How going online could save the Beloved Sky City Casino 

Stay at home orders certainly take the toll on the gaming industry in minimum deposit New Zealand casinos and major casinos such as Sky City has seen a drastic decline in revenue for the 2021 financial year. In fact, the company reported a large 33.7% decrease in overall profits for 2021 up to the end of June. They’ve also seen a decrease in overall revenue by 15.4%.

Of course, the lockdown plays a major role with restrictions applied to gatherings, the closure of international borders among other factors. These resulted in the closure of their casinos in Auckland, Queenstown and Hamilton. Even after having permission to reopen, each of the casinos have to adhere to strict regulations in regard to physical distancing between players and the limit to large gatherings.

During these tough times, the SkyCity Online Casino managed to reveal some light at the end of the tunnel with an impressive NZ$7.5 million in revenue. They’ve also experienced a large increase in active players from just below 25,000 players in middle February 2021 to a steady increase of up to 38,000 during April. By the end of July 2021, the online sector saw an impressive 45,000 active players.

The stay at home orders are seemingly far from being over and allowing businesses to continue as per usual, especially those facing restrictions concerning crowd limitations. Therefore, SkyCity Casino has to focus on its online market and continue to deliver its unmatched gaming opportunities to Kiwi players.

While their overall revenue has seen a major decrease, there’s simply no ignoring the large increase of online players. Not only does it provide a safe gaming environment for players in their own homes, but includes new gaming opportunities, promotions and the same excellent service as we’ve experienced with their brick-and-mortar establishments.

Sky City Casino earnings dropped to a yearly low during the first 3 Quarters

There’s no doubt that the first three quarters of 2021 was struck hard by the lockdown, forcing government to apply strict limitations to various businesses in New Zealand. While many companies suffer, we see a major decrease in revenue, even at major casinos such as SkyCity.

The last quarter of 2020 was New Zealand at alert level one since the 7th of October. However, on Valentines Day (14 February 2021), the levels once again escalated to level three for Auckland and level for the rest of New Zealand. Therefore, once again applying strict limitations for SkyCity Casino’s Auckland branch. Even though lockdown decreased to level one for all of New Zealand on the 22nd of February, by the 28th it once again increased to level three for Auckland and level two for the rest of the country.

During the lockdown periods, SkyCity Casino was unable to operate and even while open was only allowed to host a limited number of players at a time.

Lock Downs have hampered the growth of Sky City Casino 

Since the first reported cases on the 28th of February 2020 and the first lockdown taking place on the 21st of March 2020, SkyCity Casino has suffered major limits as alert level two sets in. Just 48 hours thereafter, the prime minister adjusted to alert level 4, closing down each of the SkyCity Casino branches.

This has limited major growth for the casino, but the team managed to think fast by taking on new projects and focusing more on their international online casino that was established in 2019.

Sky City Online Casino’s earnings recorded a massive profit In the First 3 Quarters

As mentioned above, the SkyCity online casino managed to provide excellent profits for the first three quarters of their 2021 financial year. The online casino is registered in Malta as online casinos are currently not allowed in New Zealand. However, the casino caters only to New Zealand players, which is perfectly legal.

One of the major factors allowing them to drastically increase the number of players relates to their impressive welcome bonuses and a great selection of award-winning game providers. They’ve become a popular choice among our minimum deposit New Zealand casinos, making it possible to claim their welcome bonus with a deposit of just NZ$10.

The welcome package includes a 100% match bonus that rewards up to NZ$100 in free cash. This includes 70 free spins that are added in batches of 10 spins per day for a week. The casino maintains its reputation with fair wagering requirements of just 35x, which only applies to the free spin winnings and bonus amount!

Their selection of games provides even more opportunities than the land-based casinos as more developers form part of the selection. They make it possible to play the full selection from Microgaming, Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Big Time Gaming and more, adding up to over 1,500 casino games. This doesn’t only include slots, but live games, table games, Poker and the world’s biggest progressive jackpots as well.

To learn more about the excellent benefits, visit our SkyCity Casino review page.

Online Casino gaming has grown to an All-time high in 2021

Regulations for 2020 and 2021 have allowed online casinos to grow at a rapid pace as many players seek new and safer ways to connect to their gaming opportunities. This doesn’t only apply to New Zealand players, but the international markets as well.

In 2020, the online casino industry was worth a staggering $64.13 billion, which is expected to reach $72.02 billion by the end of 2021. This is a steady growth rate of over 12% and it’s expected to continue for many years to come with the industry worth an estimated $112.09 billion by 2025.

While the lockdown is certainly spurring on the growth, it’s not the only aspect allowing online casinos to become the preferred gaming method. Online casinos NZ constantly manage to provide better gaming opportunities, a larger selection of games and higher RTPs than land-based casinos. Therefore, more and more players are discovering the advantages of online gaming and therefore no longer visit their located casinos.

Online casino promotions once again top that of the land-based casinos by offering free cash with deposits and some even include free spins and cashback rewards. While some land-based casinos offer similar offers, it’s only available with a higher VIP standing whereas online casinos make it possible from the very first deposit!