- SkyCity Malta, a subsidiary of SkyCity Entertainment, has launched its offshore online gaming site
- The gaming site ‘skycitycasino’ aims to provide New Zealanders with an offshore online casino platform
- An estimated NZ$160 million a year is spent on online casino platforms
This morning SkyCity Entertainment announced that its Maltese subsidiary, SkyCity Malta, has launched its offshore online gaming site.
Titled ‘skycitycasino’, the gaming site is a partnership between SkyCity and international iGaming company, Gaming Innovation Group (GiG). Its aim is to provide New Zealanders with an offshore online casino platform.
GiG will provide SkyCity Malta with a full-suite online casino which includes a technical platform, gaming content, managed services, and front-end development.
The overall business will be managed by online Director Steve Salmon, who is based in Europe.
On May 22 SkyCity announced it had partnered with GiG, with the site expected to launch in mid-2019, which it did today.
Under current New Zealand law, only Government-owned Lotto and the TAB are permitted to offer online gaming from New Zealand. However, many New Zealanders freely participate in online casinos which are provided by offshore operators.
At the time of this announcement SkyCity Chief Executive Graeme Stephens was pleased with the progress that had been made.
“The skycitycasino online gaming site will offer best-in-class host responsibility and a brand name New Zealanders can trust. Although the online casino will be operated from offshore, it will ensure that its obligations under New Zealand GST legislation are compiled with,” he said.
He also added that SkyCity will be supportive of any future plans by the government to regulate the New Zealand online casino market. This could include introducing an appropriate licensing regime for operators and imposing taxes and mandatory host responsibility requirements.
The already existing New Zealand online casino market is well established and a number of sites are already in operation. An estimated NZ$160 million a year is spent by New Zealanders on these platforms.
“While ultimately a regulated online gaming market remains the preferred solution, the site launch is another step on our journey of pursuing opportunities to grow and diversify our earnings in a fast growing industry,” Graeme added.
SkyCity shares are slightly down today, trading for $3.73 in a market cap of $2.521 billion.