Crown Sydney and The Star Fined After 16-Year-Old Gambles at Casinos

Two of Australia's biggest casinos have been hit with substantial fines after a 16-year-old was able to repeatedly enter their gaming areas using fake identification.

The NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) announced on 19 August that Crown Sydney had been fined A$1.75 million, while The Star Sydney received a A$500,000 penalty.

The fines followed an investigation by Liquor & Gaming NSW into how the teenager managed to access both casinos on numerous occasions between April and August 2025.

The teenager used a fraudulent driver's licence to gain entry.

Teenager Entered Crown Sydney 19 Times

The most serious failures occurred at Crown Sydney, where the 16-year-old entered the casino on 19 separate occasions.

During those visits, he was able to gamble and eventually attained silver membership status at the casino.

The teenager was also served complimentary alcohol despite being under Australia's legal drinking age.

NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford said both casinos had accepted responsibility for significant failures in their identity verification and customer onboarding procedures.

He said the failures allowed the teenager to enter casino gaming areas repeatedly over a significant period.

Crawford also highlighted the seriousness of the Crown Sydney breaches, which went beyond simply allowing an underage person onto the gaming floor.

The teenager had gambled away a significant amount of money, while Crown Sydney had also allowed the illegal service and consumption of complimentary alcohol.

The Star Sydney Also Failed to Detect Fake ID

The same 16-year-old managed to enter The Star Sydney on three separate occasions during the same period.

Like Crown Sydney, The Star failed to identify that the driver's licence being presented by the teenager was fraudulent.

The casino was subsequently fined A$500,000.

The case has raised concerns about the effectiveness of identity checks at major Australian casinos, particularly as identification systems play an important role in preventing both underage gambling and criminal activity.

Casinos Agree to Improve Verification

Both casinos have agreed to introduce additional measures following the investigation.

These include improvements to identity verification and customer onboarding procedures, along with additional  training for casino employees.

Liquor & Gaming NSW Executive Director of Regulatory Operations Dimitri Argeres described the failure of the safeguards protecting the teenager as unacceptable.

The regulator said effective controls are particularly important because young people can be vulnerable to gambling-related harm.

The teenager has also been banned from entering either Crown Sydney or The Star Sydney for five years. The ban will begin when he turns 18.