SkyCity Entertainment Group has informed that, now that Australian courts have approved the penalty set out by Australia’s financial watchdog regarding its Adelaide casino, the independent review into its casino license suitability can resume.
The group announced the news in a press release early on Wednesday, noting that the independent review commenced on Tuesday, June 11th.
The review is being led by Brian Martin, who was appointed in July of 2022 to carry out the process. This was then put on hold in February of 2023, pending the results of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) civil penalty proceedings filed against the gaming operator.
The proceedings ultimately ended in an AU$67 million ($44.6 million) fine for SkyCity, relating to its Adelaide property, which Australian courts greenlit on June 7th.
The fine relates to historical violations of the Australian Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and its rules spanning from December 7th, 2016, to December 14th, 2022.
SkyCity had already set aside some AU$73 million ($47.3 million) to handle the potential civil penalty.
The new independent review, ordered by the Acting South Australian Liquor and Gambling Commissioner for Consumer and Business Services, now aims to determine ‘the suitability of SkyCity Adelaide to continue to hold the SkyCity Adelaide casino license and the suitability of SkyCity to continue to be a close associate of SkyCity Adelaide’.
The review follows similar proceedings against Crown Resorts and The Star Entertainment Group.
Crown has already been found worthy of retaining its Sydney and Melbourne casino licenses and is pending the results of an inquiry into its Perth casino.
The Star is still awaiting the results of the inquiry into its suitability to hold a casino license in Sydney.
