Gambling case study 1 – £4.75 Gaming Debt Claim Defeated
A high-net-worth individual was threatened with legal action by a private gaming casino alleging an outstanding debt of £4.75 million.
Chan Neill Solicitors, led by the Head of Litigation Gideon Rix, was able to extinguish the threatened client by challenging the validity of the demand and requesting sufficient information to enable the client to understand and respond to the allegations.
The Casino alleged that the client had incurred indebtedness of £4.75 million. However, the demand letter failed comply with Pre-Action Protocol Requirements and particularise the following:
- How the debt arose;
- The legal basis upon which the debt was allegedly enforceable;
- The circumstances in which the liability was incurred;
- The time period over which the alleged indebtedness accrued; and
- Whether interest was being claimed and, if so, the applicable rate and period.
The operator also relied upon a series of nine allegedly signed cheques said to underpin the claim and failed provide copies of those instruments for inspection. Chan Neill Solicitors maintained that the client was entitled to review the documents in order to assess the authenticity, validity; enforceability; and the factual basis of the claim.
Additional concerns were raised because the Casino had not identified the issuing bank or explained how the cheques had been relied upon. The Casino stated that multiple attempts had been made to contact the client and seek repayment. However, no details of those attempts were provided and no supporting correspondence was enclosed.
The Litigation team therefore questioned whether the client had been contacted at all and to prove that the client had ignored communications or actively refused payment. Chan Neill Solicitors robustly highlighted that without evidence, the allegation remained unsupported.
The matter was then dropped in the United Kingdom.
The Casino later attempted to enforce the alleged gaming debt in Kuwait. Chan Neill Solicitors provided strategic support to the Client’s Kuwaiti legal team, demonstrating that the proceedings amounted to an abuse of process, as the Casino was improperly seeking a ‘second bite at the apple’ by re-litigating issues that had already been addressed.
Following these submissions, the Casino abandoned its enforcement efforts, bringing the matter to a successful conclusion for our Client.