Darling Casino Ltd v New South Wales Casino Control Authority

Darling Casino Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the validity of a direction issued by the New South Wales Casino Control Authority (the Authority) to Darling Casino Ltd, requiring it to cease operating its casino at Darling Harbour. The Authority had issued this direction pursuant to section 104 of the *Casinos Legislation (Amendment) Act 1995* (NSW).

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Authority had acted *ultra vires* in issuing the direction to cease operations. This involved determining whether the Authority had the power under section 104 of the *Casinos Legislation (Amendment) Act 1995* to issue such a direction, and if so, whether the exercise of that power was lawful. A related issue was whether the Authority had failed to afford Darling Casino Ltd procedural fairness before issuing the direction.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Gleeson CJ, Handley JA and Powell JA, found that section 104 of the *Casinos Legislation (Amendment) Act 1995* conferred a broad power on the Authority to issue directions to a casino operator, including directions to cease operations, where it was satisfied that the operator was not complying with the provisions of the *Casinos Act 1992* (NSW) or the terms of its licence. The Court held that the Authority had reasonably formed the belief that Darling Casino Ltd was not complying with its licence conditions and that the direction was therefore within the scope of the statutory power. Furthermore, the Court concluded that while the Authority had a duty to afford procedural fairness, the circumstances of the case did not necessitate a formal hearing, and Darling Casino Ltd had been given sufficient opportunity to make submissions.

The appeal was dismissed. The Court of Appeal affirmed the decision of the Supreme Court and upheld the validity of the direction issued by the Casino Control Authority.