The CEO of The Star Entertainment Group, Matt Bekier, has reacted furiously to the authors of a 2018 KMPG report, which deemed the operator unfit to hold its licence by failing to adhere to anti money-laundering (AML) policies.
As reported last week, hearing procedures have recently begun, with The Star’s Assisting Group Treasurer, Paulinka Dudek, preaching her innocence in suspect UnionPay transactions between The Star’s casinos and associated hotels.
Now, The Canberra Times details reports from The Star’s former chief risk officer (CRO), Paul McWilliams, who claims Bekier believed the KPMG report contained multiple errors, which made the meeting “very tense.”
The evidence from McWilliams came as part of the inquiry into The Star by the New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA), which is currently assessing the operator’s suitability to run its Sydney casino.
McWilliams was the latest to provide evidence, recalling the audit committee meeting, explaining: “It started with Mr. Bekier arriving ... and making a show of throwing onto the table what I assume was the executive summary of this report and saying, ‘I haven't seen this.’
“Then the discussion was along the lines of that it was unacceptable for the report to be prepared in this way [and] it was wrong in some material respects.”
The Star’s former Chief Risk Officer continued by saying that both he and colleague Tarnya O'Neil, who was the Head of Internal Audit, felt there was huge pressure on them.
“When it was put to us [that] this was wrong, without specifics and without having KPMG in the room, it was really hard to counter that. It is natural when it comes from the CEO. When he says it's wrong, you wonder if you missed something.
“After the meeting, I became increasingly satisfied there was nothing of a fundamental error in the report itself.”
“It is natural when it comes from the CEO. When he says it's wrong, you wonder if you missed something” Paul McWilliams, The Star Entertainment Group, Former CRO
IGT and Singapore Pools sign six-year contract
International Game Technology’s (IGT) subsidiary IGT Global Services Limited has signed a six-year contract with Singapore Pools (Private) Limited.
The agreement sees IGT provide its central lottery system Aurora and its related technologies to Singapore Pools, with the aim of offering reliability for Singapore Pools’ high volume of transactions.
“IGT's positive reputation and its global success in providing performance-driving solutions gives Singapore Pools the confidence that our lottery operations are powered by industry-leading technology,” said Singapore Pools CEO Lam Chee Weng.
“We have trusted IGT's technology since 1986 when Singapore Pools became the first computerised lottery in Southeast Asia, and we look forward to continuing our long-time partnership for the next six years.”
Together with the new central system, IGT will deploy Aurora Navigator, which offers a single place to view, manage and administer all lottery applications and back-office functions, aiming to help Singapore Pools manage its business.
Data partnership extended between Chinese Super League and Stats Perform
The Chinese Super League (CSL) has named the company its event and tracking data provider, bringing Stats Perform’s SportVU system to the home ground of every CSL club.
Under their agreement, the company has been granted the exclusive right to collect tracking data, which alongside “Opta” event data, will supplement the league’s broadcast and digital channels.
This includes analytics and predictive data to be used across the league’s various platforms before, during and after a game.
In addition to the firm’s data provision, another component of their partnership is Stats Perform’s new “Pressbox Graphics” application, which produces automated visual graphics and animations using Opta data.
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