Last year at SkyCity Casino, a couple left their five children in a van while they played pokies. You would think that the casino operator would take care to prevent other cases like this from taking place; however, SkyCity has failed to do so. A new report from New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs has found that dozens more cases of child abandonment took place at the casino last year.

In 2012, 96 children had been left alone to wander around SkyCity Casino without their parents. The last time these statistics were compiled in 2009, there were only 19 cases of child neglect. There has been a sharp increase in child abandonment cases at SkyCity, but representatives state that this does not entirely correlate to problem gambling rates.

According to SkyCity general manager Gordon Jon Thompson, the increase is likely a result of the increasingly active nature of casino’s surveillance team. He claims that the team has become ‘extremely vigilant’, which is why more cases have been discovered. However, this is not the most comforting claim, because it means that there are dozens of unreported or undiscovered cases every year.

Many of the parents who had left their children alone were discovered playing pokies or table games. However, they still managed to come up with other excuses, ranging from having their parking validated to picking up promotional items. Representatives of SkyCity Casino have announced that that the venue will be taking more precautions to help parents keep track of their children.

Signage will be posted across the casino, reminding parents to keep track of their children. Announcements will also be aired, in case the signs are not effective. It is hoped that these precautions stop parents from leaving their children alone in the casino. This is exactly the type of exposure to gambling that causes children to develop unhealthy gambling habits later in life, and it is about time that the casino operator take a stand against it.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.