Responsible Gambling

We take our responsibilities as a host very seriously and each of our properties has a robust Host Responsibility Programme in place. Our commitment in this space reflects our international operations with the highest standards applied to safeguard each of our communities.

When done responsibly, gambling is a fun and enjoyable entertainment activity. However, it can also have harmful effects on some individuals, their families, and their communities. Our challenge is therefore to ensure that our business provides entertaining and profitable, yet safe and responsible, experiences and environments.

Maintaining Leading and Best Practice Host Responsibility:

We are immensely proud of the culture of care we have developed within our casinos and continue to focus on ways to ensure that this culture of care is maintained and that we have the highest standard of host responsibility best practice. Over the past financial year, we implemented additional host responsibility technology measures to improve our ability to prevent and minimise harm from problem gambling, including:

• The expanded use of facial recognition technology to alert Host Responsibility staff when a gambler of interest enters a SkyCity gaming area; 

• Upgrading SkyCity’s customer relationship management tool, iTrak, with improved usability and reporting functionality, which further improves SkyCity’s ability to be insight-led; and 

• Updating the internal data used to support the Focal predictive algorithm risk model with the latest behavioural criteria to ensure that the algorithm is analysing customer behaviour based on our most recent behavioural data.

In addition to technology enhancements, we also established a new team of Responsible Gambling Hosts in Auckland and Hamilton who provide additional and dedicated host responsibility coverage in gaming areas. Working collaboratively with our Gaming Machines, Table Games, Security and Surveillance teams, the Responsible Gambling Hosts are responsible for:

• Proactively monitoring the main gaming floor for customers who remain within the casino or play for extended periods and approach and interact with customers as required;

• Assist with the actioning of continuous play system alerts; 

• Assist with the actioning of continuous presence system alerts; and

• Act as a visible point of contact for customers that would like to know more about SkyCity’s host responsibility practices.

A robust Host Responsibility Programme is in place at each of our physical sites, and within SkyCity Online Casino, to prevent and minimise harm from problem gambling. All SkyCity staff receive training in host responsibility awareness. A dedicated team of experienced host responsibility specialists are employed at each of SkyCity’s land-based casinos and, through our partnership with GiG, an experienced harm minimisation team is in place for SkyCity Online Casino.

In a dynamic casino environment, maintaining effectiveness, relevancy and consistency in harm minimisation best practice is an ongoing challenge. In response to that challenge, SkyCity continues to explore available technology solutions, seek expert advice, consult stakeholder groups and source a range of research material