SkyCity seeks to add former Tabcorp chief Attenborough as NED

Attenborough left Tabcorp in May of last year after leading the operator for more than 12 yeas. His departure coincided with the demerger of Tabcorp’s lottery operations from its wagering, media and gaming services.

Prior to his time with Tabcorp, Attenborough was CEO for South Africa at Phumelela Gaming and Leisure for six-and-a-half years, while he also spent 11 years working within gambling-focused roles for the Hilton Group.

Attenborough’s proposed appointment to the NED role at SkyCity is subject to regulatory approval in each of the gaming jurisdictions in which the operator is active. 

SkyCity aims to complete this process and the appointment by 1 March, with Attenborough having already agreed to take on the new role.

“David has extensive gambling industry, corporate governance and sustainability experience which will bring considerable expertise to the SkyCity board,” SkyCity chair Julian Cook said. “We are delighted that he has agreed to join the SkyCity board.”

The proposed appointment comes after it was announced last month that the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac), a government-run financial intelligence agency, had launched federal court proceedings against SkyCity Adelaide for anti-money laundering failings.

Austrac said the land-based casino operator demonstrated a pattern of “serious and systemic non-compliance” with the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) laws.

The civil penalty proceedings commence following an investigation into the New Zealand-based business, which SkyCity was notified of in June 2021. The probe itself was a product of an industry-wide compliance campaign initiated in September 2019.