Star Entertainment confirms that Hard Rock International has an “inbound interest” for an investment

Australian casino operator Star Entertainment has received interest in investments from a consortium led by Hard Rock International. The Australian Financial Review was first to break this news on Monday. Hard Rock is the gaming arm of Florida’s Seminole Tribe. Reports have surfaced that the Tribal gaming giant is not looking into Star Entertainment. According to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Star hasn’t received any interest directly from Hard Rock. 

However, the Hard Rock Hotel & Resorts (Pacific) is in the group of potential investors. Star Entertainment has been told that they are a local partner of Hard Rock. The Australian Financial Review noted that for these potential investments, all land-based casinos would rebrand under the Hard Rock name. Additionally, the casinos would focus on other aspects such as live music and hotels. When this news broke, Star shares jumped 21% in Sydney, Australia.

Why Hard Rock could run into issues investing in Star Entertainment

Star Entertainment was involved in an anti-money laundering probe. With that, they risk losing control of their flagship venue, The Star Sydney. It’s been run by the Australian Government since 2022. After the first Bell inquiry, Star was stripped of its gaming license. In February, the second Bell inquiry was launched. Its main objective is to focus on Star’s activity in New South Wales (NSW) and the fallout of the first Bell Report. The casino implemented 22 of the 30 recommended measures one year after the first inquiry was completed. 

The second Bell inquiry’s final report will be released on July 31. Star Entertainment has another two casinos in Australia that are run by the government. They are The Star Brisbane and the Star Gold Coast. Hard Rock is willing to work with Australian regulators and could even provide the Star with capital.

Despite the uncertainty, Star Entertainment still has interest from investors

Currently, Star Entertainment is not highly appealing to potential investors. That’s due to regulatory uncertainty, executive upheaval, and debt burden within their company. Star is one of the largest gaming operators in Australia. Hard Rock knows the potential for success in Australia is through the roof if they can settle some of these legal issues. We’ve seen Hard Rock be highly successful with casinos all around the world. They have locations in the United States, Ontario, Canada, a casino hotel in the Dominican Republic, and are currency building in Athens, Greece. If they can reach a deal with Star, Hard Rock will be opening in Australia in the future.