which resulted in the resignation of 10 of the company's 11 board of directors.
Crown was also found unsuitable to hold casino licenses in the Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia, but in all three cases, the company was given the opportunity to prove its suitability by updating its Board of Directors and executive leadership team, among other measures.
Australian media reported late last year that The Star Sydney had enabled suspected money laundering, organized crime, fraud, and foreign interference by cultivating high roller casino players with links to organized crime while ignoring red flags about the source of client funds. The public hearings into the casino were held in response to the reports.
Those reports had previously been labeled as "misleading" by the Star.
