SkyCity Entertainment Moves Out of the Junket Game

SkyCity Entertainment Group, the company that owns and operates five land-based casinos in Australia and New Zealand, has decided to sever all ties with junket operators and stop using their services from now on.

This decision by the company became effective immediately and it came after a strategic review process of their “international business” division was completed. The review kicked off in February, shortly after the Bergin Report accused Australian company Crown Resorts of having its facilities and accounts being used for money laundering, partly due to its relationship with Asian junket operators.

After the release of that report Crown Resorts was deemed unsuitable for holding a gambling license in New South Wales, effectively keeping their Sydney casino closed for the foreseeable future.

SkyCity owns and operates SkyCity Adelaide, one of the biggest casinos in Australia’s fifth most populous city, and the company recently completed an expansion of that venue, worth 330 million Australian dollars.

To protect that investment, SkyCity announced that it will immediately cease dealing with all junket operators, and that it will have its “international business” division operate under a whole different model.

The company will deal directly with international business clients instead of working through junket operators. SkyCity will implement appropriate Know Your Customer and due diligence procedures to that respect.

Moreover, SkyCity added that the company will discuss the matter with gaming regulators both in New Zealand and Australia. The company operates casinos in Auckland, Hamilton, and Wellington, along with the Adelaide venue.

Earlier this month, Bruce Carter, the deputy chair of SkyCity Entertainment Group, announced his appointment to the board of directors of Crown Resorts, acting as a non-executive director.

Bruce Carter was the man in charge of the expansion development of SkyCity Adelaide. The new Crown Resorts director has extensive experience in several industries for the past 40 years. He was also a director of Genesee and Wyoming Inc, the global railroad operator, and also worked at Ernst & Young for 14 years in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Hong Kong.

Carter is currently the chairman of the Australian Submarine Corporation and Aventus Capital, and also serves as a director with the Bank of Queensland and AIG Australia.

Source: “New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment Group to cease working with junkets“. Inside Asian Gaming. April 13, 2021.