Big Player owes 440 million

Australian Casino takes the big player to the court for debt of NOK 440 million

A Singaporsk Gambler managed to collect a game debt of NOK 440 million on Baccarat games in Australia in 2018. Based on legislation in his home country, he is not legally obliged to repay the money, but after the casino made new claims against the man through the Australian courts , he should be summoned and forced to explain why he should not pay the money back to the casino.

Occasionally there are stories from the gambling industry that really shock us. Either because of the eye -catching sums of money involved, or just the bizarre situation that has arisen. This case is certainly one that contains a bit of both. We honestly struggle to understand how a person can lose so much money on credit and get away without repaying a single cent.

The casino in question is The Star Gold Coast Casino based in Brisbane. The player is a man named Dr. Wong Yew Choy. Following a decision by the Queensland Supreme Court, the Australia authorities have initially been given green light to proceed and pursue compensation against the individual in the way they find appropriate. This may include fittings of assets, freezing accounts, or a request to Singapore to accept the Australian judgment and send over Dr. Wong.

Star Casino has, after recently reopening, already filed papers who are suing Dr. Wong for recovery of losses between July and August 2018, which amounts to a total of NOK 440 million. The funds were originally believed to be covered by the gambler, but after the check he signed turned out to be false, the alarm bells began to call the Australian casino giant.

Singaporks law prevents the recycling of money debt

Either with great luck, or perhaps planned from Mr. Wong's side, is the fact that Singaporsk law prohibits the recovery of gaming debt. There are certain exceptions to this law, but in general it is impossible for a gambler to be legally forced to repay funds due to gambling, in accordance with legislation in the home country. Although the games took place in Australia, in the opinion of the Court, there is no legal obligation for the debt to be repaid.

This seems completely incomprehensible to players operating in jurisdictions where loss of money on credit at a casino will mean that you certainly have to repay the money. Singaporsk courts threw the case because they could not determine the facts or determine its claim - not because the debt is false. This has a number of consequences for the person in question, as he may now need to prove that the funds that were lent to him were not credited in a traditional way.

Dr. Wong is certainly not a free man yet, and the huge sum of money is likely to cause Star Entertainment to invest a lot in the legal challenges of getting it back. The huge gaming debt must be justified in the courts of the casino, and Dr. Wong will eventually need to come forward and explain himself in front of an Australian judge.

From the outside, it is clear that there are several layers of complexity in this case, and after building up for almost two years, it seems that those who discuss the legitimacy are finally close to coming to a judgment.

Independent lawyers were asked about the legitimacy of Star's claims, and they completely agreed that the claim is justified. Star Entertainment is not wrong in pursuing this huge amount of money. Had the situation been turned the other way, the casino would probably have paid the winnings to the player who took the risk consciously of their fully licensed and regulated casino.

Essentially, Star Entertainment risks getting a huge injustice committed against them if this money is not paid. The judge in Australia does not agree with the claim that the circumstances of the case represent an injustice against Dr. Wong. He has passed a judgment to say that if the case was rejected and not persecuted by the courts, Star Entertainment would really have been subjected to a major abuse of law.

Have you read about The woman who complained about the tax and retained NOK 1.6 million in casino winnings?