The Department of Internal Affairs has applied to temporarily suspend SkyCity’s gambling license after a complaint from a former customer.
The customer gambled at the Auckland casino between August 2017 and February 2021. They complained to the Department of Internal Affairs in February 2022.
As a result, the secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs has applied to the Gambling Commission to temporarily suspend SkyCity Casino Management Limited’s casino operator license for a period "in the range of 10 days".
SkyCity Casino Management Limited (SCML), a subsidiary of SkyCity, is the holder of the casino operator's license for the SkyCity Auckland, SkyCity Hamilton and SkyCity Queenstown casinos in New Zealand.
In the application, the Secretary says SkyCity did not comply with requirements to detect incidences of continuous play by the customer.
SkyCity says it will fully cooperate with the Department but given the application is before the Commission it would be inappropriate to comment further on the application and allegations.
The Department of Internal Affairs can apply to the Commission for an order to suspend a casino licence if the Secretary is satisfied the licence holder is breaching or has breached the Act or a condition of the casino licence or minimum operating standards.
A spokesperson said if SkyCity's gambling license is suspended it will not impact the non-gaming operations, including its hotels and restaurants.
"SkyCity is committed to maintaining the highest standards of host responsibility best practice, with priority given to minimising the impacts associated with problem gambling as an area of primary focus," they said.
"SkyCity has made, and continues to make, significant investment and enhancements in its host responsibility controls, technology and resources."
