The Star will sack 500 full time employees as the regulatory and economic headwinds buffet the flailing casino group.

The gambling company, which has outposts in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, announced it would conduct a strategic review of its Sydney casino – Australia’s second largest – alongside the cost cutting initiative.

The board told shareholders on Wednesday morning the Star is experiencing a “significant and rapid deterioration in operating conditions”, particularly at its Sydney and Gold Coast casinos, driven by regulatory restrictions and weaker consumer spending.

“The Star Sydney continues to operate in an uneven competitive environment,” the company said in an announcement to the ASX.

In response, the board announced the staff reduction, which will affect 500 full-time equivalent positions across the group, excluding risk management and remediation resources, as well as cancelling short-term and other incentives for the financial year and a salary freeze for employees not on an enterprise bargaining agreement.

The Star expects the initiatives to reduce more than $100 million in operating expenditure for FY23.

– AAP