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Star Entertainment Group’s new chief executive, Robbie Cooke, will officially take the reins on Monday as the embattled casino operator readies itself for a cultural overhaul.
The former Tyro chief’s appointment was announced in June after Star chief Matt Bekier was stood down following a public inquiry by the NSW gambling regulator that revealed failures by the company to stem criminal activity and money laundering within its casinos. The NSW Bell inquiry and Queensland’s Gotterson inquiry found The Star unfit to hold its two state casino licenses and the company was savaged by regulators for having a broken culture driven by profit over compliance.
Cooke said watching the revelations that were uncovered by the respective inquiries had been “confronting”.
Tyro boss Robbie Cooke will lead the crisis-stricken Star Entertainment Group from Monday. Credit:James Alcock
“The business had lost its way in a number of areas, but I’m committed to rehabilitating it and restoring the group to suitability [to hold its casino licenses],” Cooke said.
Cooke said he’s been frustrated “sitting on the sidelines”, but he didn’t expect to be able to finish at the ASX-listed fintech Tyro so quickly due to his six-month notice period. Tyro has appointed internal executive Jonathan Davey to succeed Cooke after he finishes on Friday.
The public inquiries were launched after a 2021 investigation by the Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes alleged The Star had enabled money laundering, organised crime, large-scale fraud and foreign interference in its Australian casinos for years, even though the board was warned its anti-money-laundering controls were failing.
The Bell report savaged The Star’s culture of greed, labelling its board to be “well-meaning” but unaware of the crimes committed under its watch despite similar activity uncovered at its rival Crown Resorts.
Meanwhile, the head of the NSW Independent Casino Commission, Phillip Crawford, criticised The Star for an overly legalistic and defensive approach to the inquiry.
Cooke is confident he’s up to restoring the casino company and is focussed on rebuilding the trust of the regulators as well as its 75,000 shareholders and 8000 employees. Cooke has led Tyro since 2018 and previously ran lottery giant Tatts for five years.