HOTEL LICENSEES TO FACE COURT OVER ALLEGED GAMING BREACHES

Licensees of Chittaway Bay Tavern and Regent Hotel will face charges in court over alleged breaches of NSW gaming laws following investigations by Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW).

At the Chittaway Bay Tavern on the Central Coast, the regulator found alleged breaches including:

• Situating gaming machines in a manner whereby they were visible from outside the hotel
• Locating an ATM in an area where gaming machines were kept
• Compelling patrons to pass through the gaming room to access the ATM

On 22 November 2022, L&GNSW conducted an inspection of the venue and allegedly identified that the gaming machines were positioned where they could be seen from outside the hotel, breaching Clause 8(2)(e) of the Gaming Machines Regulation 2019.

During that inspection, an ATM was allegedly found in the same area that gaming machines were kept, in breach of NSW gaming laws.

A reinspection on 10 December 2022 allegedly found that patrons were required to pass through the gaming room to access the ATM.

At the Regent Hotel in Kingsford, Sydney, L&GNSW discovered alleged violations including:

• Allowing gaming machines to operate outside the licensed trading hours on various dates
• Permitting a gaming machine to operate during the three-hour shut down period

On 20 and 27 November and 4 December 2022, the licensee allegedly permitted gaming machines to be operated between 5am and 6am, which is outside the hotel’s licensed trading hours under NSW gaming laws.

On 4 December 2022, the licensee allegedly allowed a gaming machine to operate during the hotel’s three-hour shut down period on a weekend/public holiday.

The licensee of Chittaway Bay Tavern, Dianne Lee Walsh, and the licensee of the Regent Hotel, Jessica Ng, are due to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court in relation to the charges on 11 July 2023.