Taren Point Hotel, James Hughes fined for plying free beers to gambler

A former cop who endured a crushing loss on the pokies said bar staff ensured his glass was never empty with 10 beers on the house across his six hour gambling session.

A Sydney pub owner and licensee have been fined and reprimanded by the state’s gaming watchdog for plying a patron with free beers in a day of gambling that left him $3000 out of pocket.

The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority has delivered its findings into a series of complaints lodged against Taren Point Hotel licensee James Hughes and owner, Feros Hotel Group Pty Ltd, relating to the service of a male patron who visited the venue in February 2019.

The complaints centred on a man who was supplied with 10 complimentary schooners of full strength Carlton Draught which he drank over a six hour period while gambling on the pub’s poker machines.

The man lost about $3000 during the gambling session at the Taren Point Hotel.

The patron – a former police officer – said he visited the pub about two times per year and lost about $3000 during the course of the day.

He told the authority the only reason he remained at the hotel and continued to gamble was because he was supplied free alcohol to the point of intoxication.

The hotel’s marketing program involved “offering discounts and free items” particularly to members who are entitled to discounts on bar, food and bottle shop specials, and about two per cent of food and drink turnover was offered to patrons in promotional giveaways each day.

Mr Hughes and Feros Hotel Group, in their response to the complaint, said staff had “discretion” to “shout” free alcoholic drinks to patrons subject to an overall “criterion of reasonableness” and noted there was no “illegality” in providing the complimentary offers to patrons in any part of a hotel, including its gaming room.

The hotel has 24 poker machines.

The man told the authority he had suffered from a gambling problem but it was “hugely out of character to stay back that late and lose that much money” – describing the session as the “longest (he’d) ever had”.

“It got to the stage where I was more focused on getting the free drinks than winning. The fact the beers were free encouraged me to keep drinking and playing,” he said.

The authority, in its decision on Monday, found the man’s early wins on the poker machine were one likely factor that fuelled his gambling during the day, but could not discount the role that the “substantial supply of free liquor” played to keep him on the premises and gambling.

“Liquor is a desirable product and the purpose of supplying free liquor is to at least ensure that the patron stays on the premises to consume it,” the authority said.

“Importantly, staff were here supplying the free liquor to a patron who was only apparently interested in the hotel’s gaming machine services.”

The authority found Mr Hughes engaged in conduct that encouraged or is likely to encourage the misuse and abuse of gambling activities in the hotel, and found Feros Hotel Group knew or ought reasonably to have known that the hotelier was engaging or was likely to engage in the conduct.

Mr Hughes was fined $4400 and Taren Point Hotel had its authority to keep gaming machines suspended for a week from May 17 this year.

Mr Hughes was also ordered to pay the Secretary $19,291.85 to cover costs of investigation – which will be paid by Feros Hotel Group.

Mr Hughes and Feros Hotel Group said they no longer provide complimentary drinks in any of their hotels and have also engaged an advisor to design a specific program to assist staff to identify problem gambling.