Star Entertainment Group’s recent bans on poker players don’t sit well with many professionals. The Australian Poker Schedule, a website that allows enthusiasts to keep track of upcoming events, has launched a petition against Star’s allegedly “unjustified” measures.
Craig Abernethy, founder of the Australian Poker Schedule, addresses the issue in the petition, saying that in around 12 months, the casino company has banned more than half a dozen of Australia’s best poker players.
Some of the recipients of allegedly unjustified bans include Alex Lynskey, Jarred Graham, Hun Wei Lee, Najeem Ajez, Rehman Kassam and Chris Zenonos. These players, among others, are currently unable to enter Star’s properties, lest they risk intervention from the police.
Not only have these players practiced and honed their poker skills, built their careers around poker and performed at the highest level of competition for more than a decade, but they have exemplary and long-standing reputations and are highly respected among the poker community including some internationally recognized.
Craig Abernethy, founder, Australian Poker Schedule
The worst part, Abernethy says, is that Star Entertainment never provided any details on the reasoning behind the bans. When contacted, the company reminded the disgruntled players that “it is not required to provide reasons” for its decisions.
Abernethy Asks Fans to Stand Up
The biggest problem stemming from the bans is that the banned players are now essentially excluded from the World Poker Tour Australia because of the World Poker Tour’s exclusive partnership with Star Entertainment Group.
As a result, the aforementioned players will lose the opportunity to play at the prestigious event without even knowing why they have been banned. According to Abernethy, the “scariest thing” is that this can happen to any poker player at any time.
Australian Poker Schedule’s founder emphasized that Star’s actions are worrying and that players should be wary of the company. He asked the poker community and their friends to stand up against Star Entertainment, which he accused of being “cruel, arrogant and bullish.”
The petition has 527 signatures as of the time of this writing.
Casino.org later spoke with Abernethy on the matter. Abernethy told the news outlet that Star Entertainment likely flags the activity of poker players who transfer large sums of money as suspicious, believing it to be related to money laundering.
Considering Star’s recent regulatory trouble, it is possible that the company wants to be extra safe when implementing its remediation measures.