The Casino Always Wins, Despite Voluntary Self-exclusion Agreement

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Tuesday, August 4th, 2015 | Written by Shane Larson

The Ritz Club located in Piccadilly, London has won a high-profile £2 million ($3.1 million) lawsuit against Safa Abdulla Al-Geabury, after the Swiss billionaire refused to pay the debts he accrued at the casino’s roulette tables last year. At the heart of the 52 year old’s defense was the life-time voluntary self-exclusion agreement (VSE) he had signed with the Ritz in November 2009, claiming he was a gambling addict. Nevertheless, the Ritz Club subsequently cancelled the VSE after a consultation with the UK Gambling Commission, and dismissing Mr Al-Geabury’s claims to have a gambling disorder, judge Justice Simler said:

“The defendant’s claims fail and are dismissed.. The facts of this case are highly unusual and unlikely to be repeated.. [Al-Geabury] failed to establish that he had any gambling disorder at any material time and ultimately accepted that he never told any of the casino staff about any such problem. He was the author of his own misfortunes.”

Lost £2m In Two Hours

On February 19th 2014, Safa Abdulla Al-Geabury exchanged a £2 million check for casino chips at the exclusive Ritz Club, which he then proceeded to lose in little less than two hours gambling at the roulette tables. Al-Geabury’s request for a further £5 million ($7.8 million) line of credit was subsequently refused by the Ritz, and the following morning the check he had signed also bounced. After refusing to pay the outstanding balance, the casino owned by London Clubs International then filed a £2 million lawsuit against the wealthy gambler, as well as claiming an extra £200,000 in interest.

Al-Geabury’s £5.4 million Counterclaim

Mr Al-Geabury’s defense attorney, Kevin Pettican, had argued that as a gambling addict the casino’s staff should have prevented him from playing. In addition to having his £2 million in debts written off, a counter-claim was also filed for £3.4million ($5.3m), representing the amount of money he apparently gambled away at the Ritz from October 2010 to February 2014.

Ritz Revoked VSE At Al-Geabury’s Behest

Whilst Al-Geabury signed a voluntary self-exclusion agreement for life in 2009, the VSE was eventually cancelled on the his own request, with approval subsequently granted by the UK Gambling Commission. Describing the manner in which the casino enticed him back to their venue, the former currency trader said:

“[A casino representative] asked why I was not coming to the Ritz Club. He then suggested I should go to the Ritz Club and said my style of play was very attractive. I told [him] I was a problem gambler and that I had limited my access to my own money for that reason. He said access to money was not a problem and I would be provided with credit of up to £5million, which I could pay back when I liked.”

According to attorney Kevin Pettican, this represented a breach of the casino’s own gaming license terms related to self-excluded problem gambler, accusing the Ritz of exerting “undue influence and unconscionable transaction”.

Probably Not A Gambling Addict

Despite his enormous gambling losses, and writing on his VSE form at the time that; “I have brain problem, I am addict of gambling,” judge Justice Simler concluded that Mr Al-Geabury had “failed to establish that he had any gambling disorder at any material time and ultimately accepted that he never told any of the casino staff about any such problem.” The judge further labelled Al-Geabury an “intemperate witness” whose story “lacked credibility and was riddled with inconsistency,” whilst siding with prosecuting attorney Mr Freedman, who said Al-Geabury used the Ritz for effective networking, and that his losses “were of little or no consequence” relative to the size of his wealth.

Ritz Club And Responsible Gambling

After winning its £2.2 million court case, the Ritz Club made the following statement: “We welcome today’s decision from the High Court. As a responsible provider of gambling we are committed to ensuring the strictest standards of care towards both our customers and staff at all times.”

The latest case against Al-Geabury is just one of a series of lawsuits launched by the Ritz Casino as it tries to recover millions of pounds in unpaid gambling debts owed to it by wealthy high-roller clients. In a similar case last year, for instance, the casino recouped £1 million from wealthy gambling addict, Noora Abdullah Mahawish Al-Daher, and in the past 12 months alone has litigated to recover £12.5 million ($19.4m) in unpaid debts.