A NEWCASTLE hotel is out of pocket $7540, fined for "serious breaches" of the state's gaming machine laws.
A Liquor and Gaming NSW investigation revealed that on Saturday 15, 22 and 29 of April, last year, pokies were operated at the Royal Inn Hotel, Waratah, during the shutdown period from 1am to 7am. The Station Street pub's licensee pleaded guilty to 13 offences under the Gaming Machines Act 2001 in Downing Centre Local Court on March 11.
Liquor and Gaming NSW Regulatory Operations executive director Jane Lin said the offences marked serious breaches of gaming laws.
"These restrictions are in place to reduce the risks of gambling harm by limiting the time patrons can spend playing gaming machines," she said. "Apart from breaking the law, the Royal Inn Hotel placed its patrons at greater risk of gambling harm. As this case shows, venues that fail to abide by gaming machine trading hours can expect to be caught and face significant penalties."
In court, the hotel submitted that the breaches were a genuine misunderstanding of the licence conditions by the approved manager.
However in sentencing, the magistrate said the onus was on the licensee to ensure staff were appropriately trained, and that a message had to be sent to venues with the "highly profitable right" of operating gaming machines in NSW.
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