At many casinos across Australia, dress codes are not particularly strict, allowing visitors to wear most types of clothing on the premises. However, Jupiters’ new dress code has come under fire for being too restrictive, after turning one punter away for having a tattoo on her neck. According to a report in the Gold Coast Bulletin, a woman named Bianka Roggensack was prohibited from entering the casino by the security staff.
They told her that her neck tattoo (featuring a portrait of her mother) was not allowed by the dress code. She was informed that she would not be allowed into the casino if she did not cover up the tattoo. Ms Roggensack stated that she had read the dress code but that it did not make any mention of face or neck tattoos.
She was told by the security guards that the policy was just two months old. Eventually, she decided to cover up her tattoos with makeup and was finally permitted into the venue. “They said to me I had to make sure that the make-up didn’t come off … and I had to maintain the disguise for the rest of the evening,” she said. “Does it stop here or am I going to be denied entry to have a manicure because I happen to have tattooed fingers?”
When asked to detail its dress code policy, Jupiters Casino kept tight-lipped. A short statement from the venue reads: “Jupiters Hotel & Casino confirmed the property has a tattoo policy, which is part of its broader dress code policy”. The operator did not provide any specific details as to why the new ban was put into place.
It may be due to the fact that several other casinos have restricted items of clothing that are associated with bikie gangs – but there is no way to know for sure at this point in time.