Casinos in Queenstown

Queenstown has two licensed casinos: SkyCity Wharf Casino at 16-24 Beach Street and Wharf Casino Queenstown at 88 Beach Street on Steamer Wharf. On top of that, roughly 45 licensed pokies venue sit across the wider Otago Lakes area. Queenstown is the only city in New Zealand with two licensed casinos and records the highest international-visitor share of any casino destination in the country. This guide covers both venues, the city’s pokies venue, and the responsible-gambling support available across the Otago Lakes area.

How many licensed casinos are there in Queenstown?

Two. Queenstown holds two of the six casino licences issued in New Zealand, and it’s the only city in the country with more than one licensed casino. Both casinos sit on Beach Street, within 200 metres of each other, facing Lake Wakatipu at the lake end of central Queenstown.

SkyCity Wharf Casino opened in 2000 at 16-24 Beach Street, Queenstown 9300, and is operated by SkyCity Entertainment Group (NZX:SKC). It’s the larger of the two Queenstown casinos, running blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker, and roughly 85 pokies machines. It shares the SkyCity group brand with SkyCity Auckland and SkyCity Hamilton. Full venue detail sits on the SkyCity Wharf Queenstown editorial page.

Wharf Casino Queenstown is a smaller boutique casino at 88 Beach Street, located in the historic Steamer Wharf precinct on the Lake Wakatipu waterfront. It’s locally operated, independent from the SkyCity group, and focuses on a more intimate gaming-floor experience with around 70 pokies and a full table-game line-up including regular poker tournaments. Full detail sits on the Wharf Casino Queenstown editorial page. Both venues hold Class 3 licences under the Gambling Act 2003.

Where are the pokies venues in Queenstown?

Queenstown’s licensed pokies venue cluster in Queenstown CBD (around The Mall and Beach Street), Frankton, Arrowtown, and Wanaka. Queenstown town itself hosts roughly 15 pokies venue. The wider Otago Lakes area (Frankton, Arrowtown, Wanaka, Cromwell, and surrounding towns) brings the regional total to around 45 venues.

• Queenstown CBD: roughly 8 pokies venue, clustered around The Mall, Beach Street, and the Shotover Street pub strip. These sit alongside the two casinos and serve both locals and international visitors.
• Frankton: roughly 5 pokies venue near the Queenstown Airport and Five Mile retail precinct.
• Arrowtown: roughly 3 pokies venue in the heritage gold-rush town 20 minutes from central Queenstown.
• Wanaka: roughly 8 pokies venue across Wanaka township and surrounding Hawea and Lake Hawea areas.
• Cromwell and Alexandra: roughly 6 pokies venue combined, covering Central Otago’s Queenstown-adjacent towns.

Outside the Queenstown Lakes district, Otago towns with pokies venue include Dunedin, Mosgiel, Balclutha, and Oamaru. Dunedin and its pokies venue are covered on the Casinos in Dunedin page. The DIA register at dia.govt.nz/Gambling-Class-4 is the authoritative venue list. Counts above reflect the Q1 2026 snapshot.

What hours do pokies venues in Queenstown operate?

Pokies venue in Queenstown typically run from late morning (10am to 11am) until midnight or 1am, tracking the parent pub’s liquor licence. Queenstown liquor licences tend to run later than the national pattern, because the resort town hospitality economy is built around a later service window. No pokies venue is legally permitted to run 24 hours.

Most Queenstown pubs close their gaming rooms at midnight or 1am on weekdays, with Friday and Saturday hours occasionally extending one hour later where the parent liquor licence permits. Sunday gaming is available at all pokies venue with a typically later start (11am to noon).

SkyCity Wharf Casino runs 12pm to 4am daily. Wharf Casino Queenstown runs 12pm to 4am daily. Both casinos use the full extended-hours window permitted by their Class 3 licences, which reflects the resort-town operating pattern and the international-visitor late-night demand profile. Neither Queenstown casino runs 24-hour gaming.

How do I find a pokies venue near me in Queenstown?

The DIA publishes the authoritative pokies venue register at dia.govt.nz/Gambling-Class-4, searchable by suburb, venue name, or licensee. Every DIA-licensed Otago Lakes gaming venue is listed with its address and licence-holding operator.

For quick Queenstown-specific lookup, use the area index above. The Queenstown CBD cluster is within 10 minutes’ walk of either licensed casino, and the Frankton, Arrowtown, and Wanaka venues require a short drive or shuttle. The scope and mechanics of Class 4 licensing (machine caps, stake limits, community-grants return) sit on the pokies venue page.

If you’re unsure whether a Queenstown venue is DIA-licensed, check the licence display inside the gaming room. Every pokies venue must display its DIA licence number and Gambling Helpline NZ signage (0800 654 655). Unlicensed gambling can be reported to the DIA on 0800 257 887.

What games are available at Queenstown’s casinos and pokies venues?

Both Queenstown licensed casinos run blackjack, roulette (American and European wheels), baccarat, and pokies. Wharf Casino Queenstown additionally runs regular poker tournaments, and poker cash games are a scheduled fixture rather than a permanent cash-game floor. SkyCity Wharf Casino’s table-game line-up mirrors the SkyCity group’s standard casino offering at smaller scale than Auckland or Hamilton.

Table games at both Queenstown casinos sit on compact gaming floors. Both venues are boutique by New Zealand casino standards, with gaming floors an order of magnitude smaller than SkyCity Auckland’s 1,600-machine operation. Pokies machines at both venues accept denominations from 1 cent up through higher-limit options, and casino pokies carry no statutory per-spin stake cap.

Pokies venue in Queenstown offer pokies machine only. No table games. Each venue runs between 1 and 18 machines under a $2.50 maximum stake per spin. Machine selection depends on the supplier contract at each venue. Common titles include reel-based pokies and multi-line video pokies certified to DIA technical standards. The full rules and house-edge reference sits on the NZ casino games guide.

What responsible gambling support is available in Queenstown?

Gambling Helpline NZ (0800 654 655) is available 24/7 from anywhere in New Zealand, including Queenstown and the wider Otago Lakes area. The service is free, confidential, and funded by the Ministry of Health. The Problem Gambling Foundation delivers Otago-based counselling with counsellors available in Queenstown, Wanaka, and Dunedin.

SkyCity Wharf Casino and Wharf Casino Queenstown both run voluntary self-exclusion and participate in the national multi-venue exclusion scheme. A self-exclusion at either Queenstown casino is enforceable at all six licensed casinos in New Zealand under the shared scheme. Pokies venue across Queenstown support single-venue self-exclusion under the DIA’s host-responsibility rules, with exclusion periods typically set at six months, twelve months, or two years.

Every licensed venue in Queenstown must display Gambling Helpline NZ signage, provide host-responsibility-trained staff during gaming hours, and prohibit ATMs on the gaming floor. Given Queenstown’s high international-visitor share, both casinos run multi-language host-responsibility material alongside the standard English-language signage. For the full list of Otago Lakes and national support services, exclusion procedures, and crisis lines, see the responsible gambling page.

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