SkyCity Entertainment Denies Sales Rumors Of Adelaide

Landbased casinos often face issues New Zealand online casinos would never have to consider. SkyCity Adelaide has recently faced an independent casino review by AUSTRAC. There are now rumours of SkyCity Entertainment selling its Adelaide branch. This comes after the group recently shelled out A$330 million on an expansion of the property. However, the group has issued a statement denying the rumours to be true. Read the full story below.

The Rumours Making The Rounds

Last week, The Australian released an article stating that sources confirmed the potential sale. The article stated that the group had approached UBS (an Australian financial service provider) to help them find a buyer. The article also mentioned the group would be working with UBS to discover their options.

Further speculation suggested that Blackstone was a potential buyer. Blackstone has recently bought out Crown Resorts. This fuelled the speculation fire. Furthermore, the group has a history of buying casinos. Read the full story on Blackstone's acquisition of Crown Resorts here.

SkyCity’s Response

The group acted quickly to respond to the rumours. A representative spoke out, giving the following statement,

SkyCity Entertainment

"SkyCity has not engaged any investment banking services or initiated any corporate activity in relation to SkyCity Adelaide. We remain committed to the Adelaide property, in particular optimising the significant expansion completed in 2020".

In 2020, the group finalised the expansion of the property. The new additions cost SkyCity Entertainment a whopping A$330 million. Since the expansion, the group has been dedicated to growing the site and making up for the damage the pandemic reaped on its revenue.

However, the Adelaide branch of the group has been under negative speculation before.

SkyCity Adelaide In Breach Of Regulation Compliance

Recently, SkyCity Adelaide was under pressure from the government. The site is subject to an independent review based on the findings that the site was not complying with statutory regulations. Amongst others, SkyCity Adelaide was found to be in breach of the following: