On 14 December 2012, the High Court granted Mr Kakavas special leave to appeal against the decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal1 (which had unanimously affirmed the earlier decision at first instance) rejecting his claims against Crown Casino to recover gambling losses exceeding $20 million.
It was alleged that Crown had provided Mr Kakavas, a known problem gambler, with various inducements to gamble, which included the use of a private jet, various gifts and access to lines of credit above and beyond $1 million.2 For further details, see Addisons Article entitled " Problem Gambling – Proceedings to Recover Gambling losses – The Australian experience – Is Litigation Worth the Gamble?" dated 17 August 2012.
Contrary to what was initially suggested in the media, it does not appear that the appeal will test the law of negligence in the context of a venue allowing a problem gambler to continue to suffer losses but rather the law of unconscionable conduct. As counsel for Mr Kakavas, Mr Myers QC, made clear at the very start of his oral submissions to the High Court, "[t]his matter concerns the application of the law regarding unconscionable conduct to.....gambling transactions".
The appeal is set to be heard in Canberra on 4 and 5 April 2013 before 5 judges of the High Court.
The assistance of Nicholas Rozenberg, Solicitor, of Addisons in the preparation of this article is noted and greatly appreciated.
Footnotes1 Kakavas v Crown Melbourne Limited & Ors [2012] USCA 95
2 Kakavas v Crown Melbourne Limited & Ors [2012] USCA 95
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