Latest news with #SkyCityAdelaide
NZ Herald
13-08-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
SkyCity Adelaide historically put profit over compliance, investigation finds
He cited an analyst being 'met with significant resistance from many heads of business divisions. In particular, international business and the VIP division were hostile and did not wish to pursue customers in order to obtain appropriate information,' he wrote. In an anti-money laundering analyst's view, the primary concern was generating income. This attitude was demonstrated when management lamented losing a high-value customer to barring, stating 'not a good result to have this barring in place for two years ... [the customer] is sitting on roughly A$900,000 loss year to date.' Jarden's Auckland-based analysts Adrian Allbon and Mark Seddon noted this in a desk note on the review, released yesterday. 'For SkyCity, suitability has been confirmed: Adelaide to continue holding its casino licence and SkyCity as an ongoing owner of Adelaide casino. This was an expected outcome for us following the SKC management changes and the material cost commitment over the next three years to lift its operating standards,' the analysts wrote. Martin's report highlighted significant failings of the casino management. Yet both his and the investigations undertaken by the financial regulator, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac), also noted SkyCity Adelaide's substantial commitment to addressing those failings. 'If I had been asked to determine the suitability of the licensee and SkyCity Entertainment Group at the end of October 2021, the inevitable answer would have been that neither were suitable,' Martin wrote. Adelaide gained National Park City status in 2021. Photo / Joe Nes 'Since then, the situation has changed.' Later in his report, he wrote: '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.' Martin's review began in mid-2022, building on extensive investigations then being progressed by Consumer and Business Services. The review was put on hold between February 2023 and June 2024, while Austrac took civil action against SkyCity Adelaide in the Federal Court of Australia for breaching Australia's national Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. The report detailed systematic anti-money laundering failures through case studies. Martin found material corporate governance failures spanning more than two decades. SkyCity chairman Julian Cook apologised. Photo / Cameron Pitney From 1999 until November 2021, 'the board of the licensee, SkyCity Adelaide, the holder of the licence to operate the casino, did not meet' and 'no reports were provided to the board of the licensee relating to SkyCity Adelaide's compliance obligations or functions'. Last May, the Herald reported SkyCity had agreed to pay a penalty of A$67 million for anti-money laundering breaches in Adelaide. SkyCity Adelaide had reached an agreement with Austrac to settle civil penalty proceedings relating to the breaches from December 2016 to mid-December 2022. Under the agreement, SkyCity Adelaide and Austrac filed a statement of agreed facts and admissions, as well as joint submissions, with the Federal Court. SkyCity's executive chairman, Julian Cook, acknowledged the casino operator's failure to meet the required standards and apologised for it. Yesterday, SkyCity chief executive Jason Walbridge said in a statement to the NZX that it accepted the findings of the report. '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. 'We further acknowledge Mr Martin's findings and the commissioner's comments that we still have work to do.' Walbridge said it remained committed to constructive engagement with all its regulators. 'We have made significant enhancements in terms of leadership, resourcing and systems, including a commitment to invest ~$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.' SkyCity's shares were trading flat this morning at 99c but are down nearly 35% over the past year. Anne Gibson has been the Herald's property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
RNZ News
12-08-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Inquiry clears SkyCity Entertainment to hold South Australia's only casino licence
SkyCity Entertainment has been cleared by an independent review as fit to hold South Australia's only casino licence. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi SkyCity Entertainment has been cleared by an independent review as fit to hold South Australia's only casino licence, despite identified shortcomings in its implementation of anti-money laundering rules, but might yet face further penalties. The review, led by retired Supreme Court judge Brian Martin, also found that SkyCity Entertainment was 'suitable' to be a close associate of it subsidiary SkyCity Adelaide. "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," Martin said in his report. "Since then, the situation has changed." He credited the company's "genuine" efforts to meet its obligations. "I am satisfied that as at the date of this Report, the licensee is a suitable person to hold the license to operate the Adelaide Casino." The inquiry was initiated in mid-2022 by the South Australian liquor and gambling commissioner, amid concerns the Adelaide establishment had been lax in policing anti-money laundering rules, leading to the laundering of billions of dollars over several years. It was interrupted between February 2023 and June 2024, while the Australian financial regulator AUSTRAC took civil action against SkyCity Adelaide for breaching national AML/CFT laws, resulting in a A$67m (NZ$74m) penalty for the breaches. "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," said SkyCity's chief executive Jason Walbridge. He said the company was working with authorities to improve systems and standards, having already committed up to $60m up to 2027. However, SkyCity still faces possible further action as the state Liquor and Gambling Commissioner, Brett Humphrey, considers the Martin report and other study by authorities. "This is by no means a clean bill of health for SkyCity Adelaide ... [given] deficiencies and breaches uncovered [which] are deeply concerning," Humphrey said in a statement. Forsyth Barr investment analyst Paul Koraua said the talk of further enforcement suggested the risk of another penalty. "We assume a A$50m penalty payable in FY26, with some credit given for the NZ$60m three-year programme of works for the Adelaide casino which has been approved by the Commissioner, and the A$67m AUSTRAC fine already paid." The Adelaide Casino has been mixed performer for SkyCity costing it close to NZ$120m in tax and AML/CFT penalties, as well as a $94m write down in its value last year, on top of a $330m rebuild completed in 2021. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
12-08-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
PGG Wrightson a stand-out as NZX 50 slides 1.2%
'Well done. Those guys have been through a tough time. We know that PGW is a cyclical business and they've been doing a lot of work to improve that,' he said. 'There is a reason to own these businesses at low points in the cycle. Today is one of them.' Three announcements Solly flagged a couple of 'interesting' corporate announcements that dropped on the exchange throughout the day. Spark shares dropped 2.5% to $2.54 after it announced it had sold a 75% stake in its datacentre business to Australian private equity fund Pacific Equity Partners (PEP). Spark anticipates receiving about $486m in cash upon completion, with a further $98m possible if specific performance targets are met by the end of 2027. The funds will be used to reduce the company's net debt. Solly said the market liked the transaction but was still looking for more details around costs, land and commitments to capital expenditure. 'But otherwise, people have been anxious about the debt levels within Spark. This helps resolve that,' he said. Gentrack also dipped after it released a presentation it gave at a Canaccord Genuity conference in Boston. 'The management team has come out and confirmed previous indications in terms of revenue and margins, and that's in itself helpful,' Solly said. He added there was still 'wariness' surrounding Gentrack associated with the rapid rate of technological change, and what that means for software companies. The stock tumbled 5.08% to $9.35 after trading at nearly $13 as recently as early July. Travelling in the other direction was SkyCity Entertainment Group, which lifted 2.06% to 99 cents, after an Australian commissioner concluded that SkyCity Adelaide is suitable to hold the SkyCity Adelaide casino licence. The market had been anticipating that SkyCity would get approved as a suitable operator, Solly said, but there was always a risk. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare led the market in volumes, with over $14m in value traded. The index's largest constituent lost 0.33% to $36.78. Last week, analysts at Craigs Investment Partners upgraded the stock to 'Overweight' and raised their 12-month target price to $39.90. Stats incoming Speaking before the Reserve Bank of Australia issued its decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, Solly said it was almost a given and that the market would respond favourably to it. Shortly afterwards, the S&P/ASX 200 rose to an all-time high of 8,880.2 points. At 5pm, the Australian benchmark had dipped slightly and was trading up 0.3%. Solly said that investors would also be looking towards the United States consumer price index (CPI) release, which will occur overnight. 'The markets are anticipating the number comes in at 0.2% which takes you to an annualised number of around 2.8%. 'The Federal Reserve has been on hold since December, with [US President Donald] Trump and others really putting pressure on them to cut, so that is perhaps holding the markets back at the moment, as well as people are weary about.' Trump removed the head of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier in August, accusing her of manipulating job numbers.
