SkyCity’s Auckland Casino to Close for Five Days Later This Year Due to Temporary Licence Suspension

SkyCity to Temporarily Close Auckland Casino Following Licence Suspension Settlement

SkyCity Entertainment Group will temporarily close its Auckland casino as part of a licence suspension settlement with New Zealand’s secretary of internal affairs.

Details of the Closure

SkyCity Auckland will be closed for five consecutive days this year, although the specific dates are yet to be determined. This closure resolves a settlement related to a complaint made in February 2022 by a former customer, citing the casino’s failure to meet responsible gambling requirements from August 2017 to February 2021.

Background of the Licence Suspension

After examining the complaint, the secretary of internal affairs moved to temporarily suspend the casino licence of SkyCity subsidiary SCML due to issues in detecting continuous play. The suspension application was filed in September 2023.

Financial Implications

The closure is expected to impact SkyCity’s FY2025 earnings, resulting in an estimated EBITDA loss of about NZ$5.0 million (£2.3m/€2.8m/$3.0m). Consequently, SkyCity has revised its FY2025 guidance, now projecting underlying group EBITDA to be between NZ$245.0 million and NZ$265.0 million, down from the previous forecast of NZ$250.0 million to NZ$270.0 million.

Terms of the Settlement

In the settlement, SkyCity and its subsidiary SCML acknowledged their failure to comply with responsible gambling requirements, attributing the issue to a design error in their technology system, which has since been rectified. SCML also admitted to insufficient use of staff observation and intervention to identify continuous play and issued a formal apology to the secretary of internal affairs.

Efforts to Improve

SkyCity chair Julian Cook stated that the closure resolves the matter and that the company has implemented new measures to prevent similar issues in the future. These measures include a multi-year transformation program initiated in 2021 to enhance risk management across its operations, recruitment of directors with specialist risk experience, establishment of a dedicated risk and compliance committee, increased internal and external audit capabilities, and appointment of a group chief risk officer.

Additionally, SkyCity has committed to mandatory carded play across its New Zealand casinos by mid-2025, with its Adelaide, Australia casino to follow by the end of next year.

Leadership and Commitment

In April, SkyCity announced the appointment of experienced gambling executive Jason Walbridge as its new CEO, effective July, replacing Michael Ahearne. SkyCity chief operating officer Callum Mallett emphasized the company’s commitment to providing safe and responsible environments for both customers and staff, and to working cooperatively with regulators.