In New Zealand, there has been an ongoing battle between responsible gambling advocates, the local government and SkyCity Casinos. For months, the groups have duked it out over the potential SkyCity-convention centre deal, which would give the casino operator the right to install 500 new pokies in return for building the $350 venue. Now, a report from the Auditor General shines some new light on the issue.

The report was commissioned by The Greens. For quite some time, members of the general public raised concerned about the fairness of the deal and whether or not new pokies would harm the community. The political group decided that there had been enough speculation, and that the Auditor General would need to weigh in to give the general public an overview of the deal.

The report has revealed that the Prime Minister and federal government had indeed given SkyCity unfair attention during the tender process. While other groups offered deals that would allow them to build the new convention centre, it seems as though John Key had his eye on SkyCity from the start. However, the Auditor General reports that the prime minister had not acted inappropriately throughout the process.

It has also stated that the government and the casino operator did not act transparently. All negotiations were carried out behind closed doors, leaving the general public out of the crucial decision-making process. Again, the Auditor General has only acknowledged this fact, and has not deemed the actions of either group inappropriate.

“SkyCity was treated very differently from the other parties that responded and the evaluation process effectively moved into a different phase with one party,” the report reads. “In our view, the steps that were taken were not consistent with good practice principles of transparency and fairness.” Despite the criticism of the deal, SkyCity and John Key will be allowed to continue with their deal.

There are still some concerns about the issue of bringing new poker machines into Auckland’s gambling market; however, the prime minister reassures the public that sinking lid policies will ensure that the overall number of pokies in the country will decline.

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.