A Sky City spokesman confirmed SkyCity had received correspondence from the commission after raising concerns about the mayor's conduct and the commission had determined it wanted to proceed with the hearing.
Hamilton City Council is spending up to $150,000 on hiring lawyers to oppose SkyCity's application to the Gambling Commission to swap three blackjack tables with 60 extra pokie machines. Public submissions closed in May.
Along with SkyCity, Hamilton City Council, the Problem Gambling Foundation, Salvation Army Oasis, Anglican Action, the Ministry of Health and the Waikato DHB have also been granted authorisation to be heard.
Hamilton City Council chief executive Richard Briggs said the council received a letter from the Gambling Commission last week giving it authorisation to present at the public hearing. The council had not received any correspondence from the commission regarding the mayor.
Nine other people and organisations were denied their requests to be heard because the commission did not believe their appearance would provide further assistance.
Following criticism about the lack of consultation with Māori, the Gambling Commission invited Tainui and other potentially interested parties to submit. Tainui did not respond.
Members of the public are invited to sit in on the hearing.
In a separate decision also released last week, the Gambling Commission has taken a strong stance on third party submissions ruling that any anonymous submissions or ones that did not include clear contact details would not be counted as independent submissions.
Reeves said the decision was made to ensure the documents being considered were genuine.
Gambling Commission executive director Blair Cairncross declined to comment while the commission was dealing with the application.
Dates for the hearing are still to be formalised, but it is not expected to be held before November 2019 due to the availability of commissioners.
