New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment Group has revealed it voluntarily will shutter its Auckland gaming property for five consecutive days after admitting it failed in host oversight responsibilities.
The temporary shuttering of the casino floor will cost the company about NZ $5M (US $3M) in lost revenue, according to the New Zealand Herald. It’s the first time a casino in New Zealand has voluntarily closed, the report added.
The decision to temporarily close the property is the result of negotiations between the casino and its government regulators, known as the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). The government’s Gambling Commission still needs to sign off on the negotiated deal.
DIA filed charges against SkyCity in February.
The casino could have been forced to close the Aukland casino, and those in Hamilton, and Queenstown, for 10 days, according to prior news reports. Regulatory fines could have totaled as much as NZ $8M.
It’s not clear when the Auckland casino closure will take place, but it appears it will be sometime before the end of 2024. The closures will likely be on weekdays not on weekends.
The wrongdoing relates to play by an unnamed casino guest between 2017 and 2021. In 23 instances, the guest continuously gambled at the casino.
SkyCity technology should have picked up he was continuously playing and staff should have appropriately responded, the Herald reported.
The guest later complained about the debt he accumulated as a result of his gambling activity. The guest also argued the company violated responsible gambling rules.
The casino investigated the incident and blamed its lack of oversight on a glitch related to technology design errors, the Herald reported. The issue has since been corrected and the casino has released an apology.
“The resolution agreement is an unprecedented result. This is the first voluntary closure of a casino and is the longest suspension of operations in a casino under the Gambling Act,” Vicki Scott, DIA’s director of gambling, said in a statement.
“Gambling has a real potential to cause harm to customers, their whānau [which means an extended family group] and their communities.”
SkyCity owns five casinos located in New Zealand and Australia.
