Star Entertainment Settles ATO Junket Tax Dispute for AU$55m
Star Entertainment confirmed on Tuesday that it settled a decade-long GST and withholding tax dispute with Australia’s Commissioner of Taxation over historical payments to junket operators. The Australian Taxation Office will refund AU$33m of the AU$88m Star already paid against the disputed amount, and the operator will book a AU$55m charge for the year ending 30 June 2026.
The GST dispute concerned rebates paid to junket operators between October 2013 and August 2017. The withholding tax dispute covered the calculation method used for payments made between July 2014 and June 2020.
Per the report by Ben Blaschke, the ATO claimed Star underpaid GST on rebates and commissions paid to junket operators, worth AU$158m. A separate claim over withholding tax on junket rebate payments added AU$8.4m, the report states.
In response, Star rejected the ATO’s interpretation of the tax law and filed Federal Court proceedings in 2023, according to the same report. Mediation followed between the two sides during the proceedings, and Star had already ended its dealings with junket operators in October 2020.
The settlement adds to a wider compliance reset for Star, per the report. Bally’s Corp and Investment Holdings Pty Ltd acquired a controlling stake in the group last year, and Star now works to regain suitability to operate its casinos in New South Wales and Queensland. Star recently chose not to seek a determination of its licence status because of the change of control, but it submitted a pathway to suitability to the NSW Independent Casino Commission, the report notes.
💡TGJ Take
Star has turned a seven-year tax dispute into one fixed FY2026 cost. The AU$55m charge is painful, but certainty matters more than the accounting hit here. For land-based operators, this case shows how junket-era rebate and commission deals can create tax exposure long after those relationships end. Star still must convince regulators in NSW and Queensland under new ownership, but this settlement removes one more legacy issue from that list.
