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A Christchurch Casino staffer's attempt to resolve an under-age incident diplomatically has backfired and ended in Christchurch District Court, the casino says.
The casino pleaded guilty yesterday to a charge of allowing an under-age person - a singer invited with her family by New Zealand Idol judge and singer Frankie Stevens to the casino - to remain on its premises.
It was discharged without conviction, but Judge Philip Moran asked it to make a $1000 donation to the Salvation Army.
The rules required the casino to log the incident and report itself to the Department of Internal Affairs, which decided to prosecute.
The department's director of the gambling compliance group, Mike Hill, said it was the first time the department had prosecuted any of New Zealand's six casinos for an under-age offence under the Gambling Act. But there had been six previous incidents at the Christchurch Casino.
"The prosecution was initiated because we felt there was a need for the casino to raise its standards, and they hadn't raised them sufficiently at the time," he explained.
The act had a heavy emphasis on "harm minimisation", including prevention of under-age gambling.
"The only basis for these casinos to operate is that they can demonstrate a commitment to minimising the harmful effects of problem gambling."
The casino pleaded guilty to allowing a 19-year-old to remain on the premises, while a second charge of letting the person enter the premises was dropped.
Defence lawyer Jonathan Eaton explained the incident had happened late in December 2005 after the casino had put on a concert at the Town Hall involving Frankie Stevens and a younger woman singer.
After the show, Mr Stevens invited the woman and her family to a function in the casino's Club Aspinall.
Someone pointed out to the casino that the young singer had been introduced on stage as being only 19.
"It was accepted that she looked older than 20. Nobody had cause to suspect she was under 20," Mr Eaton said.
A manager then approached Mr Stevens and asked about her age.
It was accepted that she was neither gambling nor drinking, and she and her family left within a few minutes.
The problem was that the provisions of the Gambling Act had not been strictly met.
The manager had tried to solve the problem diplomatically by approaching Mr Stevens, rather than approaching the under-age person directly and asking her to leave.
Mr Eaton told Judge Moran that the effects of a conviction would be disproportionate to the offence.
"We are a leader in the industry. We have an unblemished record, and we set examples to other operators."
Mr Eaton said the casino already supported charitable work to combat problem gambling.
Judge Moran had asked it to make the $1000 donation to the Salvation Army rather than ordering it to make the payment, but money would certainly be paid.
- NZPA
