A software bug in Star Casino’s ticket redemption machines resulted in the Sydney-based casino inadvertently giving away more than AU$3.2 million ($2.05 million) to gamblers over several weeks.
The Register reports that the issue came to light during an independent inquiry into the casino’s operations on Monday. Star Casino manager Nicholas Weeks testified that the casino’s “ticket in, cash out” (TICO) machines, which are used by patrons to redeem barcoded receipts for slot machine winnings, had a defect that allowed customers to insert two tickets and receive the aggregate amount in cash. However, the glitch also returned one of the tickets, effectively allowing it to be reused for additional payouts.
“What occurred was small additional amounts of cash were being provided to customers in circumstances when they shouldn’t have received it because of that defect,” Weeks explained to the inquiry. The TICO machines can dispense up to AU$2,000 ($1,290) per transaction, making the cumulative losses substantial.
Astonishingly, the software issue went undetected for over a month, despite audits revealing discrepancies in the TICO machines between June 7 and July 24, 2023. An internal investigation uncovered “numerous failures (human, process and technological) that more than likely prevented the fraud from being identified at an earlier opportunity.”
Weeks attributed the oversight to a “cultural problem in parts of the casino in relation to the level of rigor through which controls are followed, the level of care in which work is conducted, and the desire from people in the business to drill down on things in circumstances where they don’t appear that they are correct.”
The inquiry also found that 43 individuals exploited the glitch to withdraw money they were not entitled to, with some facing criminal charges. Disturbingly, at least one recovering gambling addict relapsed due to the “free” money enabling them to fund their addiction.
Read more at the Register here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
