Good Morning. Pick a card. Mandatory carded play in New Zealand has taken a little bit of the magic out of gaming, and significantly cut into earnings, with SkyCity noting a 28 percent drop in EBITDA for FY25 after the measure came into place mid-year. Hopes are for its new convention center to boost earnings in 2026, weighted towards the second half. Meanwhile, Aristocrat’s management is confident for a strong year, aiming to boost its share in every market while leveraging AI. Looking to Macau, a new holiday record was set, with 227K visitors on Thursday coming to celebrate the Chinese New Year festivities.
What you need to know
- SkyCity hit by compliance costs, weighing down fiscal 1H26 EBITDA to $51.2M. NZICC expected to boost second half results.
- Aristocrat sees “exciting growth prospects ahead” amongst increased AI usage, says leadership at Annual General Meeting.
- Visitor traffic in Macau reached a new holiday high on February 19th, with arrivals topping 227,000 amid heavy cross-border movement.
On the radar
- DigiPlus appoints Hu Jianguo to board following Tang Yong’s resignation.
- Malaysia drafts bill targeting online gambling, plans parliamentary tabling.
- Chinese embassy in Singapore issues warning against gambling abroad.
- PH lawmaker advocates for stricter measures against illegal online betting.
- Reef Casino Trust sees uptick in profit for FY25, amongst takeover.
AGB Intelligence
NEW ZEALAND
Carded play/compliance costs weigh on SkyCity results
SkyCity Entertainment Group says that mandatory carded play, which was rolled out in New Zealand in July of last year, cut deeply into its results for FY25, as uncarded players either chose to exit or moderate their spending. Increased compliance costs also took a toll, with underlying EBITDA falling by 28 percent yearly to $51.2 million. Hopes are for the group’s new New Zealand International Convention Center to help boost results this year, with gains weighted towards the second half of 2026.
Industry Updates
- SportsPro & Sportradar study says 80% of sports organizations rely on AI.
- Soft2Bet rolls out MEGA11 to transform sportsbook interaction.
- PAGCOR supports campaign for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
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