Key points:
- The dispute related to the treatment of loyalty points for calculating casino duty
- SkyCity lost its appeal and will have to pay an additional casino duty
- Interest on the outstanding duty could total AU$25.3m
The High Court of Australia has rejected an appeal from SkyCity related to a long-running casino duty dispute over its Adelaide resort.
This case was related to the treatment of loyalty points and how they were converted to gaming machine play, with regards to calculating casino duty
The High Court confirmed that credits on gaming machines that come from the conversion of loyalty points, when played by customers, should be included in gaming revenue for calculating casino duty at the Adelaide venue.
As a result, the operator had recognised a provision of AU$13.1m (US$8.76m) “in relation to the potential exposure to additional casino duty payable.”
On top of this, interest payable on outstanding duty, which hasn’t been set out yet, could reach a figure of around AU$25.3m.
SkyCity CEO Jason Walbridge said: “This is a long running matter involving highly technical tax issues regarding the calculation of casino duty. Given the complexities, both parties decided to seek declaratory relief through the court.
“We look forward to the resolution of this matter and will continue to work with RevenueSA to achieve this.”
In other news from Australia this week, the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH) was fined by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) for allowing underage gambling in multiple venues.
