Bruce Mathieson Jnr: Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, The Star Entertainment Group

Bruce Mathieson Jnr became Star Entertainment Group CEO in December 2025. See his career timeline, ownership stake, and the regulatory issues he now faces.

Updated on Aug 27, 2026

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Bruce Mathieson Jnr became Group CEO and Managing Director of The Star Entertainment Group on 17 December 2025. It capped a two-month sprint through the boardroom, three different titles in three weeks. He’s now one of Australia’s most closely watched gambling executives. He’s the son of pub and poker-machine billionaire Bruce Mathieson Snr.

His appointment puts Star’s day-to-day running in the hands of its two biggest shareholders at once. One is his own family’s investment vehicle. The other is US casino group Bally’s Corporation, whose chairman Soo Kim took the board chair the same day.

Bruce Mathieson Jnr’s Career Timeline at The Star

Five moves in under four months took him from board observer to Group CEO.

1 September 2025 – Mathieson Jnr begins attending Star’s board meetings as an observer, pending regulatory and ministerial approval of his formal appointment. He joins as a nominee of Investment Holdings Pty Ltd. The firm had committed A$100 million to Star’s rescue financing, under a subscription agreement shareholders approved on 25 June 2025.
13 October 2025 – With approvals secured, Mathieson Jnr formally joins The Star’s board as a non-executive director.
1 December 2025 – He is elected non-executive chairman of the board.
16 December 2025 – Group CEO and Managing Director Steve McCann steps down effective immediately. Mathieson Jnr takes on the expanded role of executive chairman while the board searches for a permanent replacement.
17 December 2025 – Twenty-four hours later, the board confirms Mathieson Jnr as permanent Group CEO, his third leadership title in three weeks. He steps down as chairman, handing that role to Bally’s chairman Soo Kim. He remains on the board as an executive director.

None of this is his first rodeo. Mathieson Jnr spent more than 30 years in hospitality and gaming before Star came calling. That included 11-plus years running ALH Group, the pubs-and-pokies operator his father built with Woolworths. His tenure there spanned ALH’s 2019 merger into Endeavour Group and the 2021 demerger that followed.

He stayed on as a non-executive director at Endeavour until a 2024 board shake-up pushed him off. He’s still a director of the family’s private holding company, Bruce Mathieson Group. He also sits as a non-executive on the board of stockbroker Ord Minnett.

Ownership and Family Background

In Australia, the Mathieson name means poker machines, not casinos. Star is new territory for the family. Bruce Mathieson Snr bought his first pub in the mid-1970s. He built ALH Group, in joint venture with Woolworths from 2000, into one of the country’s biggest pub-and-pokies operators. Woolworths bought the whole thing outright in 2004 for roughly A$1.4 billion. Mathieson Snr traded his direct ALH stake for shares in Endeavour Group when it formed in 2019. Between them, the family (Bruce Jnr and his two sisters included) controls an estimated 45% of Victoria’s poker machines. That’s split across separate family entities so no single one breaches the state’s 35% ownership cap.

The casino interest started separately from all that. Bruce Mathieson Snr first bought into Star in 2023, about 10%, later diluted to roughly 6.35% after an equity raise. Then, through 2025, that small stake grew into something much bigger. The family’s investment company, Investment Holdings Pty Ltd, teamed up with Bally’s Corporation on a combined A$300 million rescue package. It was structured as convertible notes and subordinated debt. Both the NICC and Queensland’s OLGR signed off on the deal in November 2025. Once the notes converted, Bally’s and Investment Holdings walked away with just under 61% of the company between them. Bally’s holds around 38%, the Mathiesons around 23%. So when Bruce Mathieson Jnr took the CEO chair, he wasn’t brought in from outside. He’s the son of the company’s largest shareholder, running it day to day. The board chair comes from the other one.

Why Bruce Mathieson Jnr’s Appointment Matters

Bekier’s resignation in March 2022 kicked off a revolving door: three more permanent CEOs in under four years. Industry press call Mathieson Jnr the “third” since that turning point. The turnover itself tells you almost as much about Star’s condition as any one appointment does:

Matt Bekier resigned in March 2022 amid an investigation into anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism law breaches at Star’s casinos.
Robbie Cooke (after an interim spell under Geoff Hogg) took over in October 2022 and was gone by March 2024.
Steve McCann, previously CEO of Crown Resorts, led Star from July 2024 until his exit in December 2025. That’s a tenure of less than 18 months. On his watch, the company posted a full-year net loss of A$427.9 million. Its share price fell roughly 45% over the year.

That churn at the top has run alongside the worst regulatory stretch in the company’s history. Mathieson Jnr inherits a business twice found unsuitable to hold a casino licence. Both its Sydney and Gold Coast licences remain suspended. A nine-figure federal money-laundering penalty still hangs over the company. And his appointment breaks with how regulators generally like casino operators run. It’s not an independent outsider brought in to clean house. It’s a major shareholder’s son who was already sitting on the board. Expect NSW and Queensland regulators to watch that closely as they keep reassessing whether Star deserves its licences back.

Regulatory Context Facing Bruce Mathieson Jnr

Star’s troubles trace back to two public inquiries, called the Bell Inquiries. They were run for the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC). Queensland’s Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) provides parallel oversight, covering The Star Gold Coast and The Star Brisbane.

October 2022 – Following the first Bell Report, the NICC found The Star Sydney unfit to hold a casino licence. Investigators cited evidence of roughly A$900 million laundered through a private gaming room via China UnionPay cards. The NICC suspended Star’s Sydney licence and fined the company A$100 million. It also appointed an independent manager, Nick Weeks of Wexted Advisors, to run the property while the licence stayed suspended.
October 2024 – A second Bell Report again found Star unsuitable to hold its licence. The NICC fined the company a further A$15 million and kept the Sydney licence suspended.
September 2025 – Still not convinced Star had done enough, the NICC extended the Sydney suspension to 31 March 2026. Weeks’ appointment, which by then also covered The Star Gold Coast, was extended too. The state government made a similar call that week. It deferred a looming 90-day Gold Coast suspension in Queensland to 30 September 2026. Regulators cited “positive progress” but “slower than anticipated” remediation.
November 2025 – Both the NICC and Queensland’s OLGR completed separate probity investigations into Bally’s Corporation and Investment Holdings Pty Ltd. Both regulators declared them “suitable entities.” That cleared the way for their combined A$300 million investment to convert into a controlling equity stake in Star.
5 March 2026 – The Federal Court ruled on ASIC’s case against Star’s former directors and executives. It found former CEO Matt Bekier and former legal chief Paula Martin breached their duty of care over money-laundering risk. The court dismissed ASIC’s case against Star’s non-executive directors entirely.
31 March 2026 – Star sold its 50% stake in the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium. That exited Star’s Brisbane ownership stake entirely. Star continues to operate the casino there under a revised management agreement.
31 March 2026 – The same day, the NICC confirmed the Sydney suspension would continue “at this time.” It extended Weeks’ appointment as special manager to 30 September 2026.
17 June 2026 – The Federal Court handed down penalties in the Bekier/Martin case on 17 June 2026. Bekier got a fine of A$700,000 and a six-year disqualification from managing a company. Martin got a fine of A$400,000 and a seven-year disqualification.
June 2026 – The NICC also issued a further A$10 million fine, covering thousands of breaches identified between December 2018 and September 2025. The breaches included extended uninterrupted gambling sessions and point-conversion failures. Star must also fund an additional A$5 million in compliance upgrades.
Ongoing – AUSTRAC’s civil penalty case against Star over anti-money-laundering failures is still before the Federal Court. The regulator was reported in 2025 to be seeking a penalty of around A$400 million. The case hadn’t been resolved as of this writing.

Both licence suspensions are due for another look around 30 September 2026. That falls squarely inside Mathieson Jnr’s first year in the job. The takeover hasn’t actually solved Star’s regulatory problem. It’s just changed whose name is on it. The NICC and OLGR will keep measuring the company, and now its new CEO, against the same standard. That’s the suitability bar that’s kept its licences suspended since 2022.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bruce Mathieson Jnr

Who is Bruce Mathieson Jnr, CEO of The Star Entertainment Group?

Bruce Mathieson Jnr is the Group CEO and Managing Director of The Star Entertainment Group, appointed 17 December 2025. He’s the son of pub and poker-machine billionaire Bruce Mathieson Snr and a former CEO of ALH Group. His family’s investment company, Investment Holdings Pty Ltd, is one of Star’s two largest shareholders. The other is US casino group Bally’s Corporation.

How did Bruce Mathieson Jnr become CEO of The Star?

His rise was fast. He joined Star’s board as a non-executive director on 13 October 2025 and was elected non-executive chairman on 1 December. He became executive chairman when CEO Steve McCann stepped down on 16 December. The board confirmed him as permanent Group CEO the next day, 17 December 2025, his third title in three weeks.

What is the Mathieson family’s stake in The Star Entertainment Group?

The family’s investment vehicle, Investment Holdings Pty Ltd, holds around 23% of Star. That stake grew out of a combined A$300 million rescue package with Bally’s Corporation. The package was agreed in 2025 and converted to equity that November. Together, Bally’s and Investment Holdings control just under 61% of the company, with Bally’s holding around 38%.

What was Bruce Mathieson Jnr’s career before The Star?

He spent more than 30 years in hospitality and gaming. He ran ALH Group, the pubs-and-pokies operator his father built with Woolworths, for over 11 years. That tenure spanned ALH’s 2019 merger into Endeavour Group and the 2021 demerger that followed. He also stayed on as a non-executive director at Endeavour until a 2024 board shake-up.

Is The Star Sydney’s casino licence still suspended under Bruce Mathieson Jnr?

Yes. The Star Sydney’s licence has been suspended since October 2022. The NSW Independent Casino Commission found the company unsuitable to hold it, following the Bell Inquiries. The suspension, and the appointment of an independent manager, has been extended repeatedly. It currently runs to 30 September 2026, a decision point inside Mathieson Jnr’s first year as CEO.

For more profiles like this, see Crazy Vegas’s full directory of Australian gambling executives.

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Career timeline

Why this appointment matters

Regulatory context

Background (ownership, family history, career; cited in prose, not tied to a single bullet)

Mason Heaton

Mason Heaton is a seasoned iGaming specialist and digital publishing strategist with more than a decade of hands-on experience covering online casinos, gambling legislation, responsible gaming practices, and the ever-evolving Australian betting landscape. With 10+ years of industry insight, she brings a rare blend of editorial precision, regulatory awareness, and player-first reporting to every piece she oversees.

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