Deserted boy found at casino

Two grandparents have been banned from SkyCity after abandoning their grandson to gamble. Photo / Dean Purcell

Police were called to SkyCity casino yesterday after a child was found abandoned while his grandparents played bingo.

The boy was waiting outside the main gaming room on the casino's third floor.

The Problem Gambling Foundation said the incident provided "very, very sad" evidence of the industry's impact on families.

Police communications inspector Matt Sillars said police attended but had not made any immediate arrests.

SkyCity security management at first denied a neglected child had been found.

However, SkyCity general counsel Peter Tracey later confirmed security staff found a 10-year-old boy about 10.30am. Tracey said the grandparents were playing bingo on the main gaming floor.

He said occasionally people left their children unattended while gambling but they got the message that such behaviour was unacceptable.

When asked why security staff denied any knowledge of the incident, Tracey said "they were probably instructed to not talk to media".

Security footage showed the child was alone for six minutes, Tracey said.

Security guards found the grandparents and trespassed them from the casino for two years.

"We have absolutely no tolerance for people leaving children unattended," he added.

A man who said he witnessed the incident said security was lacking.

"Security there didn't care. There was no sense of urgency at all," he said.

"It's not like someone was with the kid the whole way through."

Tracey denied the allegation, saying a member of staff was with the boy the whole time after he was found.

He said parents who wanted to gamble should arrange for their children to be looked after off-premises and the casino did not intend to offer childcare.

"A creche is completely out of the question," he said. "It would have the opposite effect."

Problem Gambling Foundation chief executive Graeme Ramsey said: "This is just the latest in a long line of incidents over the years where people neglect children because of gambling.

"It absolutely points out where a lot of the misery of gambling is felt."

Child, Youth and Family Services northern director Marion Heeney said gambling was a factor in some of the neglect cases it dealt with.

Sometimes caregivers were not aware they couldn't leave children alone while they were gambling, Heeney said, but "if in this situation the folks are familiar with the rules I would expect the police to be talking to them and making an assessment".

Department of Internal Affairs communications adviser Trevor Henry said the casino would be required to report the incident to the department.

"If there were repeated flaws then it would be a cause for action but the casino knows what to do in relation to the protocols in place."

This incident follows a string of similar, more serious events in the past decade, including Puao Faumuina who was sentenced to 12 months' supervision in 2001 after leaving her baby in a car for three hours while she played pokies.

SkyCity Entertainment Group made a first-half profit of $71 million in the six months ending December 31 last year, up from $54.8 million a year earlier.