Can Casinos Be Held Liable for Enabling Gambling Addiction?

Gambling addiction is a serious issue, and some individuals have taken legal action against casinos, claiming that the establishments enabled their addictive behaviors. Tarwinder Shokar lost $342,000 at Ceasars Windsor in two weeks and sued the casino and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation for allowing him to continue gambling despite knowing his gambling problems.

Arelia Taveras, a former lawyer, lost nearly $1 million in Atlantic City casinos and filed a $20 million lawsuit against one Las Vegas and six Atlantic City casinos. Taveras claimed it was the casinos’ responsibility to curb her gambling. However, a judge dismissed five of the seven lawsuits, and the casinos claimed that Taveras was the only person responsible for her gambling issues.

In another case, Harry Kakavas sued Crown Melbourne for enabling his gambling addiction, with losses upwards of $20 million. A High Court judge ruled that Crown was not liable for Kakavas’ losses because there is no law requiring casinos to protect gambling addicts. This year, Ahmed Hasna also sued Crown for “unconscionable conduct” after losing over $4.5 million, claiming the casino’s conduct broke consumer law.