SkyCity is facing a potential suspension of its casino licence for a period of 10 days, following an application made to New Zealand's Gambling Commission under section 144(a) of the Gambling Act. This section allows the secretary to seek a licence suspension if there is belief that the Act or licence conditions have been violated. The application pertains to SkyCity Casino Management Limited (SCML), which holds the operator licence for the SkyCity Auckland, SkyCity Hamilton, and SkyCity Queenstown locations.
The grounds for this application originated from a complaint received by the Department in February 2022 from a former customer of SkyCity Auckland, who gambled at the venue between August 2017 and February 2021. According to the secretary, SCML did not adhere to the requirements set out in its SkyCity Auckland Host Responsibility Programme, particularly concerning the identification of continuous play incidents by the customer.
The Gambling Commission is set to evaluate whether to impose a suspension on SCML's licence, which may involve reviewing written submissions and possibly conducting a hearing. This could result in a lengthy process.
In a statement regarding the situation, SkyCity indicated that it would not provide further comments, stating, "SkyCity will fully cooperate with the secretary in relation to the application and process. Given that the application is before the Commission, it would be inappropriate for SkyCity to comment further on the application and allegations at this stage."
This development is among several challenges faced by SkyCity this year. In December 2022, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) initiated federal proceedings against SkyCity due to deficiencies in anti-money laundering (AML) practices at SkyCity Adelaide. In May, SkyCity began a review of its counter-terrorist financing and AML programmes, as mandated by Consumer and Business Services, the gaming regulator for South Australia. Last month, the company revealed that it has set aside AU$45 million in anticipation of a possible civil penalty from Austrac.
