The application by the New Zealand Secretary for the Department of Internal Affairs to suspend the licence of Dunedin Casinos Management Limited was expected to entail a hearing of two days. On 31 July the hearing commenced and on 1 August the hearing was adjourned by the Gambling Commission, an independent statutory decision-making body established under the Gambling Act 2003. The new dates set for the completion of procedures are 11, 12 and 13 September, the earliest that counsel, witnesses and Commissioners are available.

The application to suspend the Dunedin Casino licence was filed on 9 November 2005 by the Department of Internal Affairs and alleged three interlinked breaches of licence conditions in regard to a casino patron who had been jailed for stealing money to gamble. Part of the problem in arriving at a ruling on the application for licence suspension is that Dunedin Casinos Management Limited, 40% owned by SkyCity Entertainment, only became holder of the operator’s licence on 1 April 2004 and prior to that the licence had been held by Aspinall (NZ) Limited.

Christine Keenan, the gambling addict at the centre of the matter, was arrested in 2004 and sentenced that December. She is now back home on parole. On the face of it Dunedin Casinos Management should not be held responsible for problem gambling that developed from April 2001. However, senior management at the Casino remained unchanged when Aspinalls went and, according to counsel for the Department of Internal Affairs, showed prior knowledge.

In April at a preliminary hearing, the Gambling Commission commented that ‘the existing confusion stems from the fact that the application itself gives limited particulars of the breaches alleged, and does not specify the dates or specific time periods on or during which the breaches are said to have occurred.’

The Commission, under Acting Chairperson Graeme Reeves, decided to hear a substantive application and programmed it for last week. The Chairman of the Commission, also the Mayor of Dunedin, previously recused himself from the proceedings because the outcome could have far-reaching results for the city. The casino management contends that Christine Keenan showed no signs of being a problem gambler and that her visits to the casino had declined before her arrest. Should the application for licence suspension be successful, Dunedin Casino faces a maximum six months ban. (E-08.07.06)

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