Australia’s Hellenic Club fined AU$1.2 million for breaching gambling regulations

January 31, 2025

Australia’s Hellenic Club fined AU$1.2 million for breaching gambling regulations

The ACT Gambling and Racing Commission has fined the Hellenic Club of Canberra AU$1.2 million for violating gambling regulations. This penalty follows an extensive investigation into the club’s role in the case of Raimo Kasurinen, a problem gambler who tragically took his own life in March 2020. The case has reignited discussions about the responsibilities of gambling establishments in preventing addiction and financial ruin among patrons.

Details of the investigation and fine

Raimo Kasurinen and his wife were said to be severely addicted to gambling. The couple was reported to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Hellenic Club, leading to significant financial hardship. Their addiction resulted in a substantial amount of debt, and on 31 March 2020, Kasurinen died by suicide.

The investigation discovered that the Hellenic Club enabled excessive gambling without proper intervention. For instance, the club failed to report multiple problem gambling incidents in its official register within the required timeframe. Additionally, it allowed patrons to withdraw more than AU$200 per transaction at its EFTPOS facility, enabling problem gamblers to access large sums of money.

David Chambers, Kasurinen’s son-in-law, filed a complaint with the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission following his father-in-law’s death. Chambers argued that the club neglected its duty of care, failing to protect Kasurinen from self-destructive gambling behaviour. His complaint ultimately led to the regulatory investigation that resulted in the fine.

Mr Chambers said he made complaints to the club in December 2019 and early March 2020 about the couple’s problem gambling before his father-in-law took his own life.

Chambers further stated, “The Hellenic Club were just in complete denial then and remain in denial today. They would disguise those transactions as five lots of $200 transactions, which meant inserting the credit card each time, then popping in your PIN, tricking the machine into believing that you were making a $200 transaction, but doing it five times and receiving $1,000 in a single transaction.”

The ACT Gambling and Racing Commission, after reading the complaint, resolved that the Hellenic Club had repeatedly committed breaches of the gambling act. As a result, the commission fined it AU$1.2 million.

The Hellenic Club’s response

The Hellenic Club has expressed disappointment with the fine and has filed an appeal with the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The club has refrained from further comments while legal proceedings are ongoing. The Hellenic Club told the ABC in a statement, “It was disappointed by the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission’s decision to take disciplinary action against them.”

“The investigation concerned the recording of problem gambling incidents in the gambling incident register maintained by the Commission and compliance with regulations relating to limits on the amount of money that club patrons could withdraw via EFTPOS,” a club spokesperson said.

Reaction from the Alliance for Gambling Reform

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said he welcomed the decision, citing that 63 cents of every dollar spent on poker machines comes from problem gamblers. He stressed that it was time to hold gambling venues accountable for the harm they enable.

Costello told ABC, “We know from two Productivity Commission reports into pokies that 63 cents in every dollar going through a machine comes from someone addicted. Typically, nothing happens, so that’s why, in this case, something happened, and it’s a significant fine.”

Problem gambling is a serious concern in Australia, bringing about wide-ranging financial and emotional damage to involved parties and their families. Regulators are insisting that authorities in the country strengthen their safeguards against excessive gambling and protect vulnerable patrons.