Three states have so far had inquiries into the activities of casinos within their jurisdictions and the fall out has been substantial. Boards have been purged, executives have quit or forced out and the licence to operate threatened.

Money laundering appears to be rife and yesterday Star’s managing director Matt Bekier resigned as more allegations were raised about activities in Sydney.

That follows the damning findings in Crown’s operations in Melbourne and Perth. Crown has been declared unsuitable to hold a casino licence in three states – NSW, Victoria and Western Australia.

But in Queensland official scrutiny of Star’s behaviour has been behind closed doors. The public isn’t even aware of what is being looked at or how profound the issue may or may not be.

The problem for the Government is that Star is behind the $3.6 billion Queens Wharf project, a CBD renewal project that has been championed as a game changer for the city.

It would be a major embarrassment for the Government to have that tarnished, but it may have little choice.

In October Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman called in the police to investigate allegations that Star Entertainment allowed money laundering and infiltration by organised crime figures at its Gold Coast casinos, but so far has ruled out any public inquiry or even an external investigator.

Some of the allegations were that Star had encouraged high rollers banned from attending casinos in Sydney or Melbourne to instead gamble at its Gold Coast casino. In Sydney, the allegations were that Star helped high rollers sidestep regulations by using a China Union Pay credit card to withdraw vast sums of money.

“The allegations of money laundering and integrity issues are very serious, and the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation are undertaking appropriate investigations, along with the Queensland Police and AUSTRAC,” Fentiman said in October.

“The investigation will consider the appropriateness and effectiveness of Star’s due diligence processes in relation to anti-money laundering and how the Star approaches exclusions to ensure people are excluded from all properties where appropriate.”

AUSTRAC announced the investigation in June last year and said it related to potentially serious non-compliance relating to money laundering and included concerns over ongoing customer due diligence.

The Queensland Government’s Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation said it was continuing its investigation into Star and closely monitoring the hearings in NSW.

It said the Queensland Government would use the recommendations of the interstate inquiries to consider enhancements in Queensland.