A local pub in New South Wales (NSW) has been penalised by the state’s Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority. The venue is now liable for a $107 358.00 fine AS it was discovered that customers had been offered inducements to gamble.
It was uncovered that from 2017 to 2018, personnel at the Rose and Crown in Parramatta permitted at least $145,000 in credit and debit card withdrawals from the electric funds transfer machine at the bar. They are also said to have loaned patrons money from the establishment’s safe and handed out free alcohol and cigarettes to incentivise pokie players to stay longer.
Samantha Glynn, the pub’s general manager was discovered to have manipulated the poker machines’ payout systems by adjusting the values on leftover credit tickets and generating fake tickets. She is alleged to have made off with up to $400,000.
Glynn was suspended in the wake of the revelations and subsequently reported the venue to Liquor & Gaming NSW. The ensuing investigation uncovered several transgressions at the establishment and the matter was ultimately referred to the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority and NSW Police.
Criminal Culture
More of the pub’s seemingly complete disregard for authority came to light when the Rose and Crown was exposed for being in breach of the licence for positioning an ATM in the gaming room, as well as failing to make contact cards available to players, and displaying gambling-related signage and gaming machines within view of the outside of the hotel.
The venue was additionally found to have served alcohol and operated gaming machines outside of permitted trading hours on Good Friday.
The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority’s $107,358 penalty was issued against the pub’s license while the manager, Paul Camkin, was slapped with a $10 000 fine and served with a 12-month suspension from being a licensee or an approved manager of a hotel.
Two of Camkin’s associates, Jason Marlow and Damien Kelly were issued reprimands and instructed to join their cohort in compensating the Authority for its investigation costs.
Glynn’s transgressions attracted more severe intervention. The general manager was charged with theft of $15,000 by the NSW Police and she received a sentence of an 18-month intensive correction order.
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority chair, Phil Crawford, weighed in on the unpleasant discoveries, stating,
“Staff used phantom transactions to mask cash withdrawals for gambling, but even more incredibly, they gave out loans from the safe. At one point a manager loaned a total of $8,000 from the pub’s safe to a patron who wanted to keep playing the pokies. A security guard also used the safe to loan $800 to another gambler.”
“The hotel was essentially facilitating cash advances for gambling via a system of fake transactions, and this is an obvious risk for problem gambling. Thanks to the tipoff from the general manager, we were able to step in and investigate the hotel, ultimately holding the licensee and its close associates to account,” he concluded.
