David Joe v The Star Pty Limited

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

David Joe v THE STAR PTY LIMITED [2022] NSWDC 360

Hearing dates:

23 May 2022
24 May 2022
25 May 2022
26 May 2022
2 June 2022
11 July 2022
19 August 2022

Date of orders:

19 August 2022

Decision date:

19 August 2022

Jurisdiction:

Civil

Before:

Montgomery DCJ

Decision:

(1) Judgment for the plaintiff against the defendant in the sum of $319,733.55 inclusive of interest to date.

(2) Defendant to pay the plaintiff’s costs of the proceedings.

Catchwords:

CONTRACT OF WAGER – conversion – jackpot at casino

Legislation Cited:

Casino Control Act 1992 (NSW) – Ss 4A; 77; 79; 82; 83; 85; 86A;

Gaming Machine Rules (19 May 2017) – Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority NSW; “player”; “wager”; “making any wager”

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) – s 14.14

Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) – s 140

Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) – s 100

Cases Cited:

Carlill v The Carbolic Smokeball Company [1892] 2 QB 484; (1892) 56 JP 665

Project Blue Sky v ABA [1998] HCA 28; (1998) 194 CLR 355

Commissioner for Railways (NSW) v Agalianos [1955] HCA 27; (1955) 92 CLR 390

Totaan v R [2022] NSWCCA 75; (2022) 400 ALR 578

Nguyen v Tran [2018] NSWCA 215; (2018) 86 MR 16

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

David Joe, Plaintiff
The Star Pty Limited, Defendant

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr Kelly SC, Counsel for the Plaintiff
Mr Afshar, Counsel for the Defendant

Solicitors:
GOH Lawyer, Solicitors for the Plaintiff
Gadens, Solicitors for the Defendant

File Number(s):

2020/00207783

Judgment

INTRODUCTION

1. The plaintiff case is quite simple. He says that due to his suffering motor neurone disease, on 25 October 2019 he organised for his friend Mr Lie to operate gaming machines for him because he was unable to use his arms and hands with the speed and stamina required to enjoy playing gaming machines at the defendant’s Casino. He claims a jackpot of $284,449.06 won plus other credit prizes; on the Year Of The Tiger (“YTT”) machine in the Vantage Room which was situated in the VIP area (“VIP room”). Mr Lie, was playing the machine on the event of those winnings, after wagering over a three-hour period.

2. The defendant refused to pay the plaintiff the jackpot and other winning prizes (“the Winnings”). It forfeited the Winnings and paid the sum of the Winnings into the Responsible Gambling Fund.

3. The contest in these proceedings does not include an allegation that the defendant Casino acted other than, as it saw it, in bona fide compliance with section 86A of the Casino Control Act 1992 (NSW) (“the Act”). The plaintiff says that section 86A has no application in the circumstances.

4. Section 86A provides that a person subject to an Exclusion Order under section 79 of the Act is prohibited from making a wager in a Casino and is not entitled to any winnings from a successful wager in a Casino that the person is prohibited from; and further…