A 2019 audit by New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) found that SkyCity Entertainment Group’s Auckland casino had “very few” responsible gambling measures and was “deficient” in identifying and excluding banned players.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the 2019 audit, which was completed in 2021, found that some SkyCity Auckland staff had a “dismissive attitude” towards problem gambling issues. It also cited one instance of an excluded player who entered the casino and played poker for more than 14 hours and 28 hours straight across two separate sessions before being noticed. The audit alleges that SkyCity did not intervene, even when such incidents were identified.
Minister of Internal Affairs Jan Tinetti, told NewsHub that a review into the nation’s casinos could be on the agenda following an ongoing review into poker machines in New Zealand’s pubs and clubs.
“We are making sure our legislation and our regulations are fit for purpose,” she said. “Absolutely I think there should be consequences.”
SkyCity contends that it has made considerable improvements since the audit was conducted, including the introduction of facial recognition technology to identify excluded players, hiring of more staff and implementation of improved training practices.
“SkyCity makes all endeavors to continuously improve our host responsibility practices. These have evolved and improved significantly over the last number of years, aided by multiple new technologies and increased resourcing,” a spokesperson said.
“However, we acknowledge there will always be room for further improvement which is why host responsibility is a group strategic priority at SkyCity.”
