The Queensland Supreme Court has ruled that a high-rolling Singaporean billionaire with links to the online betting industry must pay the Star Gold Coast an AU$38.7 million (US25.7 million) gambling debt, The Brisbane Times reports.
Dr Yew Choy Wong ran up an AU$43.2 million (US$29 million) debt during a week-long baccarat binge at the casino between June and August 2018 after gaining access to an AU$40 million check-cashing facility.
Lawyers for the Star said Wong authorized the casino to use a blank check he had given to its sister casino, the Star Sydney, on a previous visit to cover his gambling. That check bounced after Wong returned to Singapore.
Wong is a former director of Celton Manx, the Isle of Man-based online betting operator that owns SBOBET, the first Asian-facing sportsbook to sponsor an English Premier League team.
Dealer ‘Mistakes’
Wong denied authorizing the casino to use the check to collect the debt and claimed the check-cashing agreement was blank when he signed it. He also claimed he shouldn’t have to pay his losses because the dealers kept making mistakes, which he complained about on four occasions.
The casino conceded that three mistakes warranted complaint, and the casino’s chief operating officer, Paul Arbuckle, issued a letter of apology to Wong on July 30, 2018. However, the letter made no mention of wiping Wong’s gambling debt.
The Star initially sued Wong in Singapore, unsuccessfully, because that nation’s Civil Law Act prohibits the government from assisting foreign companies to recoup debts related to overseas gambling.
Wong argued the Singapore ruling should stand and that Star’s efforts to pursue him in Australia constituted “unjustified oppression.”
In April 2021, the Queensland Supreme Court permitted the case to proceed, describing it as a “relatively straightforward” claim that should be determined on its merits.
In her ruling Monday, Justice Melanie Hindman said the Star had clearly stated its claim for debt recovery, while Wong had “not made out any pleaded defense to that claim.”
Star’s Financial Woes
The suit against Wong is one of Australia’s largest-ever debt recovery cases, which may be of some comfort for casino operator Star Entertainment. Barely two weeks after the company opened its AU$3.6 billion (US$2.4 billion) project at Queens Wharf in Brisbane, it finds itself in financial disarray and has turned to the government of Queensland for short-term tax relief.
Star reportedly needs a cash injection of AU$300M (US$201M) to keep Queen’s Wharf operational.
The company said Monday it would sell its leasehold interest in the Brisbane Treasury Building, the site of its former Brisbane casino, for AU$67.5 million (US$44.9 million).
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