A Malaysian business magnate is taking a UK casino to court for letting him spend an excessive amount of time gambling on baccarat, which resulted in him losing a mind-blowing sum.
Lim Han Joeh is suing the Mayfair casino Crown London Aspinalls at the High Court in London for doing nothing to prevent him from spending a total of 72 hours, as a result of which he lost £3.9 million (RM21.91 million). The 62-year-old Malaysian tycoon now claims that the private casino club violated the UK Gambling Act of 2005.
Under the provisions of the aforementioned piece of legislation, vulnerable individuals are supposed to be protected from potential exploitation by gambling or gambling-related harm. In his writ to the court, the gambler claims that the staff of Crown London Aspinalls increased his credit to £2 million (RM11.23 million) rather than make sure they stop him from playing baccarat and take a rest.
Mr Lim accused the London-based private casino club of extending his credit to £1.9 million, which allowed it to take advantage of his losing streak in the game.
According to reports from The Daily Mail, the player was officially a member of the iconic gambling establishment since 2014. The exclusive club’s rules provide such players with privileges, including cashing cheques of up to £600,000.
The Iconic London Casino Previously Sued the Malaysian Tycoon for Not Paying Gambling Debts
The affluent Malaysian casino patron, who took the position of Yinson Holding Berhad’s Executive Director in the 20-year period from 1996 to 2016, was playing a game called double chance baccarat, which is a new variant of the traditional game of Punto Banco offering additional winning chances. According to media reports, Mr Lim has business interests in steel, property and computer chip manufacturing and owns properties in Malaysia and London. His worth is estimated at £40 million.
The marathon session of Mr Lim took place in 2015. According to a writ filed at the High Court in London, the staff of the exclusive casino establishment allowed him to play for a total of 72 hours with limited breaks without practically doing nothing to prevent him from spending the massive amount of money he lost.
Four years after the gaming session, in 2019, Crown London Aspinalls won a case against Mr Lim, after taking the player to court because the casino never received the money he had lost. Apart from ruling in favour of the casino, the judge also imposed a £100,000 fine to the Malaysian tycoon for contempt of court as the man had violated 4 court orders. The court also harshly criticised Mr Lim for giving deliberately dishonest oral evidence while the hearing had been held.
Now, Mr Lim is trying to turn the tables by taking Crown London Aspinalls to court, claiming that any loans or debts should be null and void because the casino club violated the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005.
The iconic London casino and gambling club shared that it would defend the lawsuit and had refused to make further comment on the matter.
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Olivia Cole
