SkyCity Entertainment Group will pay an additional duty of A$13.1 million ($8.76 million) after the South Australian High Court rejected its appeal over a dispute about loyalty points and gaming revenue.

SkyCity Adelaide had appealed regarding the treatment of loyalty points that were converted to gaming machine play revenue. The bone of contention is if they should be subject to casino duty at its Adelaide casino. The recent ruling follows the Court of Appeal’s judgement on the interpretation of provisions in the Casino Duty Agreement between SkyCity Adelaide and the Treasurer of South Australia. The company notes, “The High Court has confirmed the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of the Agreement finding that credits on gaming machines arising from the conversion of loyalty points, when played by customers, are to be included in gaming revenue for the purpose of calculating casino duty at the SkyCity Adelaide casino.”

SkyCity has already set aside AU$13.1 million to pay “in relation to the potential exposure to additional casino duty payable” during a previous judgement. The amount is an estimate based on casino duty returns filed up to January 2024.

Interest payable

Apart from this, the High Court has also ruled in favour of the Treasurer of South Australia in a cross appeal regarding the interest clause in the agreement. This means that the company will also be liable to interest payable on outstanding duty, which is yet to be set out, but could reach a figure of around A$25.3 million.  Jason Walbridge, SkyCity CEO, 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.” 

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