New Zealand and Australian gaming operator SkyCity has announced that it will be rolling out mandatory carded play across its properties in New Zealand in July of this year, and is planning to introduce carded play at SkyCity Adelaide in 2026.
According to the group’s financial results published on Thursday, the group notes that ‘this is expected to impact revenue in the first few years from implementation but is a critical component of SkyCity’s transformation program’.
According to the group’s Chief Executive Officer, Jason Walbridge, “100 percent carded play represents a step change in host responsibility and customer care. […] All customers will need to use a SkyCity card that contains their identity and other important information to play anywhere in our casinos. This will enable them to know how long they’ve played, how much they’ve spent, and when to take a break.”
The group saw a stark drop in net profit for 2H24 due to lower visitor spend, with Walbridge noting that “we expect the challenging economic conditions to continue to impact discretionary spend into the 2025 calendar year”.
The group anticipates that FY25 underlying group EBITDA will “likely fall within a range of NZ$225 million ($130 million) to NZ$245 million ($141.3 million).
