New Zealand-based casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group has recently announced plans to exploit a gap in the country’s law to launch an offshore but European-based online casino. SkyCity officials believe that the move is a necessary one since it will effectively help them to reclaim a significant portion of the $180 million that Kiwi online gamblers wager on unregulated offshore casinos – it is estimated that the 180 million the gamblers spend on gaming activities is also a portion of over $400 million that is leached by Kiwi gamblers every year.
The casino operator officially revealed its plans to venture
into the online gambling space in August last year. This new offering would
complement its integrated entertainment properties including casino operation
in both Australia and New Zealand.
Exploiting Loop Holes
Online gambling is still illegal in New Zealand and Australia and therefore as mentioned earlier, SkyCity’s goal is to exploit a loophole in the country’s law by setting up its online casino in other places within Europe where online gambling has been legalized. Even though they are yet to pick a specific location for the online casino operation, Colin Espiner, the company’s spokesperson, in a statement, namedropped Malta which is quite logical since Malta is probably the most popular online gambling hub in Europe.
Also, for the initial rollout, the company intends to focus
solely on casino gaming with but they will presumably consider sports betting
in the future. To strengthen its yet-to-be-launched
online poker offering, the company is also reportedly considering a partnership
with established online gaming companies in the region.
If the company sees the plan through and launches an online casino, it will still be prohibited by New Zealand’s gaming regulations from actively advertising their products. To solve this problem, other online gambling companies, most of whom have been offering unregulated services to Kiwi players have opted to circumvent the system. SkyCity, on the other hand, has declared that it will not take the same route and instead it will rely on advanced search engine optimization and word of mouth to promote its services to Kiwi players.
Authorities Not on Board
SkyCity officials have been campaigning for online gambling for quite some time now but they are not willing to wait any longer for the state’s gaming laws to change. The decision to launch a self-regulated and significantly safer online gambling service, while meant to help both the country and the government – SkyCity plans to play about $40 million in tax revenue – but it has not been met well by some of the country’s leaders including Tracey Martin, the Minister for Internal Affairs. She said that she was “disappointed that they are forging ahead” with the iGaming project.