Sydney casinos fined more than $2 million after underage boy allowed to gamble
Sydney’s two casinos have been fined a combined $2.25 million after allowing a minor to enter the venues on more than 20 occasions in the space of four months, offering membership and complimentary alcoholic drinks in the process.
NSW’s gaming regulator found The Star Sydney and Crown Casino Sydney had both allowed a boy under 18 years old to enter their venues using a fraudulent driver’s licence between April and August last year.
Crown Sydney (pictured) and The Star have been fined for allowing an underage boy to gamble in their casinos. 9News
The boy visited The Star three times, and went to the Crown in Barangaroo 19 times, where he was able to attain a silver membership status due to his frequent visits.
In its findings, the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) said the minor had gambled a “significant amount of money”, resulting in Crown Sydney being fined $1.75 million, and The Star Sydney receiving a $500,000 fine.
Despite acknowledging both venues accepted its mistakes, the nature of the offences was serious, the commission said.
“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,” NICC chief commissioner Philip Crawford said on Wednesday.
“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.”
The findings come after an investigation from Liquor and Gaming NSW, which criticised the failures in security at both venues for allowing the breaches to occur.
“The breakdown in safeguards that allowed a vulnerable young person to repeatedly access casino gaming areas and suffer actual harm is unacceptable,” Liquor and Gaming NSW executive director Dimitri Argeres said.
The fine is the latest blow to The Star. James Brickwood
Nine.com.au has reached out to The Star Sydney and Crown Sydney for comment.
The fines facing The Star are the latest blow to the embattled casino, which was hit with a $10 million fine in June after falling foul of several regulations, including allowing patrons to gamble for 36 hours straight.
Half of that fine was handed out due to systemic failures in financial crime risk management in its operations between July 2023 and September 2025.
The Star Sydney is in its fourth year operating under a suspended licence, a restriction introduced in October 2022.
Confirming that the suspension will remain in effect, the NICC extended the tenure of state-appointed manager Nick Weeks until at least September 30, 2026.
The legal issues have been a significant factor in the huge losses the company has suffered – it posted a statutory net loss of $109.7 million for the six months ending December 31, 2025.
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