The current thinking in Australia on the possibility of another Sydney casino licence is that it is unlikely before the 2019 ending of the current monopoly enjoyed by the Star City Casino.
Entrepreneur and Melbourne casino owner James Packer has been chasing a licence for Sydney for some time. Packer has an application in place to up his 10 per cent stake in Star City owner Echo Entertainment to 20 per cent. Interestingly, Malaysian casino owner Genting also has 10 per cent of Echo and wants to increase it.
Packer was rumoured to have sought an agreement with Echo that would see a shared licence in return for guaranteeing that a new casino-resort he would then build on the harbourside would only cater for high rollers. This has not happened so far.
The latest inside information we have is that the government has talked down the possibility of an extra licence before the 2019 deadline, or permitting a split licence.
