New Zealand Casino License Challenged
The New Zealand Gambling Commission is considering a petition by that nation's Department of Internal Affairs to suspend for six months the gambling license of the Dunedin Casino for failing to identify a problem gambler over a three-year period. The casino is located on New Zealand's South Island.
Christine Keenan, who lost $6.6 million at the casino between 2001 and 2004, received a three-year prison sentence for stealing more than $500,000 from her employer. The balance of the funds came from an inheritance, a marriage settlement and the sale of her house. Under the New Zealand Gambling Act, a casino must have a policy to identify problem gamblers, offer them assistance and ban them for up to two years.
At a September hearing before the Gambling Commission, casino officials testified that they never concluded that Keenan was a problem gambler. The Commission has not yet ruled on the license suspension issue.
