{"id":28987,"date":"2022-04-17T11:04:10","date_gmt":"2022-04-17T14:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=28987"},"modified":"2026-04-23T09:35:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:35:19","slug":"skycity-allowed-to-operate-without-covid-19-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/skycity-allowed-to-operate-without-covid-19-restrictions","title":{"rendered":"SkyCity’s New Zealand casinos lift Covid-19 restrictions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SkyCity Entertainment Group has announced its New Zealand properties will operate without physical distancing requirements from today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

New Zealand.- SkyCity\u00a0<\/strong>is from today (April 14) operating with no capacity limits or physical distancing requirements after authorities in New Zealand dropped the country’s Covid-19 alert level to “Orange” under its Covid-19 Protection Framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a filing from the casino operator, mask-wearing is required for staff, but not customers<\/strong> and there is no requirement to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination nor scanning of QR codes at entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its casino in Adelaide<\/strong>, Australia, operating restrictions are also being progressively relaxed, with no density limits or social distancing requirements currently in force. The capacity for table games has been increased from three players per table to six, with back-betting allowed. Mask wearing will no longer be required at SkyCity Adelaide for staff or customers from April 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company reported that\u00a0its performance in the second half of the current fiscal year was significantly impacted by Covid-19 disruptions\u00a0and operational restrictions due to cases of the Omicron variant in New Zealand and South Australia. However, trade steadily improved, especially local gambling. Even during the peak of cases in February and early March, the Group’s EBITDA and cash flow remained positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In later March and early April, there was a steady increase in visitor numbers at properties in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland and Hamilton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SkyCity\u2019s chief operating officer,\u00a0Callum Mallet<\/strong>, said the company expected to hire \u201chundreds of staff\u201d as New Zealand prepared to\u00a0reopen its borders for fully vaccinated foreign visitors<\/a>\u00a0after two years of insulation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mallett said: \u201cFrom a tourism perspective, particularly those in the entertainment and hospitality space, it has been a challenging two years, so the return of the majority of New Zealand\u2019s international markets is a real boost for our sector.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SkyCity Entertainment Group has announced its New Zealand properties will operate without physical distancing requirements from today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":24747,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"SkyCity Entertainment Group's New Zealand properties have removed physical distancing and capacity limits, with mask-wearing no longer required for customers, effective April 14. Similar operational relaxations are underway at SkyCity Adelaide, Australia. The company anticipates hiring hundreds of staff as international borders reopen, signaling a significant recovery in operational capacity and financial performance following COVID-19 disruptions.","focusai_entities":"SkyCity Entertainment Group, Callum Mallet","focusai_location":"New Zealand, Australia, Auckland, Hamilton, Adelaide, South Australia","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.7), compliance_legal (0.8), operator_casino (1.0), product_ux (0.7), marketing_crm (0.7), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"GGR & NGR Impact?","query":"How will the removal of physical distancing and mask mandates impact SkyCity's GGR and NGR projections for the remainder of the fiscal year, particularly concerning high-roller segments and overall operational efficiency?"},{"label":"B2B Procurement Needs?","query":"What specific B2B technology or service procurements are anticipated to support the 'hundreds of staff' hiring initiative and enhanced operational capacity across SkyCity's diverse gaming verticals?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,28,158],"tags":[1137],"class_list":["post-28987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-casino-news","category-slider-home","tag-skycity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28987"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28993,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28987\/revisions\/28993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}