SkyCity Entertainment Group plans to make improvements to Queenstown's Wharf Casino, which it expects to take possession of next week, having gained unconditional approval from the Commerce Commission to buy the company.
SkyCity, a public company which owns another casino in the resort and owns and operates casinos in Auckland, Hamilton, Adelaide and Darwin, said it would rename the venue SkyCity Wharf Casino.
Otago Casinos is owned by Singapore-based Lasseters International Holdings and operates the Wharf Casino and another in Alice Springs.
SkyCity chief executive Nigel Morrison said the purchase of the casino, in the Steamer Wharf complex, was part of SkyCity's strategy to invest in Queenstown, which the company believed had ''huge potential for tourism growth''.
''We are focusing on upgrading our VIP offering in Queenstown, so we have an offer to complement our Horizon VIP offering in Auckland,'' Mr Morrison said.
SkyCity senior communications adviser Kelly Armitage, of Auckland, said it was too early to provide details of any upgrades or improvements planned for the Wharf Casino.
SkyCity purchased Otago Casinos Ltd, which holds the licence for the Wharf Casino, in May for $5 million, subject to regulatory approval from the Commerce and Gambling commissions. The purchase was cleared by the Commerce Commission on Tuesday.
Its licence allows for a maximum of 74 electronic gaming machines and six gaming tables. Commission chairman Mark Berry said it was satisfied the acquisition would not have, or would not be likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in the national market for gambling entertainment for premium gamblers or, in the Queenstown market, for ''ordinary gamblers''.
''This was an unusual application because gambling is strictly regulated in New Zealand,'' Dr Berry said.
''The removal of competition between the two Queenstown casinos would not materially impact on competition given this high level of regulation and other constraints SkyCity would continue to face.
''There were also likely to be improvements to the gambling facilities in Queenstown and SkyCity proposed to upgrade the Wharf Casino.''
The Companies Office shows Otago Casinos Ltd was 100% owned by Lasseters (NZ) Ltd and was formed in February 1997. Financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2012, show it had total revenue of $3,178,403, comprising gaming revenue of about $2.08 million and bar revenue of about $1.1 million, but made a loss of $412,346. It spent $2,979,432 in ''other expenses'', which included $1,578,625 in staff salaries and wages and $375,063 in the rental and operating lease cost.
Its financial report said its ability to operate as a going concern depended on its ability to raise additional funds from shareholders or external sources. Late last year, SkyCity assumed full ownership of SkyCity Queenstown Casino and it is part of a consortium that is the preferred group to build the proposed Queenstown Convention Centre.
