The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has issued a formal warning to casino operator SkyCity after an investigation found that the company breached the Gambling Act by advertising its casino in Malta before the coronavirus lockdown took place.
According to reports, the gambling company reached its casino customers via email in March, only days before the country unveiled alert level 4, to inform them that the online casino run by SkyCity Malta was operating as normal.
After a customer of the casino filed a complaint, a month-long probe into the issue was carried out by the DIA, only to find out that the email sent by the operator constituted promotion of gambling that had violated section 16 of the Gambling Act 2003, under which the promotion of overseas gambling is prohibited. Promoting overseas gambling is an offence under the existing legislation, but the Department of Internal Affairs found that SkyCity did not breach the Gambling Act deliberately.
As explained by Chris Thornborough, the regulatory system acting director of the Department, in this case, a formal warning was found the appropriate and proportionate measure against the casino operator. The maximum penalty that could be imposed for breaching section 16 of the Gambling Act 2003 is a monetary fine of NZ$10,000.
In an email sent to the complainant, the DIA explained that education was the first step taken against the casino operator to address the complaint.
DIA Says SkyCity Did Not Aim at Breaching the Gambling Act 2003
Mr Thornborough further explained that the Department of Internal Affairs had assumed that the casino operator did not reach to its customers in Malta to intentionally breach the gambling legislation, so stricter measures are not necessary for the time being and a formal warning was appropriate.
The DIA’s regulatory system acting director further noted that the Department officers now expect SkyCity to be more cautious from now on in order to avoid further violations of the Gambling Act 2003. He also shared that the Department will continue to keep an eye on the operator and any future breaches will be taken seriously.
According to media reports, a spokesperson of SkyCity denied the casino operator had broken the law. The representative of the gambling and entertainment group shared that the purpose of the email was only to inform the brand’s customers of the overall impact that the coronavirus pandemic was having on the operations of SkyCity – a move that the company does not believe to have contravened with the provisions of the Gambling Act.
So far, the casino company had received over NZ$21.6 million from the Government as part of the latter’s coronavirus wage subsidy scheme. SkyCity has indicated 900 job losses.
The gambling and entertainment group has managed to reopen most of its retail facilities about a month and a half ago, in mid-May after it was forced to shut its hotels and casinos because of the Government’s lockdown restrictions to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus infection. Its premises in Adelaide reopened only a week ago.
- Author
Olivia Cole
