Aug 31 (Reuters) - Australian casino operator Star Entertainment reported a bigger-than-expected annual loss on Monday and warned that conditions would stay tough as weak New South Wales table gaming revenue and a pending regulatory penalty weighed on its outlook.
The result adds to pressure on the company, which has faced mounting regulatory scrutiny since 2021 over alleged breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. In 2022, the country's financial crime watchdog began
civil proceedings against Star units.
Star said it was still dealing with difficult trading conditions as it worked to return to profitability, manage external debt and respond to action by the financial crime watchdog, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.
It reported a statutory net loss after tax of A$307.3 million ($220.0 million) for the year ended June 30, smaller than A$427.9 million a year earlier but bigger than a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$180 million.
Shares of Star were down 3.9% at 0044 GMT, while the broader benchmark was largely flat.
The casino operator, however, reported 6% growth in combined revenue for The Star Sydney and The Star Gold Coast operations in July, which it said reflected customer engagement and marked a return to growth.
The company's troubles have also hit former management. An Australian court in June banned former CEO Matthias Bekier from managing companies for six years and fined him A$700,000 over failure to handle money-laundering risks.
Following a string of financial troubles, Star in May completed refinancing its debt with a $390 million secured term loan from U.S.-based private credit investment manager WhiteHawk, increasing available liquidity by A$130 million.
The deal followed an A$300 million investment in 2025 led by U.S. casino operator Bally's and the Mathieson family, which is Star's largest existing shareholder.
($1 = 1.3966 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nichiket Sunil and Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
