The Rose and Crown in Parramatta, Greater Western Sydney has been taken to task by New South Wales’ Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA).

A disgruntled ex-manager reported the property to ILGA, and a subsequent investigation revealed that gamblers were being given free booze, cigarettes and were loaned cash from the pub’s safe. On one occasion, a patron was given cash advances totalling AU$8,000 to spend on gambling.

Samantha Glynn tipped off the regulator after being fired from her role as General Manager in 2018.

She was found to have misappropriated up to AU$400,000 by manipulating the poker machine payout system, and was suspended when this came to light.

But ILGA Chairperson Phil Crawford thanked her for alerting it to the property’s indiscretions. He said: “Thanks to the tip off from the general manager, we were able to step in and investigate the hotel, ultimately holding the licensee and its close associates to account.

“The hotel was essentially facilitating cash advances for gambling via a system of fake transactions, and this is an obvious risk for problem gambling.”

The pub’s licensee, RC One Pty Ltd, bore the brunt of the regulator’s response, being liable for the above mentioned fine, while its owner Damian Kelly was found unfit “to be a close associate of the licensee.”

Manager Paul Camkin and Jason Marlow, a director of Marlow Hotel Group (MHG), a company contracted by RC One Pty Ltd to manage the hotel, were also punished.

Camkin received a AU$10,000 fine and was disqualified from being a licensee or manager of a hotel for 12 months, while Marlow received a reprimand.

RC One Pty Ltd and all three men were further ordered to pay AU$30,000 for the cost incurred by the Department of Customer Service (DCS) in investigating the matter.