SkyCity seems to have ruffled quite a few feathers in New Zealand over the course of the past year. The news that the casino operator would be building a new $350 million convention centre in Auckland in return for the city relaxing its gambling laws has not gone over well with the general public.
Now, the company’s CEO Nigel Morrison has stepped forward to address the public’s concern, stating that it is just business as usual in the gambling market. A recent report by Stuff.co.nz has published Morrison’s feelings about the situation. He has stated that the deal is nothing out of the ordinary in the local gambling market, that this is the type of deal that casino operators negotiate all the time.
As such, he has baffled at the amount of criticism the convention centre deal has received. "While it seems that it's trading laws for development, it's not”, Morrison says. “It's the way casinos work. There is nothing new about this." He also extolled the benefits of the new convention centre, highlighting the advantages that it would have for the local community.
Morrison stated that the convention centre would create 800 new permanent jobs and boost both business and recreational tourism. In today’s economy, New Zealand and the City of Auckland could certainly stand to benefit from a financial boost. So, Morrison fails to understand why the general public is opposed to the idea. He notes that the Australian government has relaxed its gambling laws over the course of the past five years.
It has allowed for local businesses and gambling operators to work together in new ways to benefit the local community. Morrison would like to see the same thing taking place in New Zealand. Unfortunately, the general public will not be easily convinced. Since the deal was announced, local residents have opposed it.
In a country where politicians are trying to reduce problem gambling rates, residents believe that it is counterproductive to introduce new machines into the casino world.
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