Peter Malinauskas, the Premier of South Australia, has not ruled out making considerable changes to the way the Adelaide casino is operated, at the time when there were mere hours until a review of the suitability of SkyCity to hold a casino operating permit was unveiled.
As the team of Casino Guardian previously reported, the casino operator has been subject to investigation from the Former Supreme Court judge Brian Martin KC, who is set to report to Dimi Soulio as soon as February 1st.
At the end of January, Mr Malinauskas noted that the process was being constantly monitored. When asked whether the South Australian government was preparing to make big changes to the way the casino is operated, the Premier preferred not to go into detail but noted that such an option is not ruled out. He further explained that the state Government is ready to make all necessary changes if it is convinced that SkyCity had not been operating its Adelaide casino in line with the rules aimed at ensuring a position of integrity.
The Premier of South Australia has highlighted that the local Government expects SkyCity to operate its Adelaide casino with integrity and in line with federal and state gambling laws.
SkyCity Adelaide Casino Expected to Act in the Local Community’s Best Interest
Mr Malinauskas shared that he believed that the casino operator abided by the law during the operation of its Adelaide casino. However, he shared that was not a reason good enough to save it from becoming subject to serious scrutiny just because it owned privilege and operated a casino.
At the time, South Australia’s Premier noted that the gambling company is expected to act in the best interest of the local community. He further shared that the findings of Martin KC are set to be publicly released unless there is a good reason not to.
In December 2023, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) rolled out some court proceedings against SkyCity Adelaide, which followed an 18-month probe into the casino’s operations. The investigation found systemic failures in the way the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws and rules were observed by the gambling operator.
Documents presented by Australia’s national financial crime regulatory body claim that SkyCity Adelaide’s casino executives were aware of information suggesting that some of the venue’s patrons were linked to criminal organisations or that their source of funds might not have been legitimate. A total of 59 cases of customers are outlined in the AUSTRAC statement.
SkyCity issued a statement, claiming that its casino operation in Adelaide had fully cooperated with the independent review of Brian Martin KC and had provided all documents and information requested during the investigation. The gambling operator shared that it was willing to work in collaboration with the liquor and gambling commissioner as soon as the aforementioned report became available. In its statement, SkyCity revealed that the continuous improvement of its anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and customer responsibility policies and programs remained a matter of paramount priority for its Adelaide casino venue.
- Author
Daniel Williams
