Man blames ‘prescription mezzanine’ for next-level gambling losses

A Northern Territory man who lost more than $350,000 gambling, has claimed an adverse reaction to prescription medicine, a head injury and the bookmaker, are responsible for the losses.

A punter has unsuccessfully tried to blame his next-level gambling losses on a reaction to “prescription mezzanine”, a head injury and online bookmaker Ladbrokes.

The Northern Territory Racing Commission, the watchdog which oversees online bookmakers registered in the Northern Territory, has rejected a complaint that Ladbrokes allowed the man to blow $353,200 in a 15 hour session in June last year.

The punter — known only as “Mr D” — shut his account the day after his losing spree and two weeks later wrote to the commission claiming he had suffered an “extreme medical reaction to prescription mezzanine and was gambling while incoherent and unable to control any inhibitions or limits to the proscribed medication along with a severe head injury …”.

Ladbrokes told the commission its staff twice contacted the punter to ask whether his gambling was a problem.

Darwin’s gaming regulator has dismissed a complaint that online bookie Ladbrokes allowed an ‘incoherent’ gambler to blow $353,200 in 15 hours while on drugs

In September 2017, a month after the punter started betting big, he told a Ladbrokes staff member he had “ … an extra couple of dollars on my hands and thought we’d have a go or two”.

The commission — made up of chairman Alastair Shields and members Cindy Bravos and Allan McGill — found the punter had never raised any concerns about the losses he racked up before closing his account, despite frequently losing tens of thousands a month.

“The fact that the complainant was a very active customer of Ladbrokes is also supported by a number of emails … in which the complainant seeks and is provided Ladbrokes’ complimentary corporate tickets to various sporting events,” the commission said.

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The commission said it was “well established that an inherent risk that cannot be avoided in the activity of gambling is a loss of money”.

It also said the punter could have walked away a winner, having placed bets that saw him win more than $530,000.

“The complainant did not elect to withdraw these winnings, but rather chose to utilise these winnings to undertake further betting activity which was ultimately unsuccessful.”

The commission found Ladbrokes complied with the industry code of conduct, that the man “has clearly suffered from a case of gambler’s remorse” and that it would be “unreasonable” for it to find that Ladbrokes should have known the man was taking heavy doses of prescription medication during his binge.