Surrey publicans fined over illegal gaming machine

By Noli Dinkovski

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Slot machine Gambling commission

Pubs have been reminded of the law on gaming equipment after two individuals at a pub in Ashford, Surrey, were prosecuted for giving customers access to an illegal gaming machine.

Sean Flynn and Debra Barnett, at the Black Dog, both received fines for making an unlicensed gaming machine available for public use.

Officers from the Gambling Commission and Spelthorne Council's Licensing Section had been carrying out an inspection of the Black Dog in October 2011 when the illegal gaming machine was identified.

The “New Games Box”, which was later seized by Surrey Police, was a multigame machine that offered pay-outs and stakes exceeding the limits for the type of machines allowed in pubs. The machine seized featured a roulette game that allowed a stake of £50 with a maximum prize of £140.

A maximum stake of £1 and a maximum prize of £70 are lawfully permitted on machines in pubs.

In addition, the machine did not display the required information regarding under 18 use, problem gambling, machine category, ID plate or any details relating to the supplier.

Flynn, the sole director of the company in charge of managing the pub at the time, was given a £400 fine and ordered by magistrates to pay £500 in costs.

Barnett was the designated premises supervisor at the pub at the time and emptied the machine each evening. She was sentenced to a conditional discharge for six-months, and was ordered to pay £100 in costs.

Supplying gaming machines or making them available to the public without the appropriate licence or permission is a criminal offence under the Gambling Act 2005.

Spelthorne councillor Penny Forbes-Forsyth said: “Both these individuals now have criminal records and I trust that this will act as a deterrent to those establishments that make gaming machines available for public use.”

Related topics Legislation

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