Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in Townsville rejects ‘problem gambler’s’ application for The Ville ban to be lifted

A disability pensioner who spent more than $500k in six months and was banned from the casino due to being a risk to his own safety has taken the hotel to court.

Generic Pics Around Townsville. Buildings, streets, shops, port, ent centre. Key words, generic, building street, icon, 2018. The Ville Resort - Casino Townsville.

A disability pensioner who gambled more than $500,000 in six months has unsuccessfully applied to have his ban from The Ville lifted, following the hotel’s exclusion which was made out of concerns for his safety.

The casino records showed from August 2023 to February 2024 he gambled a total of ‘coin-in’ of $527,412 which resulted in a net loss of $6101 and on two occasions it exceeded $10,000.

On one day alone the man gambled $97,918 and received winnings of $1,073.

As part of his ‘President Member’ status he was able to place a pre-commitment level on his membership to cap his acceptable loss at $100. He removed it 20 days later.

Two months later, he tried to set another pre-commitment level, but by accident it was set to only $10 which was quickly reached and he asked for it to be removed – he continued gambling and lost in excess $10,000.

He originally approached the promotions desk and said he believed the casino “failed to protect him after he identified that he was a “problem gambler” and placed a pre-commitment on himself”.

“(He) was extremely emotional (crying) and his behaviour was erratic,” an internal email detailing the interaction outlined.

“(He) had said that he frequently lies when asked about his play and is currently gambling with payment from his superannuation which is due to run—out shortly, (the man) expressed that once he runs out of money he would likely harm himself.”

According to the documents the casino had discussions with the man regarding a “self-exclusion” which he didn’t commit to.

The Casino’s Harm Minimization Officer Thomas Stevens intervened and issued an exclusion direction the man, banning him from entering the casino and three months later the pensioner applied to challenge the decision at the Tribunal.

Generic; The Ville Casino and Resort Townsville

The hotel’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Richardson said he was happy with the court’s decision to support the man’s exclusion.

“It’s pleasing and comforting to the team that their actions in delivering customer care were upheld by QCAT, but disappointing that we were forced to defend our decision against a requirement of the Act,” he said.

“The sad part about this is that the former patron can still suffer harm as exclusions of this nature are not reciprocated by the many local pubs and clubs.

“The Ville has a great relationship with OLGR and have been working closely with them on a number of fronts for mutual uplift.”

During the application the man argued that The Ville’s statements about his gambling were not correct, that he had been “persecuted” by the Casino.

“… and in turn lost his accrued membership benefits which he wanted to get back,” the tribunal record read.

“He also wanted the ban on him entering the casino lifted.”

When pressed on why he claimed the statements made by the casino were incorrect he said, “it was action too late, they should have stepped in earlier”.

However, he did accept he had demonstrated the actions of someone who had no control over their gambling habits and had “an inability to discipline himself”.

He also confirmed the money he was gambling and losing was from his permanent disability insurance payout.

QCAT’s decision ultimately found the man’s arguments about his exclusion were “misconceived’ and denied his application.

“He was misguided in his focus on lost membership benefit, losing sight entirely of the relevant issues, namely his inability to discipline himself in terms of his gambling,” the decision read.

“The casino was entirely correct in taking the steps it took to intervene and put into place a protective mechanism of excluding (the man) from the casino.”

Originally published as Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in Townsville rejects ‘problem gambler’s’ application for The Ville ban to be lifted