Star Casino Fined

Sydney’s Star Casino was fined more than $112,000 for not adequately informing the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) of the circumstances behind the firing of managing director Sid Vaikunta.

The U.S.-born executive was dismissed Feb. 2 after an internal investigation confirmed he sexually harassed two staffers on two occasions.

The IGLA found that Star’s inquiry into the harassment had been “proper and thorough.”

But it breached the Casino Control Act because it “should have disclosed but did not disclose” that Vaikunta had been suspended on Jan. 2 and ceased to be a “close associate” of the casino “on or about” Jan. 23.

The Star accepted the decision and the penalty, adding, “The Star wants to emphasise there was no intention to breach its obligations to the authority and that the company acted in good faith at all times.”