Eligible shareholders who wished to sell their shares under the Voluntary Share Sale Facility were required to return a Sale Instruction Form by the Closing Date. Based on a share price of $5.68, being the closing price of The Star Entertainment Group (SGR) shares on the Australian Securities Exchange on the Record Date, an Unmarketable Parcel was any holding of 88 shares or less. Payment of the sale proceeds were made to participating shareholders on 27 May 2016 in accordance with their payment instructions as recorded on the share register. Despite competing bids from global brands like SkyCity and Delaware North, Crown Resorts has solidified its position as the prime candidate to assume Queen’s Wharf’s casino operations. They would require punters to set a limit on deposits or bets, or indeed the time they spend gambling, and enforce these technically. Without significant funds from the proceeds of crime, or exploitation of the vulnerable, casinos are clearly struggling. Ordinary people were also encouraged to use poker machines for hours without any attempt at encouraging a break, as mandated by "responsible gambling" codes. Media reporting, inquiries, and royal commissions into Crown, and then Star, give some insight into how the casino business used to be run in Australia. But over the same period, expenditure at casinos declined by more than 35% nationally, and by 42% in New South Wales.
