Crown Resorts is facing a lawsuit filed by a problem gambler, who asked to be suspended from its casino venue in Melbourne. The casino patron is suing the Australian gambling operator for almost AU$4.6 million he lost at the venue after Crown Melbourne’s staff members confirmed their actions were irresponsible as they repeatedly coaxed him to get back to the roulette table.
At the beginning of the week, Ahmed Hasna, who claims to have been a regular casino patron of Crown Melbourne from 1993 to 2019 and sometimes spending 26 hours straight in the venue, filed a lawsuit against the gambling operator in the Federal Court.
The allegations claim that the casino operator knew, or should have known, that the player had been a problem gambler. Even worse, instead of making him gamble more responsibly and making sure everything about his mental and financial wellbeing was all right, Crown Melbourne’s employees lured Mr Hasna back to the venue by offering him special enticements, including free tickets for concerts and sports events, gifts, holidays and lavish dinners.
As heard by the Royal Commission of Victoria earlier this year, Mr Hasna was invited back to the casino’s exclusive Mahogany Room, with the staff allowing him to gamble on credit even after he lost chips worth AU$100,00, which he had purchased with a cheque that later bounced. At the time when these revelations were made, Peter Lawrence, the head of VIP customer service at Crown Resorts, described the casino actions as irresponsible and probably predatory.
Crown Melbourne Lured the Casino Patron with Incentives to Make Him Spend More Money
In his application to the Federal Court, Mr Hasna claims the casino employees did not prevent him from playing even after his mother came to the casino twice to ask the staff to stop him from spending the family’s money. The plaintiff was not permanently suspended by Crown management until December 2020 although the casino security had made a number of recommendations to do so after a few abusive outbursts towards employees at the times he was losing.
The lawsuit also claims that the aforementioned incidents were ignored by the casino as a sign of problem gambling behaviour, even though they are listed in Crown Resorts’ Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct as an indicator for possible gambling-related harm.
In his claims, Mr Hasna says he lost AU$30,000 after coming to the casino to get the free tickets to a Phil Collins show. He also generated losses at the time he was collecting 4 corporate box tickets to the AFL grand final in 2017. In order to fund his addiction, the plaintiff borrowed money from his friends, family and associates. Things have gotten so bad that he is now estranged from his parents and siblings, and in 2010 his wife fought him for custody of their children because of Mr Hasna’s gambling.
As heard by the court, Mr Hasna’s personal relationships and overall mental health have improved since he got suspended from the casino. Now, he is suing Crown Resorts for AU$4,593,000 in damages, including AU$200,000 in money that a friend had lent to him.
- Author
Daniel Williams
