Masters v Garcia

Masters and Garcia were parties to a dispute concerning poker machine entitlements under the *Gaming Machines Act 2001* (NSW). The case came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, with Tobias and Basten JJA and Campbell AJA presiding. The central issue revolved around the nature of these entitlements and their relationship with a hotelier's licence.

The court was required to determine whether poker machine entitlements were capable of being held on trust. Further, it needed to consider whether a former holder of a hotelier's licence could retain the benefit of the transferability of these entitlements, and whether the entitlements could be severed from the licence itself. Finally, the court had to assess whether the lessor of the hotel premises held a financial interest in the hotelier's licence for the purposes of section 19 of the *Gaming Machines Act 2001*.

The Court of Appeal set aside the orders and declarations made by the court below. The court directed the parties to indicate in writing within seven days what further orders should be made or steps taken to dispose of the appeal. Liberty was granted to the parties to apply to Basten JA if further time was required to comply with this direction.