Court orders casino to pay out jackpot in Australia

Just a few months ago we reported that an Australian authority had sentenced the Crown Resorts to a fine of millions. At the end of August, an Australian court then dealt with the question of whether the renowned Star Casino had rightly refused to pay out a jackpot win. The court found in its judgment that there is no convincing reason for a refusal to pay out. For this reason, the court has now ordered the casino to immediately pay out the jackpot that was won a long time ago.

Casino refused jackpot payout to disabled players

The plaintiff player David Joe had already won the jackpot of AUD 285,000 (approx. 187,000 euros) in October 2019 at the Star Casino in Sydney. In the further course, however, the casino management refused to pay out the winnings. Rationale: As VIP customer David Joe suffers from a neurological disorder, he has asked the casino to bring along an attendant to help him operate the slot machines. The Star Casino agreed to this plan.

The problem: The companion of the VIP customer was an “undesirable person” from the casino’s point of view. So the casino argued that the actual winner was the companion. Since they were not allowed to enter the casino at all, the prize would not have been won legally. He had already had himself blocked from playing in 2016.

However, the court did not follow this reasoning. On the contrary: The court blamed the casino for the “undesirable person” having access to the gaming machines at all and being able to enter the casino without any problems. The plaintiff player himself has meanwhile been able to make it credible in court that he did not know that his companion was banned from playing. In the summer of last year, we also reported on money laundering worth millions at the Crown Casino Melbourne.

The Star Casino in Sydney is the second largest casino in Australia. The country’s largest casino is Crown Casino Melbourne. The Star Casino opened in September 1995 and was last extensively renovated between 2009 and 2011. There are almost 1,500 slot machines and a number of table games in the casino. The casino is operated by the Star Entertainment Group.

Jackpot win must be paid out

Almost three years after David Joe hit the jackpot at Star Casino, the court ordered the casino to pay out the winnings immediately. After all, Joe legitimately earned it with the help of his companion, who he also needed due to his disability. In December last year we reported on another horrifying case from Australia where a woman stole A$940,000 and then gambled the money away at the social casino.

Conclusion

The physically challenged jackpot winner has shown staying power and won a court of law around three years after winning the jackpot. Now the gambling company Star Entertainment has to pay out the winnings of the equivalent of almost 200,000 euros to the winner immediately. The casino had previously tried every means possible to prevent the jackpot from being paid out to the lucky winner.