The Star Entertainment Group (ASX: SGR) has announced the shock resignation of Mark Mackay as the CEO of its Gold Coast casino-resort property, just three months after he stepped into the position.
Mackay, who returned to the casino group after a stint as chief operating officer for Crown Resorts Melbourne, assumed the role of CEO at The Star Gold Coast on 9 September.
The Star has given no reason for his sudden departure, which was announced after the market closed this afternoon.
However, the move follows an announcement last week that the newly elected Queensland Government had decided to defer a casino licence suspension for The Star Gold Coast planned to begin this month until 31 March while it seeks answers on how the business is overseeing changes to its remediation program.
The Star says Mackay’s resignation is effective immediately with a statement posted on the ASX simply referring to the company’s 9 September announcement of Mackay’s appointment which at the time was “subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals”.
“We thank Mark Mackay for his assistance and wish him well for the future,” says The Star’s group CEO Steve McCann in the brief announcement.
Mackay, who has more than 18 years of experience in integrated resorts and gaming, joined Crown in 2017 after previously spending 11 years at The Star Gold Coast, when it was formerly known as Jupiters Casino.
His previous role at the Gold Coast property was chief operating officer and he was poached from Crown by McCann, a former Crown CEO, to up head The Star's operations on the Gold Coast.
At the time of his appointment in September, The Star’s chair Anne Ward announced that Mackay completed the company’s “new leadership team structure of decentralised management across our three integrated resort developments in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney”.
Mackay’s previous experience at the Gold Coast property and his extensive experience in the industry was seen as a natural fit for The Star with his remediation experience at Crown aligning with that of McCann, who took on the top job at The Star in June this year after leaving Crown at the end of 2022.
Last week, Queensland Attorney General Deb Frecklington threw a spanner in the works for the company's remediation program by announcing that the 90-day licence suspension for The Star Gold Coast that was scheduled to begin on 20 December 2024 had been deferred until 9am on 31 March 2025.
The government said this was to give it more time to “properly assess the company's recently amended remediation plan to resolve governance issues and processes, including anti-money laundering regulations, problem gambling and risk management”.
Special manager Nicholas Weeks, who was appointed to oversee The Star’s remediation program in both NSW and Queensland, also had his role extended to 30 June next year as part of the ongoing review.
“The Star has also been advised that it is expected to take swift action to address the relevant significant outstanding remediation matters referred to above and that the Commissioner for Liquor and Gaming Regulation (Queensland’s casino regulator) will review The Star’s progress in February 2025,” said the company at the time.
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