SYDNEY — A 12-year-old girl was caught on camera gambling at a casino in Sydney, Australia, the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority reported Saturday.
The child was among three minors who were seen on the premises of The Star Sydney casino, one of the biggest in the country, between March and July of last year, according to the nation’s regulating agency.
As a result, the casino was fined about $64,500, CNN reported.
Newly released surveillance footage provided by the casino shows the girl being let into the building by her mother, who held an exit door open to avoid security.
Once inside, the two met up with the girl’s father. The child then proceeded to place bets on more than 20 machines for nearly 20 minutes.
The family, who were tourists visiting Australia from China, were only stopped once as they attempted to exit the venue, The Guardian reported.
“It’s quite staggering that the young girl’s parents facilitated her entry in such a deceptive manner, let alone allowed their daughter to gamble,” NSW Independent Liquor & Authority chair Philip Crawford said in a statement. “However, not only did The Star fail to manage the risk, once the child was on the gaming floor, there were a number of opportunities where staff should have noticed a very young person playing the poker machines — well before they actually did, which was when the family was leaving.”
In two other separate incidents, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old gained entry into the casino. The 17-year-old was served alcohol and played 42 rounds of roulette and 22 hands of poker before being caught and thrown out by security. The 16-year-old entered through a VIP checkpoint without showing ID and presented a fake ID to obtain alcoholic drinks.
“Both children’s forays lasted long enough that they had interacted with several staff members by the time they were discovered,” Byrne said. “In the 17-year-old boy’s case, CCTV showed a total of 15 staff interactions.”
The casino self-reported all three incidents to the government agency.
Cox Media Group
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