SkyCity Adelaide has been deemed suitable to hold a casino licence in South Australia by an independent review, concluding a multi-year investigation into its operations.
The final report – conducted by the Honourable Brian Martin AO KC and released by Brett Humphrey, the Commissioner for Liquor and Gambling in South Australia – also determined that SkyCity Entertainment Group is suitable to be a close associate of SkyCity Adelaide.
Accepting the report’s findings, Humphrey noted that this by no means gives “a clean bill of health” for SkyCity Adelaide and that further work will be undertaken to determine next steps and possible enforcement action.
In response, SkyCity and SkyCity Adelaide accepted the report’s findings and apologised for their failings. The operator acknowledged that it still has work to do and will continue to cooperate with the Commissioner and Consumer and Business Services (CBS), remaining committed to the Building a Better Business Programme (B3) to improve its operations.
Independent review
The independent review was first commissioned in July 2022, before it was put on hold between February 2023 and June 2024 as AUSTRAC took civil action in the Federal Court of Australia against SkyCity Adelaide for breaching the national Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.
SkyCity resolved its situation with AUSTRAC, agreeing to pay a AUS $67m penalty and $3m in costs.
The report noted that SkyCity Adelaide’s casino management had significant failings, but had also committed itself substantially to addressing those failings.
Martin said: “If I had been asked to determine the suitability of the licensee and SCEG (SkyCity Entertainment Group) at the end of October 2021, the inevitable answer would have been that neither were suitable. Since then, the situation has changed.”
Later in the report, Martin noted: “The significance of past failures needs to be considered in the context of the licensee’s subsequent behaviour, changes in personnel and the licensee’s current corporate culture and governance.
“I am satisfied that, today, the licensee is a suitable person to hold the licence and operate the casino.”
‘By no means a clean bill of health’
With parts of the report being made public in the interest of transparency while sections remain redacted, the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner accepted the independent review, but made it clear that this is “by no means a clean bill of health for SkyCity Adelaide” and that there is work for the operator still to do.
“Even though many of the issues raised have either been addressed or are being addressed through a program of work being supervised by the independent monitor since August 2023, the deficiencies and breaches uncovered are deeply concerning,” noted Humphrey.
“I am considering Mr Martin’s findings as well as ongoing work by Consumer and Business Services to determine what enforcement action I may take in light of these breaches. I will also be looking at what measures may be required for the ongoing future operations of the licence.”
SkyCity committed to B3 programme
In a statement, SkyCity Adelaide and SkyCity acknowledged that the report highlighted its shortcomings, including in governance, AML/CFT and host responsibility, apologised for its failings, acknowledged that it still has work to do and will continue to cooperate with the CBS and remain committed to the B3.
Developed by SkyCity Adelaide in conjunction with the casino’s independent monitor Kroll Australia, B3 is a multi-year programme which focuses on AML/CFT capability, gambling-related harm minimisation and cultural transformation.
SkyCity noted that B3 is expected to be completed by 30 June 2027, but within his report, Martin stated that he believes full remediation by that date will be “difficult to achieve” due to the magnitude and complexity of the tasks.
The operator introduced mandatory carded play across its New Zealand properties earlier this year to monitor gameplay patterns and encourage safer gaming behaviours. SkyCity Adelaide is expected to introduce carded play in 2026.
“We fully accept and acknowledge the findings of the report that we did not measure up to the standards required, and we apologise for those failings,” commented Jason Walbridge, CEO of SkyCity.
“We further acknowledge Mr Martin’s findings and the Commissioner’s comments that we still have work to do. We remain committed to our B3 programme and constructive engagement with all our regulators.
“We have made significant enhancements in terms of leadership, resourcing and systems, including a commitment to invest approximately $60m over three years to transform our culture, to uplift our financial crime and host responsibility practices. Our team has worked hard to raise our standards, better meet our obligations and improve how we look after our customers.”
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