Dr Yew Choy Wong was ordered to pay up over AU$38m of debts to The Star casino after losing a high-stakes baccarat tournament. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

High roller ordered to pay up

A Singaporean high-roller has been ordered to repay more than AU$38m ($25.28m) in gambling debts after losing a court case on Monday.

Billionaire Dr Yew Choy Wong racked up the debts to The Star Entertainment QLD Limited in 2018 during a trip to the Broadbeach Island casino on the Gold Coast.

lost over AU$47.3m ($31.5m) during the week-long stay to play a baccarat tournament

Wong lost over AU$47.3m ($31.5m) during the week-long stay to play a baccarat tournament, which was reduced to AU$43.2m ($28.7m) including rebates and allowances.

Blank check issued to casino

The Star informed the court that they had made AU$40m ($26.6m) of credit available to Wong, via a blank check that was issued to the Star Sydney in 2017.

However, after leaving the casino, Wong canceled the check and instructed his bank to not honor the agreement. When the Star attempted to cash the check at the National Australia Bank in Bundall on the Gold Coast, it bounced.

Wong denied giving the casino permission to use the blank check

The Star issued written demands for repayment on October 16 and December 21, 2018. Wong denied giving the casino permission to use the blank check, and argued that mistakes made by baccarat dealers meant that he was not obliged to honor the debt.

The Star admitted that they had been at fault over three incidents, with Chief Operating Officer Paul Arbuckle issuing a written apology to Wong on August 1, but this had no bearing on the money owed.

The Star had attempted to take Wong to court in Singapore in 2019, but failed due to the Singapore Civil Law Act, which prevents the Singaporean government from assisting foreign companies attempting to recover gambling debts incurred overseas.

In response, the Star took the case to the Queensland Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the casino, with Justice Melanie Hindman stating: “The Star GC has made out its claim for recovery of the CCF [cheque cashing facility] monies as loans, and Dr Wong has not made out any pleaded defence to that claim.”

Welcome reprieve for Star

The verdict comes as a rare piece of good news for The Star, which has faced serious problems in recent years.

Star Sydney had its license suspended and received a record AU$100m ($66.6m) fine after an inquiry in October 2022, while a second enquiry last month found the company unfit to reobtain its license.

On September 2, Star was suspended from trading after failing to reveal its accounts for the year. The company faced serious cashflow issues, with new CEO Steve McCann attempting to secure tax reprieves from local authorities in an effort to buy time for the floundering business.

Before trading was stopped, the company was trading at AU$0.45 ($0.30) a share, a 50% drop over the previous year.