Asked if he supported calls for a national casino regulator Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the responsibility lay with the states, expressing confidence that existing state-operated regulators would take strong action.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that the state regulators are doing it pretty good job of holding the casino operators to account, that’s my observation,” he said.

“I’m not in favour of regulation for the sake of it. And I think it’s pretty hard for anyone to argue that either Crown or Star are not been held to account at the moment.”

Law and corporate governance specialist Helen Bird said The Star’s conduct was arguably more egregious than the corruption at rival Crown Resorts because the group “continued activity while watching Crown be investigated by Bergin. You’d think they’d have an epiphany and stop behaving like that,” Bird said.

However, Bird disagreed with Crawford’s assessment The Star may be beyond repair, “You may say it’s too embedded in their culture, but it’s impossible for them not to comply. There needs to be a massive mea culpa if they have any chance of continuing operations and that’s paramount on multiple levels,” she said.

“I don’t like gambling full stop because of its inherent nature, but there are now a lot of stakeholders involved. I’m surprised given all the actions taken to create it that we’d let it fail without some sort of reformed conduct. That is a seriously tough regulator if it does let it fail.”

Bird was most disappointed by the behaviour of the legal counsel advising The Star, cautioning those aspiring to work in corporate law to remember “your duty to your client is not as critical as your duty to the law”.

“It’s surprising how little lessons had been learned from the banking royal commission of 2017,” she continued.

Macquarie analysts on Wednesday said that they expected The Star to hold on to its licence despite the severe harm suffered by the company’s brand. They added that while the outcome of the casino’s unsuitability was unsurprising, a clear pathway forward would have been ideal.

“We still see Star Entertainment retaining the NSW licence within ongoing remediation and the likelihood of monetary penalties ... and/or the appointment of a manager which would follow precedent with outcomes at Crown Resorts,” the analysts said in a note tagged ‘It can be hard to shake a bad reputation’.

They predicted The Star would be hit with a financial penalty and the appointment of a special manager, two of the four recourses the regulator may implement.

Star Entertainment Group’s shares fell 3.4 per cent to $2.68 in afternoon trading.

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