SkyCity is moving to set up an offshore online gambling site which would voluntarily pay taxes to New Zealand as it targets the country’s gamblers.
Online gambling is illegal in New Zealand, but the country does not prohibit its citizens from playing offshore sites.
SkyCity is planning to partner with an overseas-based website to offer sports betting to New Zealanders, saying it expects the site to be profitable by its second year.
The company told local media that SkyCity will self-regulate based on its host responsibility practices in its land-based casinos. It will also calculate its tax obligations and pay them to the government or to its already established Community Trust program. The tax could be worth up to $30 million after the first year, the company said.
However, Tracey Martin, the government minister responsible for gambling regulation says she is “disappointed” SkyCity is moving ahead with its plans and is preparing to take a white paper to the country’s Cabinet on the regulation of online gambling.
SkyCity says it hopes the government will agree to online gaming being allowed in New Zealand, but will continue with its plans regardless and will keep the government and other parties “in the loop” about its plans.
