SkyCity Auckland Will Close Temporarily in September

This week SkyCity Entertainment Group revealed that it has agreed to temporarily close its Auckland location from September 9th-13th as part of a settlement with the country's Department of Internal Affairs related to failings related to responsible gambling regulations.

The company had various failings between August 2017 and February 2021, and the case stemmed from a customer filing a complaint against the company. The resulting investigation found SkyCity allowed players to play for extended periods of time due to failings related to detecting continuous play. From there, the country temporarily suspended the gaming licence of subsidiary group SCML last year.

SkyCity finally settled the case in July and has now agreed to close for five days. The move will see the gaming area and food and beverage sections of the property closed, although the SkyCity Auckland precinct will remain open. The estimated financial impact of the closure will be about NZ$5 million, or $3 million USD.

In a statement, SkyCity CEO Jason Walbridge said: "The closure is the result of failings on the part of SkyCity, which we have accepted responsibility for," Walbridge said. "We failed to meet the standards expected of us in this case.

"Over recent years, we have made significant progress to strengthen how we manage risk across the SkyCity Group, but there is still work to do. We are well under way and remain committed to prioritising the care of our customers.

"We understand that the privilege of holding a casino licence comes with significant responsibilities and obligations."