The Leeton Hotel has been fined for operating gaming machines outside authorised hours. Photo: Hotel Leeton.
A hotel in Leeton has been slapped with fines and legal costs of almost $40,000 following an investigation by Liquor & Gaming NSW.
The Leeton Hotel was found to have operated gaming machines outside authorised hours on at least 40 days over a six-month period.
The pub is owned by local entrepreneur Trent Middleton and both he and the corporate licensee, Golden Crown Hotels, were each fined $14,000 plus a further $10,800 in costs.
Golden Crown Hotels also owns Yenda Hotel, Yanco Hotel and the Royal Hotel in Yass.
Hospitality and Racing’s Anthony Keon said the verdict sends a clear message to other venue operators about compliance.
“These restrictions are in place to reduce risks of gambling harm by limiting the amount of time patrons can spend playing gaming machines,” Mr Keon said.
“The Leeton Hotel showed a repeated disregard for the law along with the well-being of its patrons who were placed at greater risk of gambling harm.
“As this penalty shows, venues who fail to abide by gaming machine trading hours can expect to be caught and face the full force of the law.”
With a total of 14 gaming machines, the Leeton Hotel is authorised to trade until 1am Monday through Saturday and 10pm on Sundays.
A review of the hotel’s gaming activity found that between April and October last year, gaming machines had been operated outside these hours on at least 40 dates.
The offences mostly took place in the early hours of Saturday or Sunday mornings and on Sunday nights.
Both Mr Middleton and Golden Crown pleaded guilty to breaches, however, Mr Middleton had reportedly believed incorrectly that there was a 45-minute grace period for gaming once the pub had closed.
The profit from the after-hours trading was more than $9000 and Mr Middleton told the court he had donated the money to charity.
In sentencing, the local court magistrate said that the offending was not trivial or isolated in terms of volume and that they had failed to ensure harm minimisation compliance.
Loading ...
