The South Australian Court of Appeal has ordered that SkyCity Entertainment Group pay an additional casino duty of AU$13 million ($8.6 million). This decision follows a protracted disagreement between the company and the treasurer of South Australia.
SkyCity disclosed the information via Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) filing on Thursday.
The dispute centered on contrasting understandings of a 1999 agreement concerning the taxation of loyalty points utilized and accrued on gaming machines at SkyCity’s Adelaide casino.
The court sided with the treasurer, determining that credits from loyalty points on gaming machines must be factored into gaming revenue for the calculation of casino duty.
Nonetheless, the court also supported SkyCity’s stance against enforcing an interest penalty. The company stated that this aspect would be resolved by a single judge of the Supreme Court at a subsequent time.
Should the Supreme Court uphold the Treasurer’s position regarding penalty interest payments, SkyCity anticipated potentially being liable for AU$20 million ($13.2 million) in penalty interest.
