SkyCity Auckland Finds Itself In Hot Water Once More

One would think that since the lift of the Covid-19 travel ban in New Zealand, land based casinos would be thriving, just as their real money online casino counterparts have. However, the SkyCity Entertainment Group has been particularly notorious of late. According to a report issued by Newshub, the group has been found to be in breach of the state-mandated betting harm protection quotas at their Auckland facility.

This comes after the Department Of Internal Affairs issued the group with a report of its breaches. The group has since failed to rectify said breaches, and as such, finds itself in contempt. Read on for more below.

How SkyCity Auckland Is In Breach Of State-Mandate Gambling Practices

SkyCity Auckland was in breach of nine out of ten safe gambling compliance areas. This report began in 2019 and was finalized in 2021.

The breaches found included:

1. Minimal staff tasked with administering the correct player protection measures
2. A likelihood of minors attending the casino facility
3. Being in breach of host responsibility

To date, the casino has still not rectified any of the shortcomings.

The Worst Infringement

One of the worst infringements committed by the casino involved an excluded member. The player had previously sought to be excluded from the casino in an attempt to rectify their gambling problem.

However, this player was granted access to SkyCity on two different occasions. This occurred even though they were on the list of players to exclude. The player then spent an alarming fourteen and a half hours on their first entry and twenty-eight hours on their second sitting at the pokies.

This incident alerted the Problem Gambling Foundation. Spokesperson, Andree Froude. She released a statement recently saying

So, how did the entertainment group respond?

Apathy In Action

It’s been reported that the group’s response was somewhat ‘dismissive’ to the report. No action had been taken since the issue of their shortfalls. As such, they find themselves in hot water regarding licensing.

According to the Department of Internal Affairs, the group has blatantly ignored their serious breaches. As such, the Auckland venue’s license is at risk of being revoked. Will this make SkyCity spring into action and rectify its shortcomings? Only time will tell.