SkyCity Entertainment said it has “experienced a decline in revenue over the past 40 days of more than 40 per cent’.

SkyCity Entertainment Group, New Zealand’s casino, gaming and hotel business, has received a total of $31 million in Government-funded wage subsidies after being granted a top-up of $9.4 million (US$6.2 million), which provides an eight-week payment per named employee, according to a local media report.

The New Zealand Herald cited Work and Income’s website has recorded the company receiving an extra $9.4m in extensions for its 2,219 workers on top of the previous $21.6m it received when its workforce was 3,272 employees.

SkyCity reiterated on a statement upon receiving the extra $9.4m, said, ‘As with so many businesses in New Zealand, the COVID-19 crisis has fundamentally changed the SkyCity Entertainment business for the foreseeable future. To reflect this, we have right-sized our operations to be a smaller, domestically focused business, as previously disclosed.’

In a statement issued on July 13, the operator said it has “experienced a decline in revenue over the past 40 days of more than 40 per cent’. SkyCity added, ‘Will apply for the wage subsidy extension to ensure we can sustain our employee base until business returns to previous levels. The application for the wage subsidy extension covers 2219 full-time and part-time employees.’ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the wage subsidy scheme will end some three weeks before the election on September 19. Ardern said on July 6 that extending the wage subsidy beyond its current cut-off of September 1 risked delaying ‘the critical work that businesses may need to do to pivot into the new COVID environment’. According to the Ministry of Social Development’s June 26 update, the subsidy scheme has so far cost some $12.3 billion, covering about 1.7 million employees. SKYCITY Entertainment is a listed company in both New Zealand and Australia and is and most renowned tourism, leisure and entertainment company with casino gaming facilities in both countries. It was one of the first in the Asia Pacific region to resume operations, after Macau.

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