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Police are prosecuting a man accused of cheating during a poker game at Hamilton's SkyCity Casino.

Jing Luo Yan, a 45-year-old chef, is charged with knowingly contravening the rules of a game, with the intention of obtaining a pecuniary advantage.

A warrant for his arrest was issued when he failed to appear in Hamilton District Court last week and he was listed to appear in court today, but again failed to appear.

Jing is alleged to have been caught cheating at Caribbean stud poker at the casino on March 26. This game is a variation of traditional five-card stud poker, in which players bet against the house.

SkyCity said it was unable to comment on the case as it was under investigation by the Internal Affairs Department.

"In a gaming business you will have people who from time to time will try to cheat the system, however these people are quickly identified," SkyCity Hamilton general manager Geoff Hogg said in a statement.

Anyone caught cheating was immediately trespassed from the casino for two years.

An Internal Affairs Department spokesman said there had been 21 investigations into cheating offences in New Zealand's six casinos over the past nine months.

The casinos were required to notify the department of cheating incidents but prosecutions were carried out by the police.